grocery outlet . grocery outlet bargains on brands you trust formerly called cannery sales 1946 1970 canned foods 1970 1987 type private industry retail grocery founded june 11 1946 ; 70 years ago june 11 1946 san francisco california u.s. founder james read headquarters emeryville california u.s. number of locations 260 key people eric lindberg & macgregor read co ceos 1 products bakery dairy deli frozen foods general grocery meat produce snacks beer & wine website groceryoutlet.com grocery outlet supermarket chain previously known as canned foods grocery outlet is owned by private equity firm and operated by the founding read family . it focuses on discount overstocked and closeout products from name brand and private label suppliers . 2 3 4 5 dead link 6 james read founded the company on june 11 1946 in san francisco california . 3 4 6 grocery outlet operates in california oregon washington idaho nevada and pennsylvania . 2 7 its co ceos are eric lindberg and macgregor read . 1 the majority of grocery outlet s stores are independently operated by locally based married couples . 4 5 dead link 6 8 each store also has flexibility in its product offerings to better serve local tastes and demand . 8 9 contents 1 history 2 products 3 references 4 external links history edit a location in hillsboro oregon on june 11 1946 james read bought government surplus food products and sold them in vacant stores throughout san francisco . 3 6 10 he named his new company cannery sales . 6 10 in 1970 cannery sales acquired globe of california and renamed it canned foods . 6 10 canned foods changed to selling closeout factory second and discounted products . 6 10 in 1971 canned foods signed its first supplier agreement an agreement with del monte foods . 11 it later signed agreements with companies such as conagra the quaker oats company and revlon . 11 canned foods opened its first independent store in redmond oregon in 1973 . 4 following founder james read s death in 1982 his sons steven and peter read took over company management . 4 in 1987 the company was renamed grocery outlet . 6 7 grocery outlet s 100th store opened in 1995 . 10 in 2001 grocery outlet acquired all remaining liquidated inventories of webvan following the online grocery delivery service s bankruptcy . 12 during the same year grocery outlet acquired online retailer wine.com s remaining inventory following that retailer s bankruptcy . 13 in 2002 the company changed its corporate name to grocery outlet inc. 10 grocery outlet purchased 16 yes less grocery stores in texas and another in shreveport louisiana from dallas texas based fleming cos. in january 2003 . 14 all of the 17 stores were closed by may 2004 . 15 the company promoted macgregor read and eric lindberg to co ceo in 2006 . 10 16 prior to their appointment read was vice president of real estate and lindberg vice president of purchasing for the company . 16 they took over for steven read who became executive chairman of grocery outlet . 16 macgregor read is the son of steven read and lindberg the son in law of grocery outlet chairman peter read . 16 macgregor read is the third generation of the read family to serve as ceo of grocery outlet . 16 in 2007 the united states court of appeals for the ninth circuit awarded albertsons an injunction against grocery outlet over grocery outlet s use of the lucky brand name in a rocklin california store . 17 in 2011 grocery outlet acquired a lancaster county based chain of stores named amelia s grocery outlet . 18 in 2014 hellman & friedman llc a private equity fund agreed to partner with senior management and acquire the grocery outlet from principal owner berkshire partners llc . 19 products edit grocery outlet s inventory comes primarily from overstocks and closeouts of name brand groceries as well as private label groceries . 2 3 4 5 dead link 6 grocery outlets buy mostly closeout or seasonal merchandise so particular brand names change often . 2 the company s stores also carry food staples such as fresh meat dairy and bread . 2 all products sold by grocery outlet are purchased directly from manufacturers not other retail stores . 2 grocery outlet says its stores keep certain products on shelves beyond the best if used by dates some items including soft ripened cheeses non dairy creamers dough products juices and smoked salmon are pulled 7 days after their best if used by date because they are still safe to eat . all other product shelf stable grocery must be pulled no later than 30 days past the best if used by date . the company states that use by dates usually refer to best quality and are not safety dates . 20 references edit a b tim mclaughlin october 13 2009 . berkshire invests in w. coast grocery chain . boston business journal . retrieved september 24 2013 . a b c d e f tanya mannes july 11 2012 . grocery outlet opens new san diego store . ut san diego . retrieved september 24 2013 . dead link a b c d carolyn said june 20 2010 . grocery outlet cashing in on new frugality with expansion . san francisco chronicle . a b c d e f robert goldfield june 1 2003 . grocery outlet hits spot with budget shoppers . portland business journal . retrieved september 24 2013 . a b c brian wilkinson april 24 2013 . sierra lanes to be converted to grocery outlet . sierra star . retrieved september 24 2013 . a b c d e f g h i john hollis nov 1 2013 . new owners grow with grocery outlet . appeal democrat . retrieved april 29 2015 . a b clay moffitt april 6 2012 . grocery outlet building new fresno store . the business journal now . retrieved september 24 2013 . a b carolyn said june 20 2010 . grocery outlet eyes expansion in lean times . sfgate . retrieved september 24 2013 . robert rogers may 23 2013 . new grocery outlet set to open doors in richmond where grocers have been scarce . contra costa times . retrieved september 24 2013 . a b c d e f g eve mitchell february 5 2010 . berkeley based grocery outlet expands as shoppers turn frugal . contra costa times . retrieved september 23 2013 . a b greg stiles september 3 2003 . shopping adventures . mail tribune . retrieved september 23 2013 . grocery outlet buys inventory from webvan . oakland post . august 22 2001 . david goll december 3 2001 . grocery outlet buys wine.com s inventory for 4m . san francisco business journal . retrieved september 23 2013 . mark hamstra june 30 2003 . grocery outlet extends reach to texas with yes less buy all . supermarket news . retrieved september 23 2013 . grocery outlet to close texas la . stores . austin business journal . march 4 2004 . retrieved september 23 2013 . a b c d e grocery outlet names new co ceos ; preps for aggressive growth . progressive grocer . march 8 2006 . retrieved september 23 2013 . dead link report albertsons gets lucky in appeals court decision . san francisco business times . september 11 2007 . retrieved september 23 2013 . retailwire discussion fd buyer grocery outlet grows . retailwire.com . company september 16 2014 . grocery outlet announces partnership with hellman & friedman . grocery outlet inc. retrieved february 27 2015 . food safety at grocery outlet retrieved jan. 3 2016 external links edit wikimedia commons has media related to grocery outlet . official website v t e supermarket chains in the united states kroger baker s supermarkets city market dillons food stores food 4 less foods co. fred meyer fry s food & drug gerbes super markets harris teeter jay c king soopers kroger owen s pay less super markets qfc ralphs roundy s pick n save mariano s metro market copp s ruler foods scott s smith s albertsons acme markets albertsons amigos carrs haggen jewel osco lucky market street pavilions randalls safeway shaw s and star market super saver tom thumb united supermarkets vons supervalu county market cub farm fresh hornbacher s save a lot shop n save shoppers ahold delhaize food lion giant carlisle giant landover hannaford brothers company martin s food markets stop & shop southeastern grocers bi lo fresco y m s harveys supermarkets winn dixie wakefern pricerite shoprite the fresh grocer other national chains aldi iga lidl target walmart regional chains asian 99 ranch market great wall supermarket h mart hong kong supermarket island pacific supermarket marina food marukai corporation u.s.a. mitsuwa marketplace nijiya market seafood city shun fat supermarket uwajimaya hispanic bravo el ahorro supermarket fiesta foods fiesta mart la perla tapat a supermarkets m s club mi pueblo food center supermercados teloloapan vallarta supermarkets organic earth fare natural grocers trader joe s whole foods market wholesale bj s wholesale club costco sam s club conventional acme fresh market amigo andronico s balducci s bashas best yet market big y boyer s food markets inc. bristol farms brookshire brothers brookshire grocery company buehler food markets inc. c town supermarkets cash & carry central market d & w fresh market dave s markets dean & deluca demoulas market basket dierbergs markets dorothy lane market easy way store econofoods family fare fairway market fareway festival foods festival foods minnesota food giant food city foodarama foodland foodland hawaii foodtown pathmark gelson s gerland corporation giant eagle grand mart gristedes grocery outlet harmons harps food stores h e b heinen s fine foods highland park market homeland houchens hugo s hy vee ingles inserra supermarkets jerry s foods jungle jim s international market karns quality foods key food super fresh the food emporium king kullen kings super markets kuhn s quality foods lewis food town lion supermarket lowe s market lowes foods lund food holdings magruder s marc s market basket market of choice marsh supermarkets martin s super markets meijer met foods minyard food stores miracle mart mollie stone s markets morton williams new deal supermarket new seasons market niemann foods no frills supermarkets nugget markets pcc natural markets petrini s piggly wiggly piggly wiggly carolina co. pink dot price chopper price mart price chopper supermarkets publix pueblo raley s supermarkets red owl redner s markets remke markets rice epicurean markets ridley s family markets roche bros. rosauers supermarkets rouses russ s market save mart supermarkets saverite schnucks scolari s food and drug seafood city sedano s sellers bros. sendik s food market sentry foods seven mile market shop n save smart & final spartannash sprouts farmers market stanley stores star market stater bros. stew leonard s strack & van til straub s markets sullivan family of companies super dollar discount foods super one foods super saver foods b & r stores the fresh market times supermarkets tops friendly markets united grocery outlet urm stores valu king victory supermarkets village market food center weaver street market wegmans weis markets westborn market western beef winco foods woodman s markets yoke s fresh market zabar s zupan s markets defunct banners a mart a & p food basics pathmark waldbaum s abco foods alpha beta american stores appletree markets belle foods big bear stores big star markets bloom bottom dollar food bruno s buttrey food & drug byrd s carter s foods chatham clemens markets colonial stores dahl s foods daniel reeves stores david s supermarkets davis food city delchamps deskins dick s supermarket dominick s eagle food centers eberhard s eisner food stores farmer jack felpausch finast fisher foods food fair food world food a rama fresh & easy furr s genuardi s giant open air glen s markets