Ukrop's Super Market
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| Ukrop's Super Markets, Inc. | |
|---|---|
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| Type | Family business |
| Founded | 1937 |
| Headquarters | Richmond, Virginia |
| Industry | Retail |
| Products | Grocery |
| Website | http://www.ukrops.com/ |
Ukrop's is a family-owned and operated grocery store chain located in central Virginia.
Contents |
[edit] Background
The chain was founded in 1937 by Joe Ukrop. Ukrop's headquarters are located in Richmond, Virginia, along with its Central Bakery and Central Kitchen. Many locations feature a pharmacy and/or First Market Bank. Ukrop's was named one of Fortune Magazine's 100 Best Companies to work for in the United States five years in a row, from 2000 to 2004. Currently, the company has 29 stores, mostly in the Richmond area, as well as two stores in Williamsburg, and one store in Petersburg, Roanoke, and Fredericksburg. Soon to come is a second store in Short Pump, near Twin Hickory. Ukrop's also operates a specialty store called Joe's Market named after the founder Joe Ukrop. It is located in the Richmond district of the Avenues at Libbie and Grove. The President and CEO of the company is Bobby Ukrop, son of Joe Ukrop. James Ukrop, brother of Bobby, serves as the company Chairman.
The company was founded on the Golden Rule: treat others as you would like to be treated. This is still evident in the company today. Their focus on customer service is demonstrated by their policies of having staff carry and load all driving customers' groceries, and refusing tips for this service.[citation needed]
[edit] Other Corporate Ties
Ukrop's has Starbucks Coffee stores in five Ukrop’s locations – one in each Williamsburg store, in the Roanoke store, in the Colonial Heights store, and one at the Chesterfield Towne Center store in Midlothian.
In 1997, Ukrop's established a unique partnership with National Commerce Financial Corporation in which it co-owns 25 First Market Bank branches in Ukrop’s locations and 10 free-standing branches First Market Bank. Also, they co-own the Richmond Kickers which was bought by Bobby Ukrop for his aspiring professional soccer player son, Robert Ukrop.[citation needed]
[edit] Community Outreach
Each year, Ukrop's gives a minimum of 10 percent of its pre-tax profits back to the community.[citation needed]
Ukrop's sponsors the annual Christmas Parade on Broad Street. It also sponsors one of the largest 10k running events in the United States, The Ukrop's Monument Avenue 10K.
Every year Ukrop's offers "Golden Gift Receipts." In this program, customers first choose a charity or church from a list. Ukrop's will then tally how much the customer's spending over the preceding twelve months, and donate a certain percentage of that to the designated charity or church.[citation needed]
[edit] Manufacturing
The Ukrop's Food Group, a division of Ukrop's Super Markets Inc., operates a central bakery and kitchen featuring home-style baked goods and prepared meals. In 1976, Ukrops bought Dot's Bakery, a well-known bakery in Richmond. They used the name Dot's Bakery for years before changing it to Ukrop's Bakery. They pride themselves on items that can only be found at Ukrops as well as their corner stone products, such as White House Rolls, Rainbow Cookies, and their Chocolate Fudge Pie.[citation needed]
