Gerard family business feeds Branson area

The customary question arises at each pass through the checkout lane. But grocery store operations have become much more complex than that – especially for a family-owned chain.

In the 50 years B and K Foods Inc. has operated supermarkets, the stores have undergone a name change, expanded and relocated stores, fought off national competition and survived employee shortages. All the while, B and K has stayed under Gerard family ownership.

It started in 1955 when Ray Gerard bought a small grocery store named Hart’s, eventually renaming it Country Mart. Today, his son, Doug, and his grandson, Kevin, are running four Country Mart supermarkets in the growing Branson area.

Entry-level to owner

Doug Gerard’s career as a supermarket executive started with an entry-level position.

“I started out bagging potatoes and sorting pop bottles when I was in seventh grade,” he said.

Gerard worked in the family business through high school and college. After earning a business degree from Missouri State University and serving in the military, he became a store manager in 1970, and eventually took over his father’s job as president, overseeing the company’s two locations.

His son, Kevin Gerard, followed suit. He, too, earned a business degree at MSU, became store manager, and eventually worked alongside his dad as CEO of B and K Foods.

“I’m the general supervisor, I guess,” Doug Gerard said. “(Kevin) takes care of all the percentages and checkbooks. But he’s in constant training to take my job.”

Kevin Gerard said the family is fortunate to keep the business through 50 years of tremendous change in the Ozarks.

“I think of third-generation businesses, only 10 percent succeed,” he said, noting that the stores have experienced 5 percent annual growth on average. Gerard declined to disclose revenues for the business.

Employee shortage

There are four Country Mart stores in four southwest Missouri towns: Branson, Branson West, Hollister and Forsyth. The stores, which operate as Associated Wholesale Grocers co-operative members, range in size between 25,000 square feet and 45,000 square feet and employ 365.

Kevin Gerard said that one of the toughest challenges brought by the area’s economic boom is a shortage of employees. The company has set up a referral program to attract more employees, he said, and is working on retention strategies to keep employees longer.

“It’s kind of a double-(edged) sword,” he said. “The population grows, which gives you more customers, but then there are more businesses in town that require employees. The problem is, the business growth is happening faster than the housing growth.”

Many Country Mart workers commute from surrounding towns, such as Springfield, Ozark and Harrison.

“I think they enjoy working for a family business and having some job security,“ Gerard added. “Any more, you work for a bigger company, there are layoffs and they cut out chunks of management.”

Chip Robertson, Branson’s store manager, began sacking groceries for Country Mart in 1985.

“I worked there for two or three years, and then I realized that these owners cared about their employees and treated their employees like people and not just a number,” Robertson said. “I ended up staying with them because I was getting married, and they had health insurance and good benefits.”

Robertson said supermarkets offer steady employment, unlike the seasonal work found at many of the tourist attractions in the area.

He said during his career he has received many offers from large grocery chains but always declined. “I’m really happy where I’m at,” Robertson said.

Country Mart stores feature delis, bakeries, meat counters and international and $1 sections.

Competition breeds efficiency

Country Mart is trying to succeed in a highly competitive industry that changes as fast as the Branson area. Kevin Gerard said they’ve remodeled or relocated each store in the past two years – spending $100,000 along the way – to keep up with the appearances and efficiencies of their competitors.

“You’re not competing necessarily with smaller chains anymore, you’re competing with your Wal-Mart Supercenters, and your Kmarts and your Targets. It just makes you be more efficient in your operations,” he said.

“You have to be a lot more proactive in how you treat your customers.”

That involves customer service, cleanliness, variety, freshness and quality.

“You’re dealing with competitors that have, basically, unlimited money to fight you with. So you have to do the small things better than they do,” Gerard added.

One way is through community involvement. Country Mart donated $200,000 to 321 charitable organizations in the last year through its Community Cash Program. Shoppers earn between $1 and $3 in community cash, based on their purchases, to give to a community organization of their choice.

Country Mart officials write a check to each organization for the amount of community cash it received that year.

“This is our way of saying thanks to the community for being our customers,” Gerard said. “We try to give back and reinvest in the community.”