WinCo Foods

WinCo Foods

As time passed, Mr. Ward purchased Mr. Williams’ stake in the company and over time, Waremart grew into a small chain of grocery stores, mainly based in the Pacific Northwest. In the 1970s, WAREMART EVOLVED INTO A SUPERMARKET that became regionally famous for low prices, flat-carts and grease pencils that customers had to use to write the price on each item (two of which are gone now, but not the low prices).

In 1998, WinCo Foods opened a new 900,000 sq ft grocery and perishable distribution center in Woodburn, Oregon. At that point, it serviced all of the stores the company owned. By having its own distribution center, WinCo Foods was able to better manage costs and product prices, along with creating hundreds of jobs in Woodburn, OR. This distribution center was a huge step in the growth that would soon take place.

WINCO TRIVIA: 1 The Woodburn DC has since experienced expansion, currently sitting at over 1,000,000 sq ft. The Woodburn DC currently services WinCo stores in Oregon and Western Washington state with daily deliveries. 2 The Woodburn, DC was preceded by a warehouse in Salem, OR.

WinCo Foods would go on to open three more distribution centers and one non-food warehouse that would allow the company to focus on expansion. In 2004 the opening of a DC in Modesto, CA allowed for expansion that focused on California. in 2009, the opening of a new DC in Boise, ID allowed WinCo Foods to expand into Utah. This success would be carried over into the next decade. In 2014 WinCo Foods was able to better serve stores located in Southern California, as well as focus on its Arizona and Las Vegas expansion, by opening a distribution center located in Phoenix, AZ.