Fortune 100 Includes The Supermarket 5

MARK HAMSTRA

NEW YORK — The same five supermarket chains that ranked among the Fortune 100 best companies to work for in America last year made the list again this year, led by Wegmans Food Markets at No. 3 and Whole Foods Market at No. 5.

Other supermarkets on the list, which was released last week and is to be published in today's issue of the magazine, were Nugget Market, Woodland, Calif., at No. 13; Stew Leonard's, Norwalk, Conn., at No. 51; and Publix Super Markets, Lakeland, Fla., at No. 57.

Privately owned Wegmans, Rochester, N.Y., which operates 71 stores in the Northeast, was ranked No. 1 two years ago and No. 2 last year. It has a voluntary turnover rate of 7%, Fortune Magazine reported, noting that the high demand for Wegmans stores in communities where it does not operate is a telling factor about its workers' performance.

“People tell us they like shopping at Wegmans because our employees are happy, and that makes them happy,” said Danny Wegman, chief executive officer, in a prepared statement. “We have always believed that in order to be a great place to shop, we must first be a great place to work.”

Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods moved up from No. 15 last year, and was cited for its cap on executive salaries — 19 times average full-time pay — and the decision by John Mackey, chairman and chief executive officer, to cut his salary to $1. The company is one of 16 on the Fortune list that covers 100% of the cost of its employees' health-insurance premiums. The publicly owned company has appeared on the list in each of the 10 years it has been published, debuting at No. 34 in 1998.

Nugget Market, a nine-store chain in Northern California, debuted last year on the list at No. 33. The privately owned company was recognized for its low rate of voluntary turnover, at 8.2%, which Fortune said the chain achieves through its “rah-rah spirit, good pay and benefits, plus a rockin' end-of-year bash.”

“Our No. 1 priority has always been the guests who shop in our stores, and our No. 1 asset has always been our associates,” said Eric Stille, president and CEO.

Stew Leonard's, a three-store chain known for its theatrical, fresh-off-the-farm merchandising approach, moved up a few notches from No. 58 last year. This is its sixth year on this list. According to Fortune, the family-owned operator “keeps employees happy with profit-sharing, 100% coverage of health insurance premiums, and opportunity,” noting that 88% of managers started out “at the bottom.”

Jill Leonard Tavello, executive vice president of culture and communication, Stew Leonard's, said participating in the selection process “helps us improve as a company and keep raising the bar even higher.” Managers were recently shifted from six-day workweeks to five-day weeks, for example, the company said.

Publix has been on the list for each of the past 10 years. Fortune cited the employee-owned chain's efforts to hire senior citizens and the fact that after one year employees can become stockholders in the 882-store operator.

Other food retailers on the list included Starbucks Coffee, Seattle, which ranked No. 16, and the QuikTrip convenience store chain, a 467-unit operator based in Tulsa that offers retirement plans and has a relatively low turnover.

CPG firms that supply the industry and made the list included S.C. Johnson & Son, Racine, Wis., at No. 7; J.M. Smucker, Orrville, Ohio, No. 39; and Procter & Gamble, Cincinnati, No. 68.

Internet tool creator Google, Mountain View, Calif., was ranked No. 1 on the list, followed by biotechnology company Genentech, South San Francisco, Calif., at No. 2.