Hamady
TypePartnership
IndustryRetail
FoundedFlint, Michigan, 1911
FounderMichael and Kamol Hamady
Defunct1991 (1st)
Fate(bankruptcy) revived
Headquarters
Flint, Michigan
,
United States
Area served
Flint, Michigan area
Key people
Justin Campau, Ramsay Sadek (CEO, managing partners)
ProductsGroceries
Owner
  • Justin Campau
  • Ramsay Sadek[1]

Hamady was an American supermarket chain based in Flint, Michigan, United States, which at its peak had 37 stores and 1,300 employees.[2] Given the chain's pervasiveness in the area, paper grocery bags were known as “Hamady sacks”.[3]

History

Hamady Brothers was founded in 1911[4] by Michael and Kamol Hamady, who were immigrant cousins from Lebanon and referred to themselves as brothers.[2] The first store was opened on East Dayton Street and Industrial Avenue in Flint.[2]

Michael Hamady was the first CEO and was followed by his son Robert in 1954, his grand-nephew Jack in 1967, and by his grandson Robert Lee in 1969. Robert Lee restructured the company and sold it in 1974 to Alex Dandy.[3]

The chain expanded through Michigan in 1980 by purchasing 21 closed Kroger stores, primarily on the west side of the state.[5] In July and September 1985, Hamady bought two Hutch's supermarkets in Owosso, Michigan[6] and in October bought Vescio's five stores in Saginaw County. The two acquisitions, which would be rebranded as Hamady stores, bringing the chain's store total to 30.[7] As a result, an existing Hamady in Owosso was converted to a discount store called Price Rite. Price Rite was run by a division of Durant Enterprises, Dandy's parent corporation.[8]

Al Kessel formed a union breaking contract with Kroger and hired all non-union employees at vastly reduced wages. Still a union company, Hamady was unable to compete with the newly formed "Kessel" Kroger stores. In order to stay in business, Hamady asked their union employees to take concessions, siting that if they did not, the company would eventually have to close. The Union chose to strike in November 1987. Workers from other unions, including the UAW stood on the picket lines with Hamady employees and successfully closed the last union grocery company in Genesee County.

The strike lasted seven weeks until January 1988, causing Hamady to lose the holiday sales.[3] Hamady declared bankruptcy in 1988 due to the lost revenue during the strike. Dandy's company also acquired Chatham, which was liquidated due to the strike. Due to the strike and subsequent bankruptcy, former Kroger locations, along with some former Vescio locations in Saginaw, Michigan, had closed. In March 1989, a reorganization plan by M&B Distribution board chairman James McColgan Sr. for Hamady Bros. was approved by Federal bankruptcy Judge Arthur J. Spector. McColgan Investment Co., a M&B subsidiary, purchased 21 Hamady Bros. supermarkets for about $17.9 million, to which Dandy objected.[9]

By May 1989, Dandy had approved the sale of Hamady assets to McColgan Investment. McColgan became chairman and chief operating officer.[10] Under the new management, the UFCW accepted concessions in their contract. A loss of sales during the "Dessert Storm" military offensive in Iraq, caused the chain to close the last of its 26 stores in 1991.[3] 13 locations were sold to Kessel Food Markets, which was founded in 1981 by former Hamady vice president Al Kessel.[11]

Jim McColgan Jr.[12] announced the opening of a Hamady Complete Food Center in a former Kroger location in August 2017 in Flint.[13] The store permanently liquidated after failure to meet financial objectives after just three months.[14]

References

  1. ↑ Lorenz, Jason; Feick, Joel (May 17, 2017). "Hamady returning to Flint with new location this summer". WEYI. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 "Former owner plans Hamady Bros. grocery store comeback in Flint area". Flint Journal. MLive Media Group. Retrieved June 13, 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Adams, Dominic (September 25, 2014). "#FlintTBT: Hamady Bros. grocery stores served Flint area for decades". Flint Journal. MLive Media Group. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  4. ↑ Samy S. Swayd (2009). The A to Z of the Druzes. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 69–. ISBN 978-0-8108-6836-6. Retrieved 7 January 2014. An early 20th-century Druze immigrant to the United States who served as the chairman of the board of Hamady Brothers, established in 1911 in Flint, Michigan.
  5. ↑ "Kroger Selling Manistee Store". Ludington Daily News. AP. June 28, 1990. p. 1. Retrieved June 13, 2017 – via Google News Archive Search.
  6. ↑ Grnak, Robert J. (September 20, 1985). "2nd Hutch's Store to Be Bought by Hamady Brothers". The Argus-Press. Retrieved June 13, 2017 – via Google News Archive Search.
  7. ↑ "Hamady Chain Buys Vescio's Five Stores". The Argus-Press. October 3, 1985. p. 16. Retrieved June 13, 2017 – via Google News Archive Search.
  8. ↑ "Another year of growth for the council on aging". The Argus-Press. December 31, 1985. p. b3. Retrieved June 13, 2017 – via Google News Archive Search.
  9. ↑ Adler, Allan P. (March 27, 1989). "Judge's reorganization plan paves way for sale of Hamady". Supermarket News.
  10. ↑ Adler, Allan (May 30, 1988). "Hamady sold to distributor in Michigan. (Hamady Bros. supermarket chain, M&B Distributing Co.)".
  11. ↑ Adams, Dominic (December 28, 2012). "A look back at the history of Kessel Food Markets in Flint, Saginaw". Flint Journal. MLive Media Group. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  12. ↑ "Hamady Complete Food Center closing after only 3 months=ABC12 News Team=abc12.com". Retrieved 6 November 2018.
  13. ↑ Conat, Randolph. "Hamady to open supermarket in Flint". abc12.com. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  14. ↑ Team, ABC12 News. "Hamady Complete Food Center closing after only 3 months". www.abc12.com. Retrieved 2019-04-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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