Building on its 100+ year history in the grocery business, Piggly Wiggly Midwest continues to grow the Piggly Wiggly banner. ... Currently, the Company operates corporate stores and services independent franchisees under a chain-style program. In 1949, the Company entered into a franchise agreement enabling it to use the “Piggly Wiggly” name for the first time in southern and eastern Wisconsin. The nucleus of the present 104 store retail group traces its origin to the early Piggly Wiggly franchisers located in Sturgeon Bay, Manitowoc, Green Bay, and Kaukauna. With the continued growth, the Company recognized the need to have a strong nationally accepted private label program. Today, the Piggly Wiggly stores are still part of the Topco co-op, offering the finest store brands products under the Food Club, Valu Time and Top Care labels. The Company purchased a facility in 1957 on what would become the site of the current twenty-acre distribution center in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Today the Company’s three distribution centers supplies grocery, produce, meat, bakery, deli, frozen, dairy, health and beauty care and general merchandise to the Piggly Wiggly stores. In September of 2007, Paul Butera joined by members of his family purchased the Company from Certifresh. Paul Butera, a Chicagoland grocer since opening his first store in 1962, brought his experience and knowledge as the owner/operator of “Butera Market,” one of Chicagoland’s oldest and largest independent grocery chains, to Sheboygan, WI. With the help of the Piggly Wiggly team of officers, supervisors, management and store personnel, he applied his skills in buying, advertising, marketing, store designing, and layout planning to all facets of the business and embarked upon an aggressive advertising and expansion campaign. Clarence Saunders' (the original founder) reason for choosing the intriguing name Piggly Wiggly ® remains a mystery. Someone once asked him why he had chosen such an unusual name for his organization, and Saunders' reply was, "So people will ask that very question." He wanted and found a name that would be talked about and remembered. read more