After 16 years in the grocery business, Patty Richardson still loves to
go to work. So does scan coordinator Pat Fendley. And store manager Derrick
Simpson, another 16-year veteran rarely thinks about job burnout.
Richardson, Fendley and Simpson are three of the 92 employees at Market Place in Greenwood who are singing the company’s praises these days. After all, company president and 30-year grocery veteran Kenneth Storey left them a gift when he retired: he let them buy the business.
“We knew that one day, Mr. Storey would want to retire,” said Simpson. “We had been aware of other successful employee-owned businesses. When he retired, rather than selling it to another company, he let us buy it ourselves. That way, we had stock in it and none of the employees lost benefits. It was beneficial to everybody, from part-time employees who had
been with us for two months, to full-time, permanent employees like myself, who had been here for many years.”
Market Place and three Big Star stores in Greenwood were part of an agreement that empowered its employees to purchase Sikeston, Mo.-based Food Giant Corp., the parent company, in early April. Food Giant operates 93 stores in nine states under the Market Place, Big Star and Piggly Wiggly names.
“We still have regional and district supervisors as in the past,” Simpson said. “Basically, nobody’s position has changed, just the ownership of the company has changed. Of course, we formed a board in Missouri, they’re the ones overseeing from a central office. The company was sold as a whole. Even though Storey had other investments, we only took on the grocery
store.”
Pat Fendley, scan coordinator at Market Place, said everyone has “a wonderful attitude” as a result of the change.
“When we went to the meeting in Greenville, everything was explained to us, and we knew it was a wonderful opportunity,” she said. “We’ll continue to get yearly raises and now we’ll get stock dividends.”
Patty Richardson, office manager for Market Place, said the change has made a big difference in employee morale.
“Whenever there’s a change, some people will be skeptical, but for the most part, everyone’s been very happy about it,” she said, adding that Storey was “a great owner.”
Employees received stock according to the length of employment with the company, said Derrick.