It’s official: The parent company of St. Louis-based Schnucks Markets now owns the 42 Festival Foods stores in Wisconsin and nine Hometown Grocers stores.
The newly formed 1939 Group Inc. on Oct. 20 announced it had completed the acquisition of Skogens Festival Foods’ and Hometown Grocers’ outstanding shares, including shares held by Festival’s employee stock ownership plan.
The announcement comes a little more than a month after the Schnuck family announced it would acquire the 51 Wisconsin grocery stores from the Skogen family and the grocery stores’ employees. Todd Schnuck, CEO and chairman of 1939 Group and Schnucks Markets, has taken over the same roles for Festival and Hometown Grocers from outgoing CEO Mark Skogen.
“As we celebrate today’s milestone, we also recognize that our teams are entering the busiest season of the year,” Schnuck said in a media release. “Our top priority remains clear — keeping Festival Foods, Hometown Grocers, and Schnucks teammates focused on serving and delighting our guests.”
More: 6 things to know as grocery chain Schnucks buys Festival Foods, expands into Wisconsin
In a 1939 Group news release, the family-owned holding company plans to “accelerate growth and set a new standard for what it means to be a regional grocer.”
Festival, Hometown Grocers and Schnucks Markets all will continue to operate under their current names and in their current locations. You should see no changes to your store or the staff working there. Todd Schnuck in September told the USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin the intent of the acquisition is not to shrink the companies’ footprint, but to grow them.
The ownership structure is designed so that 1939 Group owns and operates the companies, but Schnucks, Festival and Hometown all retain their own, unique identities. Plans also call for keeping Festival’s Wisconsin headquarters open.
Combined, 1939 Group now owns and operates 164 grocery stores in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin. Schnucks traces its roots back to 1939 when Anna Donovan Schnuck, Todd Schnuck’s grandmother, founded a confectionary store in St. Louis.
Contact business reporter Jeff Bollier at (920) 431-8387 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @JeffBollier.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Schnucks completes acquisition of Wisconsin-based Festival Foods
