The Fresh Market

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

The Fresh Market, Inc.
TypePrivate
IndustryRetail
FoundedMarch 5, 1982
FoundersRay Berry and Beverly Berry
HeadquartersGreensboro, North Carolina, U.S.
Number of locations
159 (all in USA)[1]
Area served
Southeastern U.S.
Mid Atlantic U.S.
Midwest
Key people
Potter, Jason (CEO)
ProductsFood
RevenueUS$1.75 billion
(2014)[2]
US$103.6 million
(2014)[2]
US$63 million
(2014)[2]
Number of employees
13,000
Websitethefreshmarket.com

History

The Fresh Market was founded by Ray and Beverly Berry on March 5, 1982, in Greensboro, North Carolina. The Berrys' idea was to develop a better grocery store that brought back the feeling of open European-style markets.[4] The company operates 176 stores in 24 states,[5] located in the Southeast, Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, with plans for continued expansion throughout the country. 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), a leading global alternative investment manager, acquired the stock of The Fresh Market, Inc. (TFM) ("The Fresh Market") as of April 27, 2016. As a result, The Fresh Market became a privately held company and The Fresh Market's common stock ceased trading on the NASDAQ.[10]

Trademark disputes

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."[11] The Fresh Market was also in trademark disputes with “Fresh Market at Roth's"[12] 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.[13]

In 2017 the company’s name “The Fresh Market” was trademarked by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.[14]

References
  1. "Store Locations". The Fresh Market. Retrieved Jan 28, 2021.
  2. 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. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-05-31. Retrieved 2007-06-22.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. http://www.thefreshmarket.com/about.html%5B%5D
  6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-03-07. Retrieved 2014-03-31.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. Kaplan, David. "Rice Epicurean to close four stores to make way for The Fresh Market." 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. Retrieved 2017-11-14.
  9. "Report: Fresh Market raises $290 million at IPO". News & Record. 2010-11-05. 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. Retrieved 2020-03-20.
  11. "Federal Court Rules in Favor of Marsh in Trademark Dispute". Progressive Grocer. Retrieved Jan 28, 2021.
  12. "FORM 10-Q". www.sec.gov. Retrieved Jan 28, 2021.
  13. "Fresh Market in Trademark Dispute". Supermarket News. May 10, 2010. Retrieved Jan 28, 2021.
  14. Vijayan, Naveena (July 10, 2020). "The Untold Truth of The Fresh Market". Retrieved January 21, 2021.
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