Dillons 2110933 221942408 2008-06-26T20:09:10Z Larzia 2416276 Wrote an extended history based on my knowledge as a member of the Dillon family {{Infobox_Company | company_name = Dillons Supermarkets, Inc. | company_logo = [[Image:Dillons grocery.png|200px]]| company_type = [[Grocery]] | foundation = [[Sterling, Kansas]]| location = [[Hutchinson, Kansas]]| industry = [[Retail]]| products = Bakery, dairy, deli, frozen foods, general grocery, meat, pharmacy, produce, seafood, snacks, liquor| parent = [[Kroger]]| homepage = [http://www.dillons.com Dillons.com] | }} :''This article is about a US-based grocery supermarket chain. For the former UK-based bookstore of the same name, see [[Dillons Booksellers]]. For people named Dillon and other uses, see [[Dillon]].'' '''Dillons''' is a grocery [[supermarket]] chain based in [[Hutchinson, Kansas]], and the flagship banner of Dillon Stores Division, one of the regional segments of The [[Kroger|Kroger Company]]. Other banners under Dillon Stores Division include [[Gerbes]] in [[Missouri]], [[Baker's Supermarkets|Baker's]] in [[Omaha, Nebraska]] and [[Food 4 Less]] stores in [[Nebraska]] and [[Springfield, Missouri]]. Dillon's is the dominant grocery retailer in the [[Wichita, Kansas|Wichita]] metropolitan area with 18 stores and over 50% market share. Dillon's operates a dry grocery warehouse in [[Goddard, Kansas]], in addition to frozen foods and perishable warehouses in Hutchinson. A bakery manufacturing plant and dairy are also in Hutchinson. The dairy produces cultured dairy products and private-label milk for all Dillon's stores. Dillon's previously operated (until the late 1990s) dry grocery warehouses in Hutchinson and [[Lenexa, Kansas]]. ==History== Dillons was founded in the early 1900s by John Summerbell (J.S.) Dillon under the name J.S. Dillon & Sons in [[Sterling, KS]]. J.S. Dillon and his sons, Ray and Clyde, operated the company as it grew for several years. Clyde was killed in a snowstorm in 1941, but Ray continued to run the company until his children were old enough to take over. Starting in the 1960s, Ray's sons (Ace and Dick) and Clyde's son (Paul) ran the company through the late 1980s, when they began to retire. Over those years, Dillons merged with several other grocery chains including [[Frys]], [[King Soopers]], [[City Market]], as well as the convenience store chain [[Kwik Shop]]. When Ace, Dick, and Paul retired, [[David Dillon]], Paul's son became the president of Dillons, becoming the fourth generation of the Dillon family to serve in a leadership role of the company. Before becoming president, Dave had worked in in several divisions in positions ranging from a freezer stocker to truck driver. In 1983, Dillon Companies Inc. was acquired by [[The Kroger Company]] of [[Cincinnati, OH]], creating a nationwide grocery chain. Several years later, Dave Dillon was named Kroger's President and [[COO]] and became [[CEO]] in 2003, and still serves in that position today. [[Category:Supermarkets of the United States]] [[Category:Kroger]] [[Category:Companies based in Kansas]] [[Category:Hutchinson, Kansas]] [[Category:Reno County, Kansas]]