LOS ANGELES, June 17, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Town & Country Markets, Inc., a chain of six unique supermarkets in the Seattle metropolitan area, was named the recipient of the 2010 "Ben Schwartz Retail Grocery Visionary Award" by Unified Grocers on June 8, 2010 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Long Beach, Calif.
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The "Ben Schwartz Retail Grocery Visionary Award," named after a long-time director and former chairman of the board at Unified Grocers, is an honor given annually to an independent retail grocer or grocery company that is a leader and innovator in the retail grocery industry. The award recognizes retailers who, through their practice and example, have consistently demonstrated initiative, creativity and leadership within their businesses and, in the process, have inspired others to think and act creatively and with passion in the grocery field. To be eligible, retailers must be — or must have been — a member of Unified Grocers or one of its predecessor companies.
Founded as a neighborhood market on Bainbridge Island, Washington in the 1920s, Town & Country Markets today has grown into a company featuring six grocery markets — Ballard Market and Greenwood Market in Seattle, Town & Country Market on Bainbridge Island, and three Central Markets, located in Mill Creek, Poulsbo and Shoreline, Washington. The company is unique in that its past and current leadership consists of members from the two families who founded the company more than 80 years ago — the Loverich family and the Nakata family.
In presenting the award, Al Plamann, president and chief executive of Unified Grocers, said, "Town & Country Markets has consistently been a pioneer in the development and implementation of new ideas that have since become standard within the world of grocery retailing."
One of the company's most successful innovations, Plamann said, was the launch in 1995 of the company's Central Market format. "In addition to being one of the nation's first grocery stores that fully embraced the 'fresh' and 'healthy foods' concepts, Central Market was a 'destination' store, a grocery market that was literally designed to attract customers and shoppers from well beyond the store's traditional marketing territory," said Plamann.
Accepting the 2010 Ben Schwartz Award were Larry Nakata and Wayne Loverich, co-owners of Town & Country Markets. "I accept this award on behalf of both families and all of the Town and Country associates who have worked so hard over many, many decades — people who have helped us create and maintain a truly great company," said Larry Nakata. "This award is very meaningful to us and we sincerely appreciate the honor."
In addition to the award that was presented to Town & Country Markets, a duplicate of the "Ben Schwartz Retail Grocery Visionary Award" is on permanent display in the lobby of Unified's headquarters building in Commerce, Calif. A plaque recognizing Town & Country Markets as the 2010 winner has been added to the permanent award.
About Unified Grocers
Unified Grocers is a retailer-owned wholesale grocery distributor that supplies independent retailers throughout the western United States. Unified and its subsidiaries, which generated approximately $4.1 billion in sales during fiscal 2009, offer independent retailers all the resources they need to compete in the supermarket industry.
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Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements about the future performance of Unified Grocers based on Management's assumptions and beliefs in light of information currently available to it. There are a variety of factors that could cause actual and future results to differ materially from those anticipated by the statements made above. These factors are outlined in the Company's Form 10-K and other interim reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Furthermore, Unified undertakes no obligation to update, amend or clarify forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
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