" "“qu THE HISTORICAL DEV ELOPM E NT 0? F000 DtsTRmUTDON BY GORDON LOREN COOK JR 1961 m _._ THEME ”Irmgu'qnjw‘WWW 7 01390 4499 LEBRARY Michigan State University PLACE IN RETURN BOX to romavo this chockout from your record. TO AVOID FINES return on or before date duo. [m DATE DUE DATE DUE DATE DUE .Q I a __J |L__J| |L__I l JL _J 1— 7 __JL__ ___l MSU Is An Namath. Action/Equal Opponunfly IMW WmG-pd THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF FOOD DISTRIBUTION by Gordon Loren Cook, Jr. A THESIS Submitted to the College of Business and Public Service Michigan State University of Agriculture and Applied Science in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS Department of General Business Curriculum in Food Distribution June, 1961 TABLE OF CONTENTS m I INTRODUCTION Purpose of Thesis ................................ Importance ofthe Study ... Limitations ..... 0.0.00.0...00. 00000000 ...... ..... Definitions 0 O O O O O O 0 O O 0 O 0 0 O O . 0 O 0 0 O 0 0 O 0 0 0 O 0 O 0 O 0 O 0 O 0 0 0 MethOdOIOgY 00000 0 O O 0 0 . O 0 0 . 0 O 0 0 0 0 . 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 O 0 0 0 0 0 . PreView O O O O O O O O O O . O . 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 O O 0 O O 0 O 0 0 0 O 0 0 0 O 0 D 0 0 C O‘O‘WNNH I I MINOR FOOD DISTRIBUTION SEGMENTS Consumer CooPerative Groups . First stirrings of cooperative action . The Equitable Society of Rochdale Pioneers . The Rochdale Principles ......................... Consumer Cooperative Status Today . ........... l oxooo~l~l IndustrialStores .................................. 12 Foreign History England ..................................... l3 FranceandGermany .......................... 14 European and Non-European countries . 15 UnitedStatesHistory............................. 16 Present status inAmerica ........................ l8 GovernmentStores ................................. l9 Sutlers ......................................... 20 Post Traderships and Canteens . ... ... .. 20 PostExchange .................................. 20 ArmyExchangeService ..................._....... 20 WorldWarI ................................... 2.1 WorldWarII ................................... 21 III CORPORATE CHAINS TheChaindefined ......00.00.0000...0.00.00.00.00. 22 CreationoftheChainSystem ........................ 23 DevelopmentinAmerica............................. 2.5 Anti-ChainLegislation 3............................. 27 Self-Service ...................................... 30 TheFounder .................................... 30 EffectsofSelf-Service ........................... 33 ii TABLE OF CONTENTS 2251.112; superM‘rket. 0......00......00.0.0.0.0000....00O. 36 Developmentand Description . 36 Hi.tory 00.0.00.0..00..0.0..00.00.0....000000..0 37 Pre.°ntChainstatu. .0..0.000000....000000...00O0. 43 IV VOLUNTARY AND COOPERATIVE GROUPS .......... 48 Stagesetting0.00...000.....0...000.0..0000.00000.00 48 Organizationhistories ............................ 50 Genesis ofthe C00peratives ...................... 50 GenesisoftheVoluntaries ....................... 54 FurtherGrOWth ...000.0......0..0.0.0.00.0...0.... 55 Largemdsmall 00......0000.000000......00000. 55 Ba.iCTen°t. O..........0.000..000000000000I00. 58 Corporate Chains to Voluntary Groups ............... 61 contrOIIQdBrand. .0...‘.OOOOO..O0.0000.00.00... 64 Trained Sales Supervisors and Expert Store Engineers 65 Nationally known Store Identification . 65 Coordinated Low-Cost Advertising and Planned Weekly and Monthlysale. Program. ......000.000...0 65 Voluntary and Cooperative Groups Status . 67 V SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 72 ConsumerCooperatives . 75 GovernmentCommissaries ........................ 79 corporatOChain.ssesesesssssssesessssesssssesssssss 80 Voluntary and Cooperative.Groups. 82 FoodDistributioninGeneral.......................... 84 BIBLIOGRHHY 00.00000.......0...0.0.00.0.00....000.0000. 86 APPENDIX 00.0..O0.0.0.000...0000.00....00000.00.000... 91 Excerpts from ”The New Distributor and the New Inde- pendent, Their Progress and Opportunity." Progressive Grocer. TABLES I State Tabulation of Corporate Chains . 44 II 1958 Retail Volume of 23 Corporate Chains. 47 III State Tabulation of Voluntary and Cooperative Groups 68 IV 1958 Retail Volume of 19 Voluntary and Cooperative Groups .... 70 iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS As his curriculum advisor and as the Director of the Curriculum in Food Distribution, the author is greatly in- debted to Dr. Edward A. Brand not only for his aid in out- lining courses of study and knowledge imparted as a pro- fessor. but also his generous assistance above his normal course of duty in various university and personal problems. As his thesis advisor, the writer is of course much indebted to Dr. Ward A. McDowell for his patient guidance from the alpha to the omega of this thesis and the knowledge he. too. has imparted as a professor. The author wishes to express his deepest gratitude to his father and mother, Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Cook, Editors and Publishers of the Voluntary and Cooperative Groups Magazme, the Super Market Manager Magazine. and Directors of Operation Incorporated of New York City, New York, through whose generous financial support attendance in the Cur- riculum of Food Distribution at Michigan State University was made possible. Their unceasing assistance, general guidance, and encouragement. as related to the writer's various Food iv Distribution courses and this thesis, have been invaluable to the successful completion of both. Finally, the author would like to express his thanks for all the information and aid received directly or indirectly from all the various segments of the food distributive field. The more than willing assistance given has been instrumental in es- tablishing a basis for much of the subject matter discussed herein. DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to the author's wife, Jeanne Thompson Cook, and his three children: Gordon Loren Cook, III, Nancy Anne Cook, and Suzette Lucille Cook. They have been largely responsible as the motivating forces, and encouragements behind this work. vi C H A P T E R I INTRODUCTION Purpose of Thesis Throughout the years, many works of great value and interest have been written about all phases of food distribution. Among these works are included many tracing the historical development of various individual segments of the food field. One is able, with some effort, to secure historical information about consumer cooperatives, government stores, industrial stores, chains, and voluntary and cooperative groups as they are related to food distribution. However, much that has been written about these basic segments of the food field, historically or otherwise, is either antiquated, out of print, or unavailable through any channel of information. Also, little has been written recently to bring the historical picture up to date. Actually, as far as the author has been able to ascertain, there is no overall story of the historical evolu-, tion of mass food distribution. 1 As previously mentioned, some of the. various sections of food distribution have recorded their stories. but a reader desiring the comprehensive picture has to do much search- ing, reading, and mental correlation to get it. Even then it will not be. lAs verified through correspondence with Gordon Cook, Cook Publications, New York, 1956; reconfirmed 1961 per phone. an up to date picture upon which one might venture to predicate future trends in food distribution. With these considerations in mind, this work is submitted to the reader as an overall study of the historical development of mass food distribution. This study is intended to impart an integrated picture of all the various contributing sections. It is the writer's intent that when the reader has completed this thesis he will have attained a broad, general, and yet accurate knowledge of this field. Importance of the Study In gaining knowledge of food distribution, basic study of the different distributive organizations is axiomatic. Likewise, it would seem that a basic study of the history of the organizations comprising the total food distributive field should also be axiomatic. Limitations To the best of his knowledge, the author has tried to secure accurate information confirmed from several sources. 2 Some conflict- ing information became apparent where writers tended to slant history in an effort to add prestige to the particular segment of food distribu- tion they were writing about. A determined effort has been made to correct this natural human tendency. In addition. it must be realized that this thesis is historical ZS“ bibliography and does not touch upon Operations of the distributive organizations dis- cussed as they pertain to new developments. To go very deeply into oper- ations would, of necessity, go far beyond the scope of this thesis. Definitions In this thesis the author has used certain terms. These may be defined as follows: A "corporate chain" is an organization Operating more than ten retail food distribution outlets under the same ownership with central management. Previous figures have placed the number of stores at four, three and even two. 3 When the number of stores required to be classified as a chain is placed at one of these lower figures, there will actually be more independent grocers in the chain field than legitimate chains, as defined in the first sentence of this paragraph, since there are literally thousands and thousands of families across America with adult sons and daughters each operating an independent grocery. Such an operation is the Carty Brothers in Los Angeles. Here seven brothers. Operate eight very large super markets. Henry