Leo Kahn | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born |
December 31, 1916 Medford, Massachusetts |
| Died |
May 11, 2011 (aged 94) Boston, Massachusetts |
| Nationality | USA |
| Spouse | Dorothy Davids Kahn (1963-1975) |
| Children | 3 |
| Occupation | American businessman and reporter |
| Alma mater |
Harvard University (B.A., 1938) Columbia University (M.A., Journalism, 1939) |
Leo Kahn (December 31, 1916 – May 11, 2011) was an American reporter and businessman. He is credited as the co-founder of Staples Inc.[1][2] Kahn is also considered a pioneer of the natural and health food supermarket industry, founding the Fresh Fields and Nature's Heartland chains, which are now part of Whole Foods Market.[1]
Biography[]
Early life[]
Kahn was born in Medford, Massachusetts, as the youngest of two brothers.[1] His parents, who were Lithuanian Jewish immigrants, owned a wholesale food distributor.[1][3] Kahn graduated from Malden High School in Malden, Massachusetts.[1][4]
Kahn received a bachelor's degree from Harvard University in 1938.[1] He then obtained a Master's Degree in journalism from Columbia University in New York City in 1939.[1] He worked a reporter in New Bedford, Massachusetts,[2] and practiced public relations for political campaigns until he was drafted into the U.S. military in 1941 as the U.S. entered World War II.[1] He was stationed in North Africa, Europe and Asia as a navigator for the Army Air Forces.[1]
He and his brother, Albert Kahn, took over the family's wholesale business following the end of World War II.[1] Leo Kahn became the sole owner of the business when Albert left the company to become a professor at Boston University.[1]
Kahn married his first wife, Dorothy Davids, in 1963 and had three children.[1] The family resided in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, until Dorothy Kahn's death in 1975.[1]
Purity Supreme[]
Leo Kahn continued to operate his family's wholesale food distributor. However, he also launched a new grocery retailing division, which became known as Purity Supreme.[5] The company initially opened small groceries, but then expanded to supermarkets.[5] The Purity Supreme company also included the Heartland Foods Warehouse, which was called "the first successful deep-discount warehouse supermarket in the country" by Inc Magazine.[5]
One Kahn's biggest rivals was Thomas G. Stemberg, the owner of a competing New England supermarket chain called First National Supermarkets. At one point, Kahn and Stemberg engaged in a price war over the lower price for Thanksgiving turkeys.[5]
Kahn sold Purity Supreme to the Supermarkets General Corporation in 1984 for $80 million.[5] Through the transaction, Kahn became the chairman of Supermarket General.[5] Privately, Kahn regretted selling Purity, saying he missed the interaction with his employees.[1]
Death[]
Leo Kahn died at the Springhouse care facility in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston from a series of strokes on May 11, 2011, at the age of 94.[1][2][5]
References[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 Marquard, Bryan (2011-05-12). "Leo Kahn, co-founder of Staples, dies at 94". Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2011/05/leo_kahn_co-fou.html. Retrieved 2011-05-22.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Shapiro, T. Rees (2011-05-14). "Leo Kahn, entrepreneur who helped found Staples office-supply business, dies at 94". Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/leo-kahn-entrepreneur-who-helped-found-staples-office-supply-business-dies-at-94/2011/05/13/AFGKEi3G_story.html. Retrieved 2011-05-22.
- ↑ Alan D. Abbey (May 23, 2011). "The Eulogizer: Staples co-founder Leo Kahn, violinist Endre Wolf". JTA. http://www.jta.org/news/article/2011/05/23/3087782/the-eulogizer-staples-co-founder-leo-kahn-violinist-endre-wolf. Retrieved March 27, 2013.
- ↑ » Is Leo Kahn Jewish Jew of the Week
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 Martin, Douglas (2011-05-12). "Leo Kahn, Trailblazer in Big-Box Retailing, Dies at 94". New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/13/business/13kahn.html. Retrieved 2011-05-22.
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