Stew Leonard's

Stew Leonard's is a chain of seven supermarkets in Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey, which Ripley's Believe It or Not! deemed "The World's Largest Dairy" and Fortune magazine listed as one of the "100 Best Companies to Work For".[2]

Stew Leonard's
TypePrivate
IndustryGrocery store
Founded1969 (1969)
Norwalk, Connecticut, U.S.
HeadquartersNorwalk, Connecticut, U.S.
Key people
Stew Leonard, Jr., President & CEO
ProductsFood
Revenue$341 million (2011)[1]
Number of employees
2,226[1]
Websitewww.stewleonards.com

Opened in 1969 with seven employees[3] in Norwalk, Connecticut, the chain now includes six stores in Connecticut and New York.[4][5] The newest location opened on September 18, 2019 in Paramus, NJ.[6][7]

History

Clover Farms Dairy

Charles Leonard, a hatter in a sweatshop,[8] founded Clover Farms Dairy in Norwalk, CT, in the early 1920s.[3]

First store

In 1969, Stew Leonard opened the Clover Farms Dairy store in Norwalk.

Expansion

Stew Leonard acquired land for a second store in Danbury, CT, in the mid-1980s. The store opened in 1991.[9]

Stew Leonard's announced plans to open a store in Yonkers, NY, in 1997.[10] The store opened in September 1999.[11]

The Leonard family began working to open a store on Long Island, in 2002.[12] However, plans to open a store across from the Republic Airport in Farmingdale, NY fell through.[13] In 2015, Stew Leonard's announced plans to open a store in Farmingdale in early 2016;[12][13] the store opened in January 2016.[14]

A store in Newington, Connecticut was announced in February 2006 and opened in April 2007.[15][16]

Tax fraud

In 1993, Stew Leonard, Sr. was convicted of having committed tax fraud via an elaborate scheme to divert more than $17.1 million in cash register receipts over a 10-year period.[17][18][8] The fraud, which involved a computer program designed to skim off sales, was directed by Stew Leonard, Sr., in concert with the company's CFO and store manager. Skimmed cash was placed in bundles in Leonard, Sr.'s office fireplace, to be later moved offshore or disguised as gifts.[19][20] Leonard, Sr. was caught in June 1991 carrying $80,000 cash en route to the Caribbean island of Saint Martin.[19][21]

Leonard, Sr. pled guilty to the charges and, in 1993, was sentenced to 52 months in prison.[22][8] He ultimately served 44 months before being released in June 1997.[23]

Short-weighting

In 1993, shortly after Stew Leonard, Sr. and three other company executives had pled guilty in the tax fraud case, the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection charged Stew Leonard's with short-weighting customers on multiple products. The department measured a 47% violation rate, compared with a statewide average of 7.2%. Stew Leonard, Jr. and Tom Leonard denied that these actions were intentional and claimed, "a larger percentage of products checked were, in fact, overweight than underweight", and, "we corrected every [mistake] before the inspector even left the store."[24]

Stores

There are currently three stores in Connecticut:

  • Norwalk, opened in 1969
  • Danbury, opened in 1991
  • Newington, opened in 2007

There are currently three stores in New York:

  • Yonkers, opened in 1999
  • Farmingdale, opened in 2016
  • East Meadow, opened in 2017

There is currently one store in New Jersey:

  • Paramus, opened in 2019

Features and layout

The New York Times called Stew Leonard's the "Disneyland of Dairy Stores."[25] The stores are not set up like traditional grocery stores; the aisle configurations guide customers to walk through the entire store (although there are short cuts). As customers walk through the aisles, they are greeted by various employees dressed up in costumes and by animatronic characters, called the "Farm Fresh Five", that perform songs and dance. Stew Leonard's famous "Stew Burger", the nickname given to the store's hamburger, is displayed by the entrance of each location. The stores also feature petting zoos and outdoor cafes in the warmer months, and offer tasting booths and a variety of prepared meals year round.[26]

"Anyone who comes from Connecticut or thereabouts knows this landmark chain of grocery stores where mechanized cows sing and roosters crow," according to a writer for the Sun-Sentinel of Florida.[27]

Corporate philosophy

The store is notable for its customer service policy, which greets shoppers at each store's entrance, etched into a three-ton rock:[28]

1. The customer is always right.
2. If the customer is ever wrong, re-read rule #1.

See also

References
  1. "Stew Leonard's Store Fact Sheet" (PDF). stewleonards.com. January 16, 2012. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
  2. "100 Best Companies to work for 2011". Fortune Magazine. Fortune Magazine. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  3. Stew Leonard; Scotty Reiss (2009). Stew Leonard: My Story. Colle & Co., Publishers.
  4. Stern, Neil. "The Magic Of Stew Leonard's Dairy Comes To Long Island". Forbes. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  5. Zeveloff, Julie. "13 reasons Stew Leonard's is actually the best grocery store in America". Business Insider. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  6. Noda, Stephanie (September 17, 2019). "Stew Leonard's offers first look at new supermarket in Paramus Park mall". Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  7. "Stew Leonard's Paramus location opens on Wednesday". www.msn.com. Retrieved 2019-09-18.
  8. Whitford, David (November 1, 2002). "Back From The Brink". CNN. Retrieved March 29, 2017.
  9. Charles, Eleanor (May 20, 1990). "Legend of Stew Leonard's Adding a Danbury Chapter". The New York Times. Retrieved March 29, 2017.
  10. Foderaro, Lisa W. (November 25, 1997). "Stew Leonard's Plans Big Store in Yonkers, Singing Cows Included". The New York Times. Retrieved March 29, 2017.
  11. Vizard, Mary McAleet (September 1, 1999). "Stew Leonard's and Other Stores Set for Yonkers". The New York Times. Retrieved March 29, 2017.
  12. Genn, Adina (February 10, 2015). "Stew Leonard's to Open in Farmingdale". Patch. Retrieved March 29, 2017.
  13. Al-Muslim, Aisha (February 10, 2015). "Stew Leonard's grocery store coming to Farmingdale". Newsday. Retrieved March 29, 2017.
  14. Al-Muslim, Aisha (January 7, 2016). "Stew Leonard's set to open in Farmingdale this month". Newsday. Retrieved March 29, 2017.
  15. "Stew Leonard's opens new store in Newington". The Hour. February 5, 2006. Retrieved March 29, 2017.
  16. DiMaio, Nicholas M. (April 12, 2007). "Stew's in Newington: Arriving Fresh in April". The Caldor Rainbow. Retrieved March 29, 2017.
  17. Steinberg, Jaques. "Connecticut Store Owner Sentenced in Tax Fraud". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  18. Fritz, Sara. "A Sour End to Dairy Scam : Retailing Genius Stew Leonard May Face Jail for Hiding $17.1 Million From the IRS in a Tax Fraud Case". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  19. STEINBERG, JACQUES. "Papers Show Greed, Calculation and Betrayal in Stew Leonard Fraud Case". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  20. Thompson Ainsworth, Richard. "Zappers: Technology-Assisted Tax Fraud, SSUTA, and the Encryption Solutions". The American Barr Association. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  21. Lavoie, Denise. "Prominent Entrepreneur Pleads Guilty to Massive Tax Fraud". Associated Press News Archive. Associated Press. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  22. Steinberg, Jaques. "Connecticut Store Owner Sentenced in Tax Fraud". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  23. Gattuso, Greg. "STEW LEONARD SR. LEAVES PRISON". Supermarket News. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  24. Goldman, Ari L. (August 19, 1993). "Weight Charges Filed Against Stew Leonard's". The New York Times. Retrieved March 29, 2017.
  25. Miller, Bryan (June 22, 1983). "In Norwalk, A 'Disneyland' Dairy Store". The New York Times. Retrieved January 24, 2016.
  26. Goldberg, Morgan. "Every Grocery Store Should Be Like Stew Leonard's". Eater. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  27. Hartz-Seeley, Deborah (December 17, 2007). "A trip north takes me to Stew Leonard's that reminds me of Penn Dutch". Retrieved December 20, 2007.
  28. "The Rock". stewleonards.com. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.