The Fresh Market

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The Fresh Market, Inc.
Company typePrivate
IndustryRetail
FoundedMarch 5, 1982; 42 years ago (1982-03-05)
FoundersRay Berry and Beverly Berry
HeadquartersGreensboro, North Carolina, U.S.
Number of locations
160 (all in US)[1]
Area served
Southeastern U.S.
Mid Atlantic U.S.
Midwest
Key people
Jason Potter (CEO)
ProductsFood
RevenueUS$1.75 billion
(2014)[2]
US$103.6 million
(2014)[2]
US$63 million
(2014)[2]
Number of employees
13,000
Websitewww.thefreshmarket.com

The Fresh Market is an American chain of supermarkets based in Greensboro, North Carolina.[3]

History[edit]

The interior of a Fresh Market store

The Fresh Market was founded by Ray and Beverly Berry on March 5, 1982, in Greensboro, North Carolina. The first store was opened in the former Bi-Rite store at the corner of Lawndale Dr. and Pisgah Church Rd. [4] The Berrys' idea was to develop a better grocery store that brought back the feeling of open European-style markets.[5] Their first store in the West opened in October 2012 in Roseville, California. However, in March 2014, the company announced that it was closing all three of its Sacramento area stores including its Roseville store.[6]

In 2012, Fresh Market acquired and remodeled four locations of longtime family-owned Houston grocer Rice Epicurean Markets.[7] These locations were subsequently closed in May 2016 when Fresh Market shuttered its 13 locations in Texas, Iowa, Missouri, and Kansas.[8]

After increasing the price of its initial public offering from $18–20 to $22, Fresh Market raised $290 million, and on November 5, 2010, began trading on Nasdaq using the symbol TFM.[9]

Apollo Global Management, LLC (APO) acquired the stock of The Fresh Market, Inc. (TFM) ("The Fresh Market") on April 27, 2016. The Fresh Market then became a privately held company and its stock was delisted on NASDAQ.[10]

In March 2022, Fresh Market filed an updated prospectus for its initial public offering, signaling the companies intent to return to a public company.[11]

In May 2022, the Chilean retail company Cencosud acquired a 67% stake in Fresh Market.[12]

Trademark disputes[edit]

The Fresh Market has been in numerous trademark disputes relating to its commonplace name. In 2005, the company lost a trademark dispute with "Marsh Supermarkets" relating to the 'Fresh Market' trademark. The U.S. federal court in South Bend, Indiana stated “The Fresh Market trademark is descriptive and therefore weak and not entitled to broad sweeping protection."[13] The Fresh Market was also in trademark disputes with “Fresh Market at Roth's"[14] and in 2010 with a Utah-based company named "A Fresh Market". In the latter case, it was argued that the term "Fresh Market" was too generic to be trademarked.[15]

In 2017 the company's name “The Fresh Market” was trademarked by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.[16]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Store Locations". The Fresh Market. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved Jan 28, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c [1] Archived 2016-03-05 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ "Contact Us Archived 2010-09-23 at the Wayback Machine." Fresh Market. Retrieved on July 13, 2010. "Mail: 628 Green Valley Road Suite 500 Greensboro, NC 27408-7041"
  4. ^ "Fresh Market earns No. 1 spot in ranking of America's best supermarkets". www.bizjournals.com. Archived from the original on 2023-08-26. Retrieved 2022-04-26.
  5. ^ "TFM - the History of the Fresh Market". Archived from the original on 2007-05-31. Retrieved 2007-06-22.
  6. ^ "Fresh Market closing all 3 Sacramento-area stores - Business - the Sacramento Bee". Archived from the original on 2014-03-07. Retrieved 2014-03-31.
  7. ^ Kaplan, David. "Rice Epicurean to close four stores to make way for The Fresh Market Archived 2012-11-16 at the Wayback Machine." Houston Chronicle. November 14, 2012. Retrieved on November 15, 2012.
  8. ^ "The Fresh Market announces closure of 13 locations across the U.S., including four in Houston". Houston Chronicle. 2016-05-03. Archived from the original on 2017-11-15. Retrieved 2017-11-14.
  9. ^ "Report: Fresh Market raises $290 million at IPO". News & Record. 2010-11-05. Archived from the original on 2010-11-09. Retrieved 2010-11-05.
  10. ^ "Certain Funds Affiliated with Apollo Global Management Announce Completion of the Acquisition of The Fresh Market, Inc". www.apollo.com. Archived from the original on 2021-01-31. Retrieved 2020-03-20.
  11. ^ Beltran, Luisa. "Fresh Market Is Getting Ready for When the IPO Market Opens". www.barrons.com. Archived from the original on 2022-03-23. Retrieved 2022-03-23.
  12. ^ "Chilean retail group acquires majority stake in The Fresh Market". supermarketnews.com. 2022-05-11. Archived from the original on 2022-09-25. Retrieved 2022-09-25.
  13. ^ "Federal Court Rules in Favor of Marsh in Trademark Dispute". Progressive Grocer. Archived from the original on August 9, 2020. Retrieved Jan 28, 2021.
  14. ^ "FORM 10-Q". www.sec.gov. Archived from the original on June 16, 2020. Retrieved Jan 28, 2021.
  15. ^ "Fresh Market in Trademark Dispute". Supermarket News. May 10, 2010. Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved Jan 28, 2021.
  16. ^ Vijayan, Naveena (July 10, 2020). "The Untold Truth of The Fresh Market". Archived from the original on January 28, 2021. Retrieved January 21, 2021.

External links[edit]