United Retail Merchants, now called URM Stores, was founded in 1921 to supply independent grocery stores across the Northwest. After more than a century in business, URM has become one of the largest private companies in Washington.
The retailer-owned company has survived the Great Depression, a world war and hundreds of changes in the grocery business.
There are many landmarks in the century of URM:
1960: URM builds a 7-acre, $1.6 million warehouse on North Freya to supply member-owner stores across four states.
1968: URM becomes the distributor for Western Family Foods products, giving independent grocers access to a well-known regional brand.
1975: Major warehouse expansion and truck service facilities are added, which now maintains more than 60 trucks, plus trailers and related equipment.
1976: URM adds a division to supply restaurants, institutional food service and convenience stores.
1979: URM adds an insurance company to provide business insurance for grocery customers.
1984: URM purchases Rosauers Supermarkets from founders Mert and Jessie Rosauer, who had started the business in 1934.
1986: URM purchased Peirone Produce, which had been founded by Joe Peirone in 1945. This adds a wide range of fresh produce for their member stores.
1990: URM sells the Rosauers chain to an employee ownership plan.
1999: URM adds a real estate brokerage firm to help customers with complex transactions.
2000: URM bids to take over Rosauers Supermarkets once again.
2015: Major expansion of the Freya facility pushes the inventory to 26,000 items.
2016: URM expands west of the Cascades for the first time. The company also joins the TOPCO retail food purchasing organization and transitions from Western Family brand to the TopClub family of brands.
2021: URM purchases land and warehouses on the West Plains to support expansion into Western Washington.
The company’s website says URM and its subsidiaries have more than 3,000 employees and annual sales of $1.8 billion.
Earlier this year, URM announced that Roger F. White was selected to become CEO and president June 1, taking over for Ray Sprinkle, who is retiring this year.
White has more than 30 years of experience after starting his grocery career at Albertsons in Boise. He later joined Associated Food Stores in Salt Lake City.
Based in New York, Stephen Freeman is a Senior Editor at Trending Insurance News. Previously he has worked for Forbes and The Huffington Post. Steven is a graduate of Risk Management at the University of New York.