Chapter VII RETAIL TRADE The response to Senator Metcalf's letter of May 8, 1972, Thus the 30 largest holders accounted for 41.8 percent to the 50 largest retailing companies in 1970, ranked by of the outstanding common stock, and banks and bank sales, was less complete than for any other category of nominees (among the top 30 holders) accounted for 33.0 firms contacted, except for insurance. In fact 18, or over a percent. third, failed to respond at all. Of the 32 who did answer Lucky Stores, Dublin, California, indicated only that the letter, 12 refused to give any information on stock the largest holder of its stock is an individual with just holders, largely on the grounds of confidentiality, 10 over 6 percent of the total outstanding shares, and that provided only limited information, and two indicated they of the 30 largest, 11 are individuals and not institutions. were subsidiaries of other companies. Only eight companies Forty-four percent of the voting stock of the Daytoncomplied fully with Senator Metcalf's' request; and of Hudson Corporation is held by five members of the these only one, Safeway Stores, the third ranking company, Dayton family, all of whom are directors of the company, was among the top 15 retail companies. and members of their families. No other single shareholder is believed to account for as much as 5 percent of the PARTIAL RESPONSES stock. Arlen Realty and Development Corporation referred to The gist of the 10 partial responses can be indicated as the proxy, statement it enclosed which indicated that follows: Arthur Cohen, chairman of the board, directly and through Sears Roebuck, the largest retailer, indicated only that family trusts, owned beneficially about 29.3 percent of the the largest block of its stock, 31,228,627 shares, or 20 percent voting securities of the company. And Arthur N. Levien, of the total outstanding, was held by the Savings and chairman of the operations committee of the company, Profit Sharing Pension Fund of Sears, Roebuck and directly and through family trusts, owned beneficially Company employees. The next 29 shareholders held about 14.3 percent of the voting securities of the company. 22,857,441 common shares or 14.7 percent of the total shares No other officer or director held as much as 2 percent of the outstanding. No further detail of these 29 shareholders was voting securities of the company. No other holdings were offered. disclosed. J. C. Penney answered in a similar vein and indicated that the single largest stockholder is the trustee under ber of shares in each of the 30 largest shareholdings. It Associated Dry Goods Corporation only listed the numthe Company's Savings and Profit Sharing Plan, with about 3.6 million shares or about 6.4 percent of the total gave no indication of the name or even of the kind of outstanding. holder (e.g. bank nominee, corporation, individual). The S. S. Kresge Company also provided only the name of 30 largest shareholders accounted for 36.9 percent of the the largest stockholder, the Kresge Foundation holding 3,403,900 shares of common stock, or about 9.3 percent holders ranged from 3.5 to 2.1 percent of the stock each, common stock of Associated Dry Goods; the top six of the total outstanding. Marcor, the parent company of Montgomery Ward with a total of 15.4 percent between them. and Container Corporation of America, indicated the First National Stores, Somerville, Massachusetts, disamount of shares in each of the 30 largest shareholdings, closed only that the Madison Fund owned about 20 percent but designated only the kinds of holders. Thus the three largest holders were each a bank nominee, with 4.1, 4.0, of its stock and that no other stockholder owned 10 percent and 4.0 percent of the outstanding stock, respectively, with or more. Thus it did no more than fulfill the regulation of the fourth largest being Ward's Profit Sharing Plan with the Securities and Exchange Commission for disclosure of 3.7 percent of the total. The largest accounts can be sum- names of persons owning 10 percent or more of a corporamarized as follows: tion's stock. Borman's, Inc., reported that the Borman family Percent of total owned beneficially over 600,000 shares (or over 20 pershares outstanding cent) of the 2,965,048 shares of the common stock out21 bank nominees... 8, 390, 491 30. 5 standing. Ward's profit sharing plan. 1,008, 756 3. 7 The two respondents that indicated they were subsidi3 banks 682, 109 2. 5 1 broker 407, 840 1. 5 aries of other companies were National Tea Company, State governmental retirement 4,186,016 or 55.2 percent of its total of 7,583,693 common fund. 320, 000 1. 2 Trustees of the Container Com shares outstanding being held by the Canadian firm, Lobmon Stock Trust Fund B... 299, 657 1 insurance company.. 1.1 law Groceterias, Co., Limited, through two wholly owned 200,000 Trustees of the Container Com subsidiaries, and City Products Corporation, & wholly mon Stock Trust Fund A... .6 owned subsidiary of Household Finance Corporation. 154, 079 CLAIM OF CONFIDENTIALITY The 12 companies which refused to supply any of the information requested on the grounds of confidentiality were: Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company (New York) F. W. Woolworth Co. (New York) Federated Department Stores, Inc. (Cincinnati) Food Fair Stores, Inc. (Philadelphia) Acme Markets, Inc. (Philadelphia) Jewel Companies, Inc. (Chicago) May Department Stores Company (St. Louis) Allied Supermarkets, Inc. (Detroit) Vornado, Inc. (Garfield, N.J.) Wickes Corporation (Saginaw, Michigan) Marshall Field and Company (Chicago) G. C. Murphy Company (McKeesport, Pennsyl vania) W. T. Grant (New York) Fisher Foods (Bedford Heights, Ohio) We now turn to the tabulations and summaries of the eight companies which provided the requested information. As a rule, it may be observed that, compared to other industrial groupings, retail establishments have a higher percentage of total stock among the top 30 stockholders than most other groups, and a larger percentage is concentrated in holdings of individuals. FAILURE TO RESPOND The eighteen companies which did not answer Senator Metcalf's letter were: Kroger (Cincinnati) Morgan Guaranty..... Subtotal-New York Big Seven... National Shawmut. State Street. Bank of America (California)--- 158, 000 .6 (GMSTER & Co. Dicot & Co.--Trund & Co.. Food & Co.. Nay & Co.. (Seafirst & Co... Seatel & Co.---Safinsco.. 65,000 54, 500 3 233, 003 56, 058 123, 439 70, 000 55, 000 54, 500 233, 000 56, 058 2 9 2 248, 439 1. O Footnotes at end of table. New York banks: Pitt & Co... Cudd & Co. Gerlach & Co... Way & Co... Subtotal— New York Big Seven.. Leslie & Co... Bern & Co... (Luff & Co... Thwart & Co... Galley & Co.... EMSEG & Co. Trust. Continental Illinois National.. -- Trude & Co...... ELM & Co. (Fargo & Co... (Wift & Co.----- Co. Hamilfund & Co.--.-. Brown Brothers, Harriman & Co.---- Edwards & Hanly.... P. W. Skogmo Foundation.... B. C. Gamble Foundation.. Gladys L. Gamble, Wayzata, Minn... Eleanor F. McJunkin, Cortland, N.Y. Mark & Co. (Dallas).. Subtotal.. 2, 667, 253 45. O (C. A. England Chemical Bank.-- & Co. (J. C. Orr & Co... Hoos & Co... Pert & Co.----- Arts & Co. sPintel & Co... Beam & Co. Pride & Co. PERC & Co..... Pace & Co... COTU & Co... NEM & Co. Co. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc. Central Natl. Corp-- Indian Head, Inc. (pension trusts) --- Evelyn Green.. F-B-O Cynthia Colin, Executors; U-W-O Louis A. Green, Subtotal... (25).. 9, 846, 046 |