Customers of Price Cutter, Ramey, and Smitty’s supermarkets will be dealing directly with the owners when they purchase their groceries. The three supermarket chains – with a total of 33 grocery stores and six convenience stores in southwest Missouri – form RPCS Inc., an employee-owned company. RPCS Inc. was created when employees, through an employee stock ownership plan, purchased the stores from previous owners Roswil Inc. for an undisclosed amount. The company has been employee owned since Jan. 1. “We were a privately held company – our owners were reaching retirement age and were looking at getting out of the grocery business. We looked at different ways we could buy the business from them and an ESOP looked like the right kind of transaction to make,” said Erick Taylor, company president. “It fits our philosophy of teamwork, so for morale and operation purposes, it was good. Then there are also tax advantages. An ESOP does not pay income taxes. So those were the two main reasons the ESOP bought out the private individuals.” Taylor is enthusiastic about the potential he believes this transaction brings to the company. “I see several benefits to the consumers. I once heard a gentleman at a grocers’ convention say, ‘I’ve never seen anyone wash a car that they had rented.’ In the past our employees had just been working for the company. Now they’re owners. I think our customer service will improve. That’s something we were always striving to do, but now I think that everything we do will be done just a little bit better,” Taylor said. “Whether it’s customer service or trying to keep down costs, now we have 1,000 people looking at these things the same way the management team has been looking at them. Now we’re all on the same sheet of music, and that will be a benefit for the consumer.” All levels of store employees may become eligible for enrollment in the ESOP, as long as they are 18 years of age or older, have worked at the company for one year, and work 1,000 hours or more annually. RPCS Inc. has just fewer than 2,000 employees, and half of them are enrolled in the ESOP. Members become vested after five years, however since 2004 acted as the base year for the program, new members are one year closer to this goal. Employees will also be able to vote on operational issues such as acquisitions and mergers. “Right at first, a lot of us didn’t know exactly what an ESOP involved so there were a lot of questions, but the company has really done a lot with educating the employees,” said Dan Schultz, store manager at the Price Cutter on East Battlefield Road. Schultz has worked for Price Cutter for three years, and he worked for Albertson’s before Price Cutter purchased it. “That’s the big push right now, making sure everyone understands what it is and how it affects them, how it will be a reward for them. Day-to-day operations really haven’t changed but I think it definitely has been positive. The employees know they are being rewarded for their efforts because if they do a good job, the company will do well and their stock is worth more to them. You definitely see this in the long term employees.” Rhonda Norris, office manager for the Battlefield Road Price Cutter, added, “It’s a benefit, not only for the employees when they are here, but also for our retirement. We’ll have something extra. I think that’s great. They do give us a 401(k) that we contribute to, but this is something that they give us as long as we do our job and meet the requirements. I believe everyone here is excited about it. It’s another benefit that’s going to keep them here.” Taylor said that community response to the change has been warm. “We’ve had very positive responses from consumers coming into our stores saying, ‘It’s great that you’re owners,’ and I think they feel a sense of loyalty to these people who have become their friends through the years.” He noted that consumers will not see any negative effects from the ownership change. “It won’t create any kind of situation where retail prices will have to go up. It should really only be a benefit to them,” Taylor said. He added that the ownership change will allow the grocery stores to be better neighbors within the communities they serve. “Our corporate office is here in Springfield, and our money will stay here. It used to go to our owners in D.C., but now that money is being retained in southwest Missouri, so that should help the total economy for the Springfield area,” Taylor said. [[In-content Ad]]
