Hy-Vee Is About to Get Much Bigger After Acquiring Another Supermarket Chain
Iowa-based grocery chain Hy-Vee is continuing to grow its presence in the Midwest. On Wednesday, April 17, the company announced plans to acquire Strack & Van Til Food Market, a Northwest Indiana grocery chain that is also known as Indiana Grocery Group, LLC.
The acquisition will add 22 stores and about 2,800 employees to Hy-Vee's portfolio. This marks Hy-Vee's entrance into Indiana, its ninth state. Hy-Vee currently operates more than 550 retail units, which cover grocery stores, drug stores, pharmacies, restaurants, and convenience stores.
Under this new ownership, Strack & Van Til will keep its name and operate as Hy-Vee's subsidiary, just like the company's other subsidiaries. Some of these include Midwest Heritage, Perishable Distributors of Iowa, D&D Foods, Amber Specialty Pharmacy, Vivid Clear Rx, and Wall to Wall Wine and Spirits.
Hy-vee expects to finalize this acquisition in early May. The company is now a member of Associated Wholesale Grocers (AWG), which supplies Strack & Van Til's stores in Northwest Indiana. Hy-Vee said it would continue to serve its current grocery stores with its own supply chain facilities in Ankeny, Chariton, Cherokee, and Cumming, Iowa.
"As our company continues to expand into Indiana and the Southeast region, Strack & Van Til's customer-centric focus and company vision to 'make lives easier' aligns with Hy-Vee's values and growth strategy," Jeremy Gosch, Hy-Vee's CEO, said in a press release.
Beyond this acquisition, Hy-Vee has multiple upcoming grocery store openings. While the company planned to start construction on two stores in Zionsville and Fishers, Ind., later this year, Tina Potfoff, a Hy-Vee spokesperson, told the Des Moines Register that the timeline may change because of the acquisition.
Hy-Vee also plans to enter Kentucky and Tennessee with additional supermarkets and confirmed in 2022 that it will open in Alabama.
In February, the grocery chain opened two stores in Wisconsin—one in Janesville and another in Oregon. Hy-Vee currently operates stores in eight midwestern states: Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.
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