Krasdale Foods CEO Passes Away
The grocery industry has lost one of its pioneers. Charles Krasne, CEO of Krasdale Foods in White Plains, N.Y., died on Friday, March 7.
Krasne, 94, took over the business from his father, Abraham Krasne, who founded the company in 1908. After earning an undergraduate degree from Yale and an MBA from Harvard, the younger Krasne returned to the family business and built it from a local wholesaler and distributor to a fully-integrated grocery supplier. He unveiled the C-Town and Bravo banners and launched the retail marketing side of the organization that provides a host of services to independent grocers. Today, the company supplies more than 7,000 products to retailers and offers a range of private label products.
[RELATED: Onetime Stop & Shop President Dies]
Krasne is credited with leading Krasdale to become the largest voluntary supermarket group in the New York metro market through the C-Town, Bravo, Aim, Shop Smart and Stop 1 banners, as well as thousands of bodegas and specialty stores. He expanded the company’s footprint to include the Northeast and Florida, where many former New Yorkers moved.
Community outreach was important to this legacy grocery professional. In addition to hosting local events, Krasne developed partnerships with organizations such as the Yankees Foundation, Food Bank for New York City, and DreamYard to support residents in underserved areas.
“Many leaders take a family business and grow it into a broader company, but my father achieved this by investing in the company’s most powerful asset: people,” said Thatcher Krasne, Charles Krasne’s son and a member of the Krasdale Foods’ board of directors. “To my father, customers were family, too. My dad took personal pride in the fact that he brought to life the entrepreneurial dreams of so many people, most of which were first-generation Americans in communities that were ignored or second-guessed by other grocery brands. He instilled in all of us that that our role was to help transform the neighborhoods in which we operated."
President and COO Gus Lebiak and others on the leadership team will carry on Krasdale operations.
“We were fortunate that my father also had the vision to ensure that the management and governance of Krasdale Foods did not sit on his shoulders alone. My family and our board have worked collaboratively to support Gus and the executive team in carrying out the company’s strategic plan and vision. That work and our growth will continue, fueled by my father’s spirit,” remarked Thatcher Krasne.
In addition to his son, Thatcher, Charles Krasne is survived by three other children, seven grandchildren, sister, and nieces. Services will be private.
