Associated Wholesale Grocers

Associated Wholesale Grocers (AWG) is the second-largest retailer-owned grocery wholesaler in the United States, after Wakefern Food Corporation. The cooperative serves over 1,900 stores in 21 states with a complete assortment of grocery, fresh meat, fresh produce, specialty foods, health care, and general merchandise items. Through an extensive distribution network and eight distribution centers, AWG and its subsidiaries deliver to over 2,500 retail outlets in 24 states. It was founded in 1924 as Associated Grocers of Kansas City and is based in Kansas City, Kansas. Associated Wholesale Grocers distributes three brands of grocery products, Best Choice, Clearly Organic and Always Save.

$4.95 billion in 2006 to $7.25 billion in 2010. Also in 2010, sales of AWG’s private label products reached the $1 billion mark for the first time. AWG also owns shares and most of the ownership of small businesses such as Apple Markets of St. Joseph and Price Chopper.

History

In 2007, AWG acquired its newest distribution center in Fort Worth, Texas. This facility is AWG’s largest, at 1.1 million square feet, and serves members in Texas, New Mexico, and Louisiana. Also, AWG built a new, state-of-the-art distribution center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Having outgrown the previous warehouse, AWG built this 800,000 square foot facility to better serve its members in Oklahoma, northern Texas, and southern Kansas.