Who Owns Harris Teeter

It is safe to say that for many individuals, a grocery store is a haven where they can depend on to buy their favorite brand of bologna, bread, milk, or a variety of other things. However, for many others, a grocery store is a kind of be-all and end-all, a place where they can get everything they want under one roof.

From comfort products to daily necessities, such grocery stores hold a special place in people’s hearts, especially if they also tend to have a long history. Regarding regional grocery brands, if you’re from the South Atlantic in the US, then Harris Teeter is a brand you should know about.

In light of this, we’re going to investigate who owns Harris Teeter, learn about the brand’s history, and discover why it is such a beloved grocery store.

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Understanding the Origins and Rise of Harris Teeter as a Loved Grocery Store

One of the most important things to understand when learning about who owns Harris Teeter is that the company wasn’t originally a single entity. Two entities came together to form Harris Teeter.

The company was co-founded by William Harris and Willis Lee Teeter 64 years ago, in 1960. Harris and Teeter met at the NCFDA (North Carolina Food Dealers Association) event. Harris was from Charlotte, North Carolina, while Teeter was from Mooresville, North Carolina.

At the time, Harris owned a chain of grocery stores known as “Harris Super Markets,” while Teeter owned and managed his grocery store units known as “Teeter Super Markets.” However, in 1958, both individuals (now friends) discussed merging their brands to create one super grocery brand.

They started by acquiring a large warehouse where they would consolidate capital to purchase products to create a supply chain for their grocery store.

In 1960, two years after they purchased the warehouse, both Harris and Teeter merged their grocery brands and launched Harris Teeter. While Harris was nominated as the president of the company, Teeter was nominated as its EVP. Together, they launched a slew of Harris Teeter grocery stores throughout Carolinas.

When the company first merged, it launched 15 stores across North and South Carolina. However, in 1963, it was able to add 10 more stores, acquire a significantly bigger warehouse, and open administrative facilities within the warehouse.

However, 9 years after merging, both the Harris and Teeter families agreed to sell the popular grocery brand to a holding company known as Ruddick Corp. Initially, Harris and Teeter approached the holding company to ask for its help to sell it off, but Ruddick Corp. decided to buy the brand instead.

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Harris Teeter Does Not Operate Outside Southeastern United States

Sure, while Harris Teeter is a very popular grocery store brand, it is important to know that scalability is as big as some other grocery store giants. It is more than likely that a lot of people within the US have never heard of or shopped at Harris Teeter.

There is a good reason for this. You see, Harris Teeter has always operated within the Southern region of the US since its inception. While it is fair to argue that the Southern US is also decently populated, there are no widespread Harris Teeter stores in many localities.

The company isn’t small enough not to be noticed, but it can’t necessarily compete with the big leagues such as Walmart, Target, or Aldi, as a high concentration of its stores are only located in Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.

Harris Teeter Has Played a Significant Part in Combating Food Insecurity

Popular grocery store brands are renowned for collaborating with charitable associations combating food insecurity and other causes. Harris Teeter, in 2022, partnered with a well-established college with the sole purpose of combating food insecurity in the city. The name of the institution the grocery chain collaborated with is Howard University in Washington D.C.

The grocery store brand made significant charitable donations of up to $50,000 to the university to combat various hunger relief causes every year in a five-year contract.

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The Acquisition of Harris Teeter by The Kroger Corporation

In 2013, the well-loved Southeastern grocery store brand Harris Teeter was acquired by one of the biggest grocery conglomerates in the US – the Kroger Corporation. The main objective behind buying Harris Teeter was for Kroger to have a strong foothold and brand presence in the Mid-Atlantic cities of the US.

At the time of the buy-out, Harris Teeter shares were valued at more than $49 per share, increasing its share value by 33% after the acquisition. The Kroger Corporation bought the North Carolina-based supermarket brand for $2.4 billion. As per the deal, it was also agreed that Kroger would absorb all the outstanding shares, taking on a debt valued at $100 million.

Though, in terms of brand popularity, Kroger isn’t as well-established as some other brands such as CVS and Target (both of which are practically household names). However, what it lacks in brand supremacy, it makes it up in sheer volume.

You see, Kroger has a massive market presence in the US, operating up to 2,500 stores across multiple states and cities (a total of 31 states). It is a powerful organization with a larger market share with its revenue clocking in at more than $100 billion per annum.

Piggly Wiggly acquired up to 10 Harris Teeter Locations.

While Harris Teeter was owned and controlled by the Kroger Corporation since 2013, the company further expanded into Washington, D.C., opening multiple stores that were eventually up for sale. Ten of these stores were to be acquired by the CEO of Piggly Wiggly – another renowned grocery store brand in the Midwest.

In addition, Kroger was also planning to collaborate and synergize with Albertsons (another giant grocery store brand that operates more than 2500 stores in the US). Both companies planned to sell up to 400 grocery stores to companies such as C&S Wholesale Grocers. Among the 400 stores, 10 were Harris Teeter from locations such as Virginia and Maryland.

According to an Associated Press report, Albertsons and Kroger would combine their considerable resources, brand reputation, and marketing strategies to possibly overcome industry captains such as Walmart and Amazon.

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