![]() “I was so thrilled to go tell my mom I had a job,” Brown recalled. The owner took a liking to Brown, who asked him for a job to help support his mom, a widow who worked six days a week selling wedding dresses. Berk of Berk’s Market Spot in San Bernardino. In the 1950s, when mom-and-pop stores were named after their owners, a 13-year-old Brown approached Mr. You learn about taking care of each other.” ![]() “You learn about taking care of customers. “You learn the business from the foundation up,” he told the Register during an interview this year. Training from the ground up was vital – whether one was an incoming executive or a rookie recruit. When it came to working at Stater Bros., Jack Brown insisted there was no better way to learn than the way he did – bagging someone’s groceries. “Not the butchers, not the bakers, not the service workers – because the rank-and-file blue collar could always count on Jack Brown to do the right thing.” “Organized (unions) never struck a Jack Brown store,” Flickinger said. was the only store to remain open during the 141-day strike and lockout. “He really was a giant in the food industry in California. “He cared about his company and his employees,” said Conger, of UFCW Local 324 in Buena Park. When union and supermarket talks failed in 2003, Brown refused to lock out his employees because he was not a “union buster,” said Greg Conger, a local union spokesman. His passion for his customers extended to his employees. “The consumer always won,” Flickinger said. “Jack always had the lowest prices on the highest-quality product.” “He was uniquely focused on raising the standards of living for shoppers everywhere,” said Burt Flickinger, managing director of retail consulting firm Strategic Resource Group in New York. He opened stores in so-called food deserts to help low-income families, supported family-run and American-made suppliers, and championed employees. On Monday, industry leaders described Brown as a visionary in his field. Brown became executive chairman after appointing Van Helden as president and CEO earlier this year. in 1981 and served as president and CEO for 36 years. No cause of death was provided by the company.īrown, a native of San Bernardino, joined Stater Bros. He loved the business, his company and each one of us.” “Jack touched every one of us in a very personal way, and it is that legacy that we must carry forward. President and Chief Executive Pete Van Helden in a statement. “Grief is not a strong enough word to describe what the Stater Bros. Markets known for putting shoppers before profits, died Sunday night surrounded by family, the company said Monday. ![]() Brown, the longtime chief executive of Stater Bros. ![]()
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