Early years and Bond Bread , unknown year The history of General Host is traced to June 1911, when the General Baking Co. was incorporated in New York as an amalgamation of 21 baking companies from 12 different states, through the merger of the Brunner, Collins and Ontario Baking Companies. The footprint of the new company consisted of no more than two facilities in each city in which it is present. From its inception, the company was publicly traded, beginning with a stock on the
New York Stock Exchange, and bond offering. In 1912, Frank R. Shepherd and William H. Collins, former manager of Collins Baking Company, were the company's
vice-president and
president, respectively, while Lewis J. Kolb was the
chairman of the company's board. Deininger and Rochester Baking Companies in
Rochester, New York; and Collins and Brunner Baking Companies in
Buffalo, New York. The company operated 40 bakeries by 1922 and was the largest wholesale bakery in the
New York metropolitan area; including Dexter's Bakery of
Springfield, Vermont, which was a strategic purchase to penetrate Central
New England. A three way, merger in 1925 among General Host (then General Baking Company),
Ward Baking Company and
Continental Baking Company enlarged the company further, leading to a 10% stake in the United States national bread business and 157 plants (18 from Ward, 33 from General and 106 from Continental). Coincident with the announcement of this merger,
Paul H. Helms was named President of General, and the company was re-incorporated in
Baltimore, Maryland. Also in 1931, the company
recapitalized, eliminating a
holding company, General Baking Corporation, and converting all stock to holdings in the core company, General Baking Company, which would be traded on the New York Stock Exchange. In 1923, Bond Bread was noted as the best-selling brand of bread in the United States. One of the company's biggest competitors was
Continental Baking which sold its main product under the name
Wonder Bread.
1950s and 1960s The company became the owners of
Van de Kamp's in 1956 after the death of that bakery's founder. The purchase expanded General Baking to the west coast. By the 1960s, the company had increased competition due to other baking conglomerates and supermarkets that began installing on-site bakeries. Around 1966, General acquired two hotels located in
Yellowstone Park, operated by the company's wholly owned subsidiary Yellowstone Park Company:
Old Faithful Inn and
Lake Hotel. By 1967, the company made a profit off of in sales. As a result of the company's expansion outside of the baking industry, General Baking rename itself General Host. In 1969, General and several other baking companies were found guilty of and fined in
U.S. District Court for
price fixing bread in the
Philadelphia area, a practice that took place between 1964 and 1968, the indictment having been served 13 March 1968. The company continued acquiring properties in the 1970s, for instance acquiring a chain of
pretzel stands,
Hot Sam, which was started in
Detroit by Russian immigrant Julius Young in 1966. With respect to governance, the company's
president as of 1967 was Harris J. Ashton.
1970s Expansion to meatpacking and frozen foods The company owned several food companies by the 1970s, and the company began venturing into meatpacking and frozen foods, restaurants and hospitality. General also attempted a
hostile takeover of the large meatpacking concern
Armour and Company in 1969 and was able to acquire a controlling interest in the company. The takeover which was met with lawsuits filed by the
Securities and Exchange Commission. Despite holding 57% of Armour's stock, General was unable to establish final control of the company and ended up selling its stake to
Greyhound in 1970. With the proceeds of the Armour stake sale, General went on to buy the pork processing concern,
Cudahy Packing Company. By 1972, General had more than doubled its 1967 sales figure, to . General sold off the majority of its Bond Bread baking division by 1972. The group of investors included Jack W. Leeney, president of the division who became the new company's
chief executive officer, and executive vice president Odell C. Nordberg, who became the new company's
chief operating officer.
1980s purchase of Frank's Nursery and bankruptcy General purchased
Hickory Farms in 1980 from its founder,
Richard Ransom. In 1981, General divested part of its interest in meat processing subsidiary Cudahy Foods due to financial losses in the unit to a newly formed company,
Bar-S, started by former executives from Cudahy. General retained the dry sausage and canned ham operations of Cudahy. As part of the divestment, General terminated 1,100 employees, shut four processing centers and thirteen distribution centers. General Host purchased Frank's Nursery & Crafts in 1982 based on research showing higher operating profits for lawn and garden over food products. General Host was the owner of the All American Gourmet Co. based in
Orange County, California. In 1985 it sold 25% of the company through a public offering. The company sold its remaining 75% interest in the company to
Kraft Foods in 1987. The company also sold its Van de Kamp's frozen foods division, the last of its Van de Kamp's operations, to
Pillsbury in 1984. ==See also==