H-E-B

H-E-B Grocery Company, LP, is an American privately held supermarket chain based in San Antonio, Texas, with more than 435 stores[6] throughout Texas and Mexico.[7][8] The company also operates Central Market, an upscale organic and fine foods retailer.[9]

As of 2022, the company had a total revenue of US$38.9 billion.[10]

H-E-B ranked number 6 on Forbes' 2022 list of "America's Largest Private Companies".[11] The company also ranked number 3 on Forbes' 2024 list of "Customer Experience All-Stars."[12] H-E-B was named Retailer of the Year in 2010 by Progressive Grocer.[13] Supermarket News ranks H-E-B 13th on the list of "Top 75 North American Food Retailers" by sales.[14] Based on 2019 revenues, H-E-B is the 19th-largest retailer in the United States.[15] It donates 5% of pretax profits to charity.[16]

The official mascot of H-E-B is named H-E-Buddy, an anthropomorphic brown grocery bag, with multiple grocery items emerging from the top.[17]

History

The company was founded on November 26, 1905, when Florence Butt opened the C.C. Butt Grocery Store on the ground floor of her family home in Kerrville, Texas.[18] In 1919, Howard Edward Butt, Florence's youngest son, took over the store upon his return from World War I. Shortly after becoming owner of his mother's small store, Howard tried four expansions into Central Texas, including one in Junction, all of which failed. Finally, in 1927, Howard launched a successful second store in Del Rio, Texas, followed by the purchase of three grocery stores in the Lower Rio Grande Valley. The initials of Howard E. Butt became the name of the store.[19]

Charles, the younger son of Howard E. Butt, became president of H-E-B in 1971. As of 2019, Charles Butt is chairman and CEO of H-E-B, having grown the business from annual sales of $250 million in 1971 to $13 billion in 2006. In 2010, Craig Boyan was named H-E-B's president and COO.[20] By 2018, Martin Otto, the former CFO and chief merchant, had become the COO.[21] In 2011, the company was #12 on Forbes's list of "America's Largest Private Companies".[22] H-E-B is the largest privately held company and largest private employer in Texas.[23]

H-E-B acquired Favor Delivery as a wholly owned subsidiary in February 2018. The details of the merger were not disclosed.[24]

In 2019, H-E-B invested millions of dollars to replace cashier stations with self-checkout kiosks or smartphone apps, following the trend of national supermarkets (such as Walmart and Target) towards self-checkout technology.[25]

In 2025, H-E-B named current chief operating officer Roxanne Orsak as president, effective January 2026. She will succeed Craig Boyan, who is transitioning to senior advisor.[26]

Operations

Headquartered in downtown San Antonio, H-E-B operates more than 300 stores in over 150 communities across Texas.[27][28] As of late 2010, its operations serve approximately "55-plus" percent of the Texas market,[29][30] with primary Texas markets including the Corpus Christi, San Antonio, Austin, Laredo and Houston metro areas. The company does business in five different retail formats: general H-E-B stores, Central Market, H-E-B Plus, Mi Tienda, and Joe V's Smart Shop. In 2010, the company announced plans to build 19 new stores in Texas.[31] H-E-B opened its first store outside of Texas in 1996, a 24000 sqft H-E-B Pantry store in Lake Charles, Louisiana, though the expansion was short-lived and ultimately failed. The H-E-B Pantry store format was discontinued in 2000,[32] and the company closed its sole Louisiana store in 2003. In 2010, H-E-B offered consumers the opportunity to vote on possible designs for new stores as they expanded into new communities.[33]

The company operates several manufacturing facilities in Texas, including one of the largest milk- and bread-processing plants in the Southwest.[34] H-E-B produces many of their own-brand products, including milk, ice cream, bread, snacks, and ready-cooked meats and meals. These and other private-label products are sold under various brands, including "Central Market Naturals", "Central Market Organics", "H-E-B", "H-E-Buddy", "Hill Country Fare", "H-E-B Creamy Creations" ice cream, "H-E-B Mootopia" milk, and "H-E-B Fully Cooked".

Several stores include multiple-tenant operations through third-party lease arrangements. Many stores include a bank operation, cellular kiosk, and multiple nationally recognized tenants.[35][36][37]

The Austin Business Journal rated H-E-B as the largest private-sector employer in the region in 2017.[38]

In 2019, the company announced plans to build a technology center at its headquarters.[39]

Mexico

H-E-B opened its first Mexican store in 1997 in Monterrey. It has more than 50 locations in Mexico. H-E-B crossed the $1 billion annual sales mark in Mexico in 2012.[59]

Litigation

In the mid-1980s, local grocery chains Handy Andy and Centeno joined a lawsuit against H-E-B citing unfair pricing practices.[60] H-E-B eventually settled the suit out of court with Centeno in 1998 for $6.5 million and with Handy Andy for an undisclosed settlement amount.[61][62]

H-E-B has paid $12 million to settle a whistleblower lawsuit accusing the San Antonio-based grocery chain of Medicaid fraud. Since at least 2006, according to the suit, H-E-B allegedly submitted to Texas Medicaid inflated prices on thousands of claims for prescriptions it filled so the company could obtain higher reimbursements than allowed.[63]

Charitable activity

The company gives 5% of annual pretax earnings to causes in the areas in which it operates, including education and food banks.[64] The Excellence in Education Awards is an annual charitable program maintained by H-E-B since 2000, in which teachers, administrators, and schools in Texas are recognized, with awards totaling $500,000 in contributions in 2009.[65]

H-E-B coordinated donations to relief efforts in the wake of a fertilizer plant fire and explosion in West, Texas. The company donated $50,000 to the American Red Cross and launched a checkstand campaign benefiting the organization to get the community involved in the relief effort. The company said in a news release 100% of the donations from the campaign will support the American Red Cross's disaster relief efforts. H-E-B also activated its emergency response units, sending the H-E-B Eddie Garcia Mobile Kitchen and water tanker to West, including donations of meals and water to the victims and first responders.[66]

In the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in 2017, H-E-B donated $100,000 toward relief efforts. Its campaign drive for customer contributions totaled $1,000,000.[67] In addition, H-E-B's Mobile Kitchen and Disaster Relief Units distributed 10,000 hot meals to volunteers and victims in the affected areas in Texas.[67][68]

In 2021, during Texas power crisis due to severe snow storms, H-E-B helped supply people with food, water, and heat.[69][70]

After the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, 2022, in which 19 children and two teachers were killed, H-E-B and the Butt family donated $10 million toward building a new school as founding donors. Initial participants joining the family included Texas architectural firm Huckabee and Texas general contractor Joeris General Contractors.[71]

After the July 2025 Central Texas floods, H-E-B and the Butt family donated $5 million towards the recovery efforts.[72]

In October 2025, H-E-B donated $1 million to Meals On Wheels and $5 million to Texas food banks to assist those with food insecurity during the 2025 United States federal government shutdown.[73]

External links

• H-E-B at YouTube
• Charles Butt & family profile on Forbes
• Charles Butt on Forbes' 2004 List of World's Richest People