Leo Kahn (entrepreneur)
Encyclopedia
Leo Kahn was an American
businessman and entrepreneur
who is credited as the co-founder
of Staples Inc.. 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
.
, as the youngest of two brothers. His parents, who were immigrants from Lithuania
, owned a wholesale
food distributor
. Kahn graduated from Malden High School
in Malden, Massachusetts
.
Kahn received a bachelor's degree
from Harvard University
in 1938. He then obtained a master's degree
in journalism
from Columbia University
in New York City
in 1939. He worked a reporter in New Bedford, Massachusetts
, and practiced public relations
for political campaign
s until he was drafted into the U.S. military in 1941 as the U.S. entered World War II
. He was stationed in North Africa
, Europe
and Asia
as a navigator
for the Army Air Forces.
He and his brother, Albert Kahn, took over the family's wholesale business following the end of World War II. Leo Kahn became the sole owner of the business when Albert left the company to become a professor
at Boston College
.
Kahn married his first wife, Dorothy Davids, in 1963 and had three children. The family resided in Chelmsford, Massachusetts
, until Dorothy Kahn's death in 1975.
. The company initially opened small groceries, but then expanded to supermarkets. 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.
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.
Kahn sold Purity Supreme to the Supermarket General Corporation in 1984 for $80 million. Through the transaction, Kahn became the chairman of Supermarket General. Privately, Kahn regretted selling Purity, saying he missed the interaction with his employees.
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.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
businessman and entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
who is credited as the co-founder
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
of Staples Inc.. Kahn is also considered a pioneer of the natural and health food
Health food
The term health food is generally used to describe foods that are considered to be beneficial to health, beyond a normal healthy diet required for human nutrition. However, the term is not precisely defined by national regulatory agencies such as the U.S...
supermarket
Supermarket
A supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...
industry, founding the Fresh Fields and Nature's Heartland chains, which are now part of Whole Foods Market
Whole Foods Market
Whole Foods Market is a foods supermarket chain based in Austin, Texas which emphasizes "natural and organic products." The company has been ranked among the most socially responsible businesses and placed third on the U.S...
.
Early life
Kahn was born in Medford, MassachusettsMedford, Massachusetts
Medford is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States, on the Mystic River, five miles northwest of downtown Boston. In the 2010 U.S. Census, Medford's population was 56,173...
, as the youngest of two brothers. His parents, who were immigrants from Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
, owned a wholesale
Wholesale
Wholesaling, jobbing, or distributing is defined as the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers, to industrial, commercial, institutional, or other professional business users, or to other wholesalers and related subordinated services...
food distributor
Distributor
A distributor is a device in the ignition system of an internal combustion engine that routes high voltage from the ignition coil to the spark plugs in the correct firing order. The first reliable battery operated ignition was developed by Dayton Engineering Laboratories Co. and introduced in the...
. Kahn graduated from Malden High School
Malden High School
Malden High School is a public high school located in Malden, Massachusetts. Accredited by New England Association of Schools and Colleges , it awards high school diplomas.The school was founded in 1857.-Centre St.:...
in Malden, Massachusetts
Malden, Massachusetts
Malden is a suburban city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 59,450 at the 2010 census. In 2009 Malden was ranked as the "Best Place to Raise Your Kids" in Massachusetts by Bloomberg Businessweek Magazine.-History:...
.
Kahn received a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1938. He then obtained a master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
from Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1939. He worked a reporter in New Bedford, Massachusetts
New Bedford, Massachusetts
New Bedford is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States, located south of Boston, southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, and about east of Fall River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 95,072, making it the sixth-largest city in Massachusetts...
, and practiced public relations
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
for political campaign
Political campaign
A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making process within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, wherein representatives are chosen or referendums are decided...
s until he was drafted into the U.S. military in 1941 as the U.S. entered World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He was stationed in North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
as a navigator
Navigator
A navigator is the person on board a ship or aircraft responsible for its navigation. The navigator's primary responsibility is to be aware of ship or aircraft position at all times. Responsibilities include planning the journey, advising the Captain or aircraft Commander of estimated timing to...
for the Army Air Forces.
He and his brother, Albert Kahn, took over the family's wholesale business following the end of World War II. Leo Kahn became the sole owner of the business when Albert left the company to become a professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
at Boston College
Boston College
Boston College is a private Jesuit research university located in the village of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA. The main campus is bisected by the border between the cities of Boston and Newton. It has 9,200 full-time undergraduates and 4,000 graduate students. Its name reflects its early...
.
Kahn married his first wife, Dorothy Davids, in 1963 and had three children. The family resided in Chelmsford, Massachusetts
Chelmsford, Massachusetts
Chelmsford is a suburban town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts in the Greater Boston area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town's population was 33,802. The Census Bureau's 2008 population estimate for the town was 34,409, ranking it 14th in population among the 54 municipalities in...
, until Dorothy Kahn's death in 1975.
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 SupremePurity Supreme
Purity Supreme, Inc. was a corporation involved in the operation of supermarkets and other stores. From 1984 it was a division of Supermarkets General Holdings Corporation. It operated from a headquarters located in North Billerica, Massachusetts. At its height, the company operated 64 supermarkets...
. The company initially opened small groceries, but then expanded to supermarkets. 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.
One Kahn's biggest rivals was Thomas G. Stemberg
Thomas G. Stemberg
Thomas G. Stemberg is an entrepreneur, venture capitalist and executive, most notable for founding office supply retail chain Staples Inc. with Leo Kahn....
, the owner of a competing New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
supermarket chain called First National Supermarkets. At one point, Kahn and Stemberg engaged in a price war
Price war
Price war is a term used in economic sector to indicate a state of intense competitive rivalry accompanied by a multi-lateral series of price reduction. One competitor will lower its price, then others will lower their prices to match. If one of them reduces their price again, a new round of...
over the lower price for Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. In Canada, Thanksgiving falls on the same day as Columbus Day in the...
turkeys.
Kahn sold Purity Supreme to the Supermarket General Corporation in 1984 for $80 million. Through the transaction, Kahn became the chairman of Supermarket General. Privately, Kahn regretted selling Purity, saying he missed the interaction with his employees.
Leo Kahn died at the Springhouse care facility in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
from a series of strokes on May 11, 2011, at the age of 94.