is an
Employee-owned chain of
Supermarket s located in the
Midwest ern
United States .
As of April
2006 , Hy-Vee operates 198 supermarkets and 26 Drugstores in seven states. The company has new locations under construction. Over 100 of those stores are located in
Iowa , with additional stores in
Illinois ,
Kansas ,
Minnesota ,
Missouri ,
Nebraska , and
South Dakota . They also operate 26 Hy-Vee
Drugstores (formerly called DrugTown) in Iowa and Nebraska. Hy-Vee also operates
Liquor stores under the names Regal Liquors and Hy-Vee Wine & Spirits.
. This store is being built at the location of the former Eagle Country Market, and is scheduled to open in April of
2006 .]]
.]]
Most Hy-Vee stores are full-service supermarkets with
Bakeries ,
Delicatessen s,
Bank s,
Florist s, and pharmacies. To keep pace with
Wal-Mart 's recent expansion into the
Gas Station business, Hy-Vee has also added gas stations with
Convenience Store s on some of its properties. Customers are often given a discount of several cents per gallon of gas when their grocery
Receipt is shown.
Hy-Vee is known for its longtime
Advertising Slogan , "Where there's a helpful smile in every aisle."
Two-time
National Football League MVP
Kurt Warner once stocked shelves at a Hy-Vee Store in
Cedar Falls . After being cut by the
Green Bay Packers at age 24, he thought his football career might be over and worked there to cover bills.
In
1930 , the first Hy-Vee store was started in
Beaconsfield, Iowa , by Charles Hyde and David Vredenburg. More stores were started, and in
1938 , they incorporated into Hyde & Vredenburg, Inc. The Hy-Vee name, which is a contraction of the two names, was adopted in
1952 . Hy-Vee opened their first DrugTown store in
Cedar Rapids, Iowa , in
1969 ; in
2005 all DrugTown stores were renamed Hy-Vee Drugstores in order to reflect the relationship between the chain's pharmacies and supermarkets.
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Hyde & Vredenburg was originally based in
Lamoni, Iowa , before moving to
Chariton, Iowa , in
1945 . Hy-Vee's corporate offices were moved to their current home in
West Des Moines, Iowa , in
1995 . The company still has its primary distribution center in Chariton; a second distribution center is located in
Cherokee, Iowa .
Hy-Vee purchased the
Naming Rights to the
Iowa Events Center 's exhibition hall in
2001 ; Hy-Vee Hall was completed in December 2004.
In recent years Hy-Vee has branched out from its retail operations by acquiring several companies that provide services to its stores. Hy-Vee's non-retail subsidiaries are:
- D & D Foods, Inc., a supplier of fresh Salad s based in Omaha, Nebraska
- Florist Distributing, Inc., a distributor of Flower s and Plant s based in Des Moines, Iowa
- Hy-Vee Care, a pharmaceutical product distributor based in Urbandale, Iowa
- Hy-Vee Weitz, L.C., a Construction company based in Des Moines
- Lomar Distributing, Inc., a specialty food distributor based in Des Moines
- The Meyocks Group Inc., an Advertising , Marketing , and product research firm based in West Des Moines, Iowa
- Midwest Heritage Bank, FSB, a bank based out of Chariton, Iowa
- Perishable Distributors of Iowa, Ltd., a distributor of Meat , Seafood , and Ice Cream , based in Ankeny, Iowa
Hy-Vee Inc. employs over 47,000 individuals and is the largest employer in the state of Iowa. The company has annual sales of over
$ 4.6 billion. In
2004 , Hy-Vee ranked 31st on ''
Forbes '' magazine's annual list of the largest privately-owned companies in the United States.
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When the rival
Eagle Food Center s chain of supermarkets ceased operations, Hy-Vee had purchased several of the locations, most of the buildings at which were demolished and replaced with newer ones. The company often repeats this process with other purchased locations, in order to maintain a consistent corporate image.
