Ingles 50th Anniversary

Ingles Celebrates a Half-Century of Selling Groceries to Southeast Shoppers For half a century, the Ingles name has stood for quality, affordability and service. From a single store in rural Asheville, N.C., in 1963 to more than 200 stores in six states in 2013, the company’s story is one of a classic supermarket-community relationship—with Ingles Markets becoming a premier shopping destination for consumers across the Southeast.

HAPPY

50TH ANNIVERSARY

THANK YOU

A groceryman by birth Robert P. “Bob” Ingle was born in Asheville on July 16, 1933, to Elmer and Beulah G. Ingle. He grew up as a member of e Cathedral of All Souls in Biltmore Village. His family had been in the grocery business for many years before that, and

by the age of six, Bob was working in his father’s store, which had been passed down by his grandfather. As a young man in Asheville, Bob attended Christ School and later graduated from Lee Edwards High School in 1952. After graduation,

he volunteered to serve in the U.S. Army during the Korean Conflict and was honorably discharged in 1954 at the age of 20 with the rank of sergeant.

Bob returned to Asheville where he met Laura A. Laxton, who became his

wife in 1956. ey moved to Florida where he attended the University of Miami until 1960. Over the years, they had four children: Laura Lynn, after which Ingle named the supermarkets’ store brand, Sheree, Maria and Robert II.

The beginning of Ingles Markets Bob worked for Kraft Foods in Florida before returning to Asheville to get his family back in the grocery business. (His father had sold his store in 1956.) e third-generation grocer opened his first Ingles store in Asheville in 1963.

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It was the beginning of what Ingles Markets has become today: a strong, family-oriented grocery chain.

Fairness and honesty were fundamental traits Bob used daily in conducting business with his partners, loyal associates and customers. Bob was always supportive of helping those in need and giving to many charitable causes.

During those beginning years, however, it was Bob, his wife and a handful of workers who staffed the first stores. To compete against chains like Winn-Dixie, A&P and Colonial that dominated the market, Bob cut prices, extended store hours to include Sundays and holidays, advertised the store specials, expanded the supermarket, set up mass merchandise displays, offered games, stamps and other promotional items and, generally, ran what he called “a circus” to attract people to the store. theshelbyreport.com

Robert Pierce “Bob” Ingle opens his first store on Hendersonville Road in Asheville, N.C., on March 21. The store did $8,500 in sales its first week.

Ingles expands into neighboring South Carolina.

Bob Ingle turns over the presidency of the company to Landy B. Laney, who also takes on the COO role.

Bob Ingle’s son, Robert Ingle II, joins the company.

Ingles becomes a publicly held company in September under the NASDAQ symbol IMKTA.

1963

1965

1971

The company was incorporated, at which time Bob Ingle became president and CEO as well as chairman of the board.

1970s

1978

Bob Ingle works to grow his company, even telling a local newspaper in North Carolina during a 1977 interview that he did not have any hobbies. “No, I don’t need anything like that,” Ingle reportedly said. “I don’t play golf. This is a way of life with me. I’ll never get tired of it. I’m where I want to be.”

1982

1985

1987

Ingles constructs a 450,000-s.f. warehouse and distribution center in Asheville.

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Ingles completes a 310,000-s.f. addition to its warehouse and distribution center in Asheville, enabling it for the first time to warehouse and distribute produce as well as store more dry goods, meat and dairy products.

The new produce section in the Ingles warehouse took the Asheville facility’s square footage up to 760,000 s.f.

1995

Landy B. Laney retires as president and COO in December. VP and Sales Manager Vaughn C. Fisher takes on the roles.

1996

1997

Ingles introduces its MegaStore concept, a model developed around the theme of one-stop shopping— more departments, wider aisles and greater selection of both food and non-food products.

Ingles purchases 13 stores in Georgia from Birmingham, Ala.-based Bruno’s Inc.

Bob Ingle steps down as chairman of the board and becomes a director.

Robert Ingle II is elected chairman.

1998

Robert Ingle II becomes a member of the board of directors in February.

2003

Bob Ingle dies March 6 at age 77 following a battle with cancer. Robert Ingle II, 42 years old at the time, takes over as CEO, a position he continues to hold.

2004

2011

2013

The company celebrates its 50th anniversary.

Today, Ingles has more than 200 stores in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee. It employs about 18,000 people and has annual sales that approach $2 billion.

Bob Ingle selects Jim Lanning to serve as the company’s president following the retirement of Vaughn Fisher. Lanning began his Ingles career as a bagger when he was 16 years old. He continues to serve as the company’s president.

Ingles operates 203 stores in six states: Alabama: 1 Georgia: 74 North Carolina: 69 South Carolina: 36 Tennessee: 21 Virginia: 2 Ingles is a self-distributing grocery company. Its warehouse facility and distribution center is located on the outskirts of Asheville in Black Mountain. All of the company’s stores are within 250 miles of its distribution center.

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Transition in leadership ough the company went public in 1987, Bob Ingle continued to hold the majority of the company’s shares of stock. He played a role in the company up until his death in 2011, though through the years he gave up some of his leadership posi-

The small-town strategy Ingle saw an opportunity throughout North Carolina to invest in smaller towns and rural communities that were being underserved by larger grocery chains. By the early ’70s, Ingle was applying that philosophy to South Carolina. e strategy— avoiding big cities but offering smaller towns the metropolitan convenience of 24-hour, one-stop shopping with low prices—would soon prove successful in Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama and Virginia. e onestop shopping model was enhanced in the mid-’90s with the introduction of the company’s MegaStore concept—a nearly 60,000-s.f supermarket offering everything from video rentals to small appliances. Of course, today—nearly 20 years since the MegaStore concept was launched—Ingles continues to evolve. Most stores offer pharmacies, expanded selections of prepared foods, fuel centers, self-checkout, Starbucks Coffee shops and other amenities.

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tions and appointed others to those roles. Today, his son Robert P. Ingle II serves as the company’s CEO and board chairman.

Jim Lanning is president, and Ron Freeman serves as the CFO. While he essentially admitted to being a workaholic during an interview in the ’70s with a North Carolina newspaper, Bob Ingle was an

avid aviator. He flew himself to Ingles Markets throughout the Southeast and scouted potential building sites for new stores.

“I like to travel and get to know the towns,” he said in a 1987 interview with the newspaper. “I like to go to the store openings and meet people and let them know we are genuine people.”

Ingles execs appear in a 1996 board of directors photo: (left, from corner) Bob Ingle, Vaughn Fisher, Landy Laney and Jack Ferguson; (right) Robert Ingle II.

An ‘American’ company of the South Ingles is one of only a handful of chains in the South that still bears the family name and that proudly showcases its “American Owned” status on its storefronts. Based in Black Mountain, N.C., the company employs approximately 18,000 people and is one of largest employers in western North Carolina.

We’re so proud to have Ingles headquartered in North Carolina. They’re obviously a major driver in the food industry, not just in North Carolina but in the Southeast as a whole. And with their presence here comes jobs and charitable contributions and service to the communities that they serve. The whole Carolinas Food Industry Council congratulates them on their 50th anniversary and wish them the best of luck and continued success in the future.”

– LINDSEY KUEFFNER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE CAROLINAS FOOD INDUSTRY COUNCIL

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