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C&K Market shifts to employee ownership

Adoption of ESOP expected to strengthen community roots of Ray’s, Shop Smart, C&K banners

Russell Redman

January 27, 2021

3 Min Read
C&K Market Inc store banners.jpg
C&K Market Inc.'s retail network includes 38 stores in Oregon and California under the Ray's Food Place, Shop Smart and C&K Market banners.C&K Market Inc.

Independent grocer C&K Market Inc. this week completed a transaction to become a 100% employee-owned company.

Medford, Ore.-based C&K said it made the transition by creating an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) trust, which enables its workforce to receive retirement benefits linked to the company’s future equity value. The plan was established on Dec. 29. 

With more than 1,200 employees, C&K operates 38 stores in Oregon and northern California under the banners of Ray’s Food Place, Shop Smart and C&K Market. The grocer was founded in 1956 with one market in Brookings, Ore.

“At our core, we’re a community grocery store that proudly serves its neighbors,” Karl Wissmann, president and CEO of C&K Market, said in a statement. “We tailor what we offer to meet the needs of each community we serve. That commitment continues through our employee stock ownership plan, which allows us to maintain our independence and lets employees benefit from our success.” 

No changes are planned in management, operating policies or practices, C&K noted. The company said store meetings will be held in the first quarter to introduce the ESOP, and further information about the plan will be provided throughout the year.

“Our future is definitely bright as we enter our next chapter,” according to Wissmann. “This is the best possible succession plan for a company with strong local roots and dedicated employees.” 

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Wissmann joined C&K in 2014 as its CEO and led a companywide revitalization. All stores have been remodeled and upgraded over the past six years, including the launch of new departments such as Healthy Living, Pet Centers and Foods of the World. Each store also boosted its selection with the addition of about 2,500 new items. 

“These accomplishments were often motivated by what employees heard from customers,” Wissmann stated. “We strive to listen and deliver what our customers want. I’m proud of what we’ve achieved and know that greater things are coming, because our employees built such a strong foundation.” 

Thirty-two of C&K’s stores carry the Ray’s banner in Oregon (22 locations) and northern California (10 locations). A grocery warehouse format, Shop Smart has three stores in Oregon and two in California. The C&K Market banner has one store in Yachats, Ore.

The shift to an employee-owned company will enhance the store banners’ reputations for tailoring service to the needs of their communities, added Wissmann, who described the retailer as “a chain of independent stores rather than an independent chain of stores.”

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“We started an initiative some five years ago to give customers a reason to shop in our stores rather than a big-box store,” he commented. “We listen to customers and respond to their preferences. Shoppers are buying more from us because we are adding real value to each of the communities that we serve.”

Citing figures from the National Center for Employee Ownership, C&K reported that the United States has some 6,600 ESOPs holding $1.4 trillion dollars and employing some 14 million people. ESOP companies also typically provide 2.2 times the total retirement assets as non-ESOP companies, and a Rutgers University study found that ESOP firms grow 2.3 to 2.4% faster after setting up their plan. 

“C&K Market was an exceptional candidate for an ESOP. The company, its stores and employees are all essential to the communities which they serve,” stated Alberto del Pilar, managing director of St. Louis-based Butcher Joseph, which served as C&K’s financial adviser for the ESOP conversion. “ESOP ownership will undoubtedly help to sustain those very same communities the employee-owners call home. We focused our efforts on designing a durable structure that aligns all of the interests of C&K’s stakeholders while positioning the company for long-term financial stability.” 

About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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