Page 10 - Volume 13 Number 8

Donny said he always planned to be in the family business. After college he was handling the company’s real estate developments as his father Donald was leading exciting growth. That’s when Hurricane Katrina hit. At that time, Rouses 17 locations were primarily in two parishes within about a 30­minute drive of home offices in Thibodaux. Two were in Metairie, and one was in St. Tammany Parish. But none were in New Orleans itself.
A&P decided to sell its Southern Division following the double­punch of Hurricane Katrina followed closely by Hurricane Rita, and in 2007 Rouses acquired 17 of their stores. It was a pivotal moment in the family’s history:
two stores were in Mississippi, Rouses first outside its home state, and it was their access to the largest market in the state, New Orleans.
“It was a really big gamble for our company,” Donny said. “If we wouldn’t have done that acquisition, it would have been very difficult to get into the New Orleans metro area and our company would probably look very different today. We felt like if we wanted to have a brand that is really strong and known throughout the grocery industry, we had to be the dominant player in New Orleans.”
Donald Sr. led the acquisition, which not only doubled Rouses store count but also increased their sales by 110 percent. They were No. 1 in market share in New Orleans soon after converting the stores to Rouses Markets.
“The success of that acquisition gave us more buying power and gave us the confidence boost to continue to grow,” Donny said.
Rouses has added more stores in New Orleans, including opening the first new grocery store in the city’s downtown core in 50 years in 2011. They also are the Official Grocer of the New Orleans Saints and LSU Athletics.
Other sizable acquisitions came in 2014, with their first five stores in Alabama, and in 2016, with nine stores in Baton Rouge. Now with 6,700 team members, Rouses is preparing to celebrate its 60th year in the grocery business next year and could reach store No. 70 by then. It opened its 60th in fall 2018, and by the end of 2019 there will be 65 locations with plans to add four or five stores in 2020.
In 2016, Donald Sr. stepped down as CEO and remains chair of the board, as well as managing partner. The other two managing partners are Donny and Tommy’s daughter, Ali Rouse Royster. This third generation is joined by at least eight more cousins working for Rouses Markets, and the fourth generation – the oldest is currently 10 years old – looks to be even bigger.

8 • KING AIR MAGAZINE
AUGUST 2019