Industry Loses Three Retail Pioneers

The supermarket industry lost three pioneers in the past month as Allen Bildner of Kings Super Markets, Ray Bartolacci of Laneco and Frank Genuardi of Genuardi Family Markets passed away.

Allen I. Bildner, former chairman and CEO of Kings Super Markets, died February 5 at the age of 89. He was the successor to his father, Joe Bildner who founded Kings in 1936 and was credited with making the Parsippany, NJ merchant one of the most innovative retailers in the country, especially in the area of fresh and prepared foods.

Born in 1926 in Maspeth, NY, Allen graduated from Summit (NJ) High School, and earned a bachelor’s degree and an MBA from Dartmouth College. He was married for 64 years to Joan Lebson Bildner, who predeceased him.

After serving in the Navy, he went into the family business started in 1936 by his father Joseph, his mother Beatrice, and his uncles Morris and David. As chairman and CEO, he led the chain until its sale to Marks and Spencer PLC in 1988. He retired as chairman in 1990. Bildner served as chairman of Food Marketing Institute (FMI) from 1986 to 1988.  He was also a founder and former chairman of the New Jersey Food Council.

“Allen was one of a kind. When I joined Kings in 2003, not as president, he was no longer involved, but invited me to lunch to describe the Kings culture and how it made the difference with our customers. Our management team did a lot of personal sharing in those days which they attributed to Allen. When I became president and we began building new stores again, I invited Allen to these openings. He told me how appreciative he was and that he was not forgotten. Believe me the thrill was all mine,” recalled Alan Levitan, former Kings president and now a respected industry consultant.

Bildner was a respected leader in the Jewish and secular communities, serving on numerous nonprofit as well as for-profit boards including the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, the Maltz Jupiter (FL) Theatre, Yankee Entertainment and Sports Network (YES), New Jersey Bell and Seton Hall University. He received numerous community and industry honors, as well as awards from Dartmouth College. His honors include the Dartmouth Alumni Award, the Martin Luther King Jr. Social Justice Lifetime Achievement Award of Dartmouth College, the Charles Evans Hughes Humanitarian Award of the National Conference of Community and Justice (NCCJ) and honorary doctorates, along with Joan Bildner, from Bloomfield College and Rowan University. Along with his wife, Bildner was a co-founder of the Bildner Center for the Study of Jewish Life at Rutgers.

Bildner is survived by his Rob and Jim, daughters-in-law Elisa and Nancy, and grandchildren Elana, Lizzie, Ari, Eli and Rafi. He is also survived by his sister, Phyllis Schechter, and is predeceased by a grandson, Peter.

Raymond Bartolacci Sr. passed away on February 2, 2015 at the age of 91 in Fort Lauderdale, FL.

Laneco’s Bartolacci was born in the Corropoli province of Abruzzi, Italy, a son of the late Augusto and Elvira (Faragalli) Bartolacci. He was married to the former Emily Rose Borgioni until her passing in 2004.

Bartolacci immigrated from Italy with his family at the age of five. He began his career as the butcher in his small corner store in the South side of Easton, PA. Later, his family retail business expanded into a publicly traded company known as Laneco Inc.

Bartolacci founded the company that became Laneco when, in 1946, he opened the Paramount Food Market on Easton’s South Side. His brother Guido “Guy” joined him in 1947 and they opened their second store, a supermarket, in 1955.

In 1964, the Bartolaccis, now joined by a third brother Anthony,  pioneered the development of their now-familiar combination store format after a non-food discount store operator backed out of the lease on a portion of a new Laneco building.

Throughout the 1950s and 60s, Laneco built stores in Lehigh, Northampton, Bucks, Carbon and Schuylkill counties in Pennsylvania, and Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, Hunterdon and Warren counties in New Jersey.

At one time, the successful regional chain operated four separate formats. In addition to conventional Laneco units, the retailer used the Food Lane banner at former Food Fair stores it purchased. Those stores carried primarily grocery items and had the smallest footprint. Also operational were Laneco Super Centers, larger stores that also carried general merchandise. And Laneco also operated CR Pharmacies which were often located in Laneco Supercenters.

The retailer was acquired by St. Louis-based wholesaler Wetterau in 1983 in a deal valued at $19 million. At that time, the Bartolacci family owned 68 percent of the outstanding shares of Laneco. Ray Bartolacci retired in 1992. The Laneco stores were ultimately acquired by Supervalu in 1992 and were closed by them in 2001. Later that year, Giant/Carlisle (Ahold USA) purchased 14 Lehigh Valley units from Supervalu.

Gary Larkin, EVP at JOH Mid-Atlantic, began his career at the Paul G. Nester & Son Co. The company’s founder, the late Paul Nester, and Bartolacci maintained a longtime professional and personal relationship. Larkin said, “Raymond represented the ‘classic’ American success story in my opinion. A man who had a vision and worked hard to make it become a reality. Under his direction his Food Lane, Laneco stores evolved from a single traditional store to the combination food and non-food super stores of 100,000 square feet offering a ‘one-stop’ shopping experience unlike anything the Lehigh Valley had seen or would see until many, many years later when a operation from Bentonville, AR showed up. He built a great team of people along the way, including family and many others, but I think his leadership really made the difference.”

He is survived by sons Raymond A. Bartolacci Jr., and wife Maribeth of Jupiter, FL, Richard Bartolacci and wife Julene of Bethlehem Twp., PA; a daughter Rhonda Bartolacci of Tampa, FL; grandchildren Raneé, Raymond III, Tiffany, Raylene, and Renessa; great-grandchildren Ella, Harley, Zachary, and Raymond IV; a brother Ralph Bartolacci of Upper Nyack, NY; and a sister Philomena Azzalina of Ft. Lauderdale, FL. In addition to his wife, Raymond was preceded in death by his brothers Rivo, Guido “Guy” and Anthony Bartolacci, and by his sister Augusta Piazza.

Frank O. Genuardi passed away February 10 at age 98. He and his four brothers led their family- owned supermarket operation, helping it grow from a small business, founded by their parents, into a Delaware Valley supermarket powerhouse for nearly 40 years.

Genuardi was one of nine children of Gaspare and Josephine Genuardi, Italian immigrants who raised fresh vegetables and sold them door-to-door. Many years later, five of their sons assumed control of their parents’ business, and, known as the Genuardi Brothers, opened the first supermarket in the Norristown, PA area. The five brothers worked together building the company before selling to the business to nine of their children in 1990. Those nine first cousins continued to guide the company, which expanded to three states and nearly 7,000 associates. In 2001, the Genuardi family sold Genuardi Family Markets to Safeway. They then established the Genuardi Family Foundation with the expressed mission of giving back to the communities which had supported the family business for nearly 80 years.

“With Frank’s passing the grocery industry has lost a founding father of the grocery business in the Philadelphia market,” said Pete Marino, former executive director of category management/procurement at Genuardi Family Markets and a 37 year veteran of the former regional chain that was acquired by Safeway in 2001. “Frank was a gentleman and an all around nice guy. Frank was one of the first executives to coin the phrase ‘vendor partner’ when he told me to make sure that the vendor also made a profit. Frank had a great sense of humor and always had a ready smile and a funny story for both Genuardi customers and associates. Frank will be sorely missed.”

Genuardi, a resident of Meadowood in Lansdale, PA, was the son of the late Josephine (nee Sclafani) and Gaspare Genuardi, and loving husband of 57 years to the late Valie (Branca) Genuardi. He graduated from NorristownHigh School (1934) where he was a member of the National Honor Society and inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Genuardi received an honorary degree, Doctor of Humane Letters, from GwyneddMercyUniversity in 2004. A World War II Veteran, Genuardi served in the Pacific Theatre, and was a member of the Catholic War Veterans, Frank C. Parker Post.

Frank Genuardi used his knowledge, talents and personal resources for the benefit of others. His life experiences were as varied as a personal audience with Pope John Paul II in Rome, Italy, to playing fantasy baseball in Arizona with Brooks Robinson when he was 75. He authored the book “Family Pride, A Memoir.”

Genuardi served terms as president of the Grocers and Brokers Association, West Norriton Lions, MontgomeryCountySchool for the Handicapped, and Montgomery County Child Development Foundation. He was a board member at NorristownStateHospital and SacredHeartHospital, co-founder of Manatawny Manor (Pottstown). He was a member of Plymouth Country Club and Trustee Emeritus at GwyneddMercyUniversity. Genuardi is survived by his two sons, Francis (Cathy), and Laurence (Maryann) Genuardi. Six grandchildren, Frank (Amy), Justin, Nicole (Arshan) Gailus, Marisa (Tomonori) Nagano, Mia, and Monica Genuardi. Frank is also survived by his siblings, Dominic “Tom”, Vincent “Jim,” Salvatore Genuardi, Ann Raffeo, and Rose Scotti. In addition to his parents and wife, he was preceded in death by his brothers, Charles and Joseph Genuardi, and by his sister Pauline Henion.