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WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Mike Teel, president and chief executive officer of Raley’s, becomes majority owner of the company under a transfer deal announced last month by his parents.
Mike Teel, president and chief executive officer of Raley’s, becomes majority owner of the company under a transfer deal announced last month by his parents.
Jim and Joyce Raley Teel said they would transfer majority ownership to their son, and that the couple’s four daughters would continue to hold minority ownership. Under the transfer arrangement, Mike Teel owns 92% of the company and his sisters equally share the rest.
"I am confident we have a solid plan, a clear vision and mission, and a strong team to support the next generation of Raley’s," Mike Teel said in a message to Raley’s employees posted on the company’s website.
Mike Teel’s grandfather, Tom Raley, founded the company in 1935 and operated his first store in Placerville, Calif., a town in the Sierra Nevada foothills that got its start during the California Gold Rush. Today, the company has 118 supermarkets in Northern California and Nevada operating under the Raley’s, Bel Air and Nob Hill Foods banners. Raley’s is the dominant supermarket operator in the Sacramento area, with about 40 stores.
"This is a significant accomplishment, as fewer than 12% of family businesses transition to a third generation," Jim and Joyce Raley Teel said last month in a letter to Raley’s employees. "With Mike’s passion and vision, we have great faith he will guide and grow the business for future generations."
Although he was born into the family-owned business, Mike Teel worked his way up from the ground floor. At 14 he was retrieving grocery carts from the parking lot, and he also bagged groceries and performed chores in various departments as a courtesy clerk. He was named chief operating officer in 1995, president in 1996 and CEO in 1998.
Mike Teel resigned from the company in 2002 to pursue outside interests. Upon returning to the posts of president and CEO in 2010, he said one priority was to boost Raley’s market share by steering it out of the middle of the pack, where the chain was being squeezed from the bottom by Walmart and from the high end by Whole Foods Market Inc. and Nugget Market Inc.
Teel increased the chain’s focus on natural and organic items and updated some store features, including an expansion of wine areas. He also streamlined operations by trimming Raley’s board from 11 members to five, and helped launch Something Extra, the company’s first customer loyalty and rewards program. In addition to in-store rewards and deals, the program is tailored to individual purchasing patterns, with a goal of helping the company better understand customers and offer them personalized incentives.
"I am honored to take Raley’s into the third generation of family leadership," Mike Teel said. "This is an exciting time for the company, our team members and for me. I’m very proud, as my parents were, when they took on the responsibility of leading this company. I look forward to working with my sisters and the entire Raley’s team to honor our parents’ and our grandfather’s legacy."
Teel also said he remains bullish on the Sacramento marketplace.
"My grandfather saw the potential in this area 80 years ago. I want to continue that legacy and continue to invest in the Sacramento region. It’s poised for growth, and so are we. This is our home, and we’re here to stay."
