Stanley Stores

Stanley Stores Inc.

Company type	Private
Industry	Retail (Grocery)
Founded	1945
Founder	O. B. Stanley
Defunct	After 1995 (exact date not specified)
Headquarters	Bay City, Texas , United States
Area served	Texas, Louisiana
Key people	O. B. Stanley (founder and president until 1962), Fred C. Stanley (president until 1999)
Products	Groceries
Number of employees	1,400 (1994), 750 (1995)

Stanley Stores Inc. was a family-operated regional grocery chain based in the United States, with its main office located in Bay City, Texas. The company managed three distinct brands. The traditional grocery outlets operated under the Stanley Stores name. According to the Houston Chronicle, the other two brands, Price Lo Supermarkets and Foods "4" Less, were described as "modern, warehouse-style food retailers offering extensive selections and discount prices." In 1994, Greg Hassel of the Houston Chronicle identified Stanley Stores as one of several smaller local operators running stores within the Houston metropolitan area.

History

The enterprise was founded in 1945 by O. B. Stanley. The inaugural store was an 880-square-foot drive-in grocery named Stanley's Superette, situated in Bay City, Texas. O. B. Stanley initially served as the company's president until 1962, when Fred C. Stanley took over leadership following his graduation from Texas Christian University. At its height, the chain comprised 33 stores.

By 1988, Stanley Stores operated 30 locations across Texas and Louisiana, with store sizes varying from 20,000 to 46,000 square feet. That year marked the opening of two new Houston stores, measuring approximately 30,655 and 29,730 square feet respectively. Reflecting on the expansion in store dimensions and operational shifts, O. B. Stanley remarked that the company had grown and adapted to changing times.

In early 1994, Stanley Stores acquired the Lake Jackson location formerly operated by Appletree Markets after Appletree divested many of its outlets. Later that year, in December, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a Houston federal court. At that time, it owed $14 million to Grocers Supply Inc., maintained 29 stores throughout Texas and Louisiana, and employed roughly 1,400 people. By February 1995, seven stores had been closed as part of restructuring efforts. In November of the same year, Stanley Stores successfully negotiated an exit from bankruptcy protection with a reduced footprint of 15 stores and a workforce of about 750 employees.

Fred Stanley continued as president until his passing from cancer on July 12, 1999.

Throughout its history, Stanley Stores contributed generously to the Bay City Museum.