Sedano's
Sedano's Supermarkets is the United States’ largest Hispanic retailer and largest Hispanic-owned supermarket chain. With headquarters in Miami-Dade County, Sedano's employs approximately 3,000 associates and operates 35 stores across Florida in Miami-Dade, Broward, Orange, and Osceola counties. Sedano's is also the largest member of Associated Grocers of Florida, a wholesale grocery food cooperative. In 2020, Sedano's Supermarkets was named Food and Wine’s 20 Best Regional Supermarket Chains of All Time.
History
Early history
In 1961, Cuban exile René Sedano opened the original Sedano’s store, a 4,000-square-foot bodega, in Hialeah, Florida. In 1962, a fellow Cuban exile, Armando Guerra Sr., acquired the store from Sedano and kept the name. After the Castro revolution, which culminated in 1959, Guerra, a successful banker and grocer in Cuba, exiled to Miami in 1961. In 1971, he encouraged Manuel “Manolo” Herrán, who had married Guerra's niece, to move to Miami from Atlanta, Georgia, and assist with Sedano's operations. Herrán, a native of Spain, had moved to Sancti Spíritus, Cuba, as a teenager with his parents and siblings to escape Franco's regime. In 1967, at the age of 28, he fled Cuba and communism with his wife Nyria and their young family. They first landed in Atlanta. Upon moving to Miami, the Guerra and Herrán families began working together to grow the supermarket business.Armando Guerra Sr. died in 1979. At that time, Manuel Herrán assumed control of the company and continued expanding the chain. He subsequently lured his brothers José, Ezequiel, and Antolín to join him in running the operation.
Management today
In 2005, Manuel Herrán's son, Agustin Herrán, became president and CEO of Sedano's, and Manuel served as chairman of the board until his death on October 15, 2020. The management team includes José Herrán, Jr., who serves as chief operating officer, and Javier Herrán as chief marketing officer.Market
Sedano's has onsite bakeries and kitchens that produce Hispanic baked goods such as Cuban bread, empanadas, croquetas, and pastelitos. Its custom-cuts meat department with an onsite butcher or “carnicero,” fish and seafood selection, prepared Latin meals, and onsite café specializing in cafeticos, attract Hispanic and non-Hispanic shoppers alike.
Besides packaged Hispanic foods and culturally common fresh fruits and vegetables, shoppers can also find typical American fare and products.
Florida expansion
In 1994, Sedano's began expanding beyond Miami-Dade County when it opened its first store in Hollywood in Broward County. There are currently four locations in Broward, including Pembroke Pines and North Lauderdale. In January 2010, three Sedano's were opened in Central Florida after acquiring stores from Albertsons LLC. Two are in Orlando and the third location is in Kissimmee.The chain has since grown to include stores spanning Miami-Dade, Broward, Orange, and Osceola counties. On November 6, 2019, the 35th location opened in Hialeah, making this the 10th store in Sedano's Supermarkets founding city of Hialeah, the sixth-largest city in the state.
Sedano’s Private Label
In 2007, Sedano's Supermarkets launched its private label of products, which spans over 1,000 items as of 2021.Online shopping, curbside pickup, and delivery service
In 2018, Sedano's Supermarkets announced a partnership with Takeoff Technologies, a grocery software startup, to debut the first-ever automated, hyperlocal fulfillment center in Miami. This first-of-its-kind automated storage and retrieval system, built by Austrian logistics company KNAPP and designed by Takeoff, allowed Sedano's to expand into the grocery automation space. The robotic store can prepare over 1,500 items per hour, completing a 60-item order in 5 minutes. Shoppers who don't have the time or ability to shop in person can shop for groceries online at sedanos.com. Employees then bag the robotically retrieved groceries and load them into Sedano's trucks, and the groceries are delivered to select stores for pickup. Customers call upon arrival, and their groceries are carried out and placed in their vehicle. In February 2019, curbside pickup became available at even more stores.Shipt
To further expand its online ordering and delivery options, Sedano's announced its partnership with Shipt in May 2020. Sedano's customers can order groceries, including fresh produce, meats, deli items, and daily essentials, as well as beer and wine, choose a delivery window time, and have the items delivered to their door.Sedano’s Pharmacy
In 1977, Sedano's Pharmacy was launched; Armando Guerra Jr., son of Armando Guerra Sr., was named president of Sedano's Pharmacy, having earned his degree in pharmacy at the University of Florida. Over the next three decades, Sedano's Pharmacy became a Hispanic drug retailer company with 11 locations from Homestead to Kissimmee, Florida.In 2007, Navarro Discount Pharmacies, today part of CVS Health, acquired Sedano's Pharmacy for an undisclosed amount. The deal only included their 11 freestanding pharmacy locations, not the supermarkets. This acquisition allowed Sedano's to focus solely on its core grocery business.