Stater Bros. And The Stuff That Made Them Famous

Headquartered in San Bernardino, California, Stater Bros. Markets is a privately-held chain of discount supermarkets consisting of 18,000 employees operating in more than 167 stores strategically located all over Southern California. It joined Fortune 500 in 2005 – the first Inland Empire-based business ever to have done so.

Stater Bros. traces back its humble beginnings to a tiny grocery store located in West Yucaipa Boulevard, Yucaipa, California. Twin brothers Leo and Cleo Stater purchased the small grocery shop with 600-dollar down payment and opened its doors for business on August 1936. In just a matter of time, Stater Bros. became a household name in California, with people from all walks of life dropping by the market every now and then to pick-up their day-to-day needs.

Although Stater Bros. offers a wide selection of merchandises at very affordable prices, they are particularly famous for their specialty meats, which explain their slogan “It’s our meat that made us famous”. As an effort to stay true to their reputation, the supermarket chain always has meat-cutters on duty for most of the day – and they are not just ordinary meat-cutters brandishing knives and chopping boards, they are people who attended a two-year course in the company’s state-of-the-art corporate office, where they learn to slice, chop, dice and mince meat like no one else. Once they are done with the course, they become meat-cutters certified to work anywhere in the world.

Aside from the meat, Stater Bros.’ success can be owed to other several factors. But of all these, it is its focus on serving a local area that led itself to the summits of success. Dedicating their operations to only a small set of locations allowed closer and better monitoring of costs, service, supply and quality, which led to an almost flawless system. Every single store is also focused on providing exceptional customer service especially by way of their employees’ image. Each employee dons smiles and color-coordinated uniforms so that customers can easily identify which departments they are from. 

Truly an exceptional supermarket chain with plenty of perks up its sleeve, Stater Bros.’ will surely capture the hearts of the rest of the American market, should they decide to expand soon.