Top privately held companies thriving

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© St. Petersburg Times
published November 13, 2002

Up to speed on Florida's top publicly traded corporations? But how well do you know this state's other prominent companies?

Try this mini-quiz on the Sunshine State's biggest, privately held businesses.

1. The largest private company in Florida is best known for selling:

A. Real estate.

B. Groceries.

C. Theme park entertainment.

D. Nursing home care.

2. Of the nation's 257 largest private companies, those based in Florida make up:

A. 15 percent.

B. 12 percent.

C. 6 percent.

D. 3 percent.

3. Which Florida town is headquarters to more than one of the state's biggest private companies?

A. Lakeland.

B. Tampa.

C. Miami.

D. Fort Lauderdale.

The answer to the first and easiest question is (B). Well-known Publix Super Markets is not only the largest privately owned company in the state. It also happens to rank, by revenue, among the top five private companies in the United States, just behind Minnesota crop giant Cargill (No. 1), Kansas oil and gas behemoth Koch Industries (No. 2), Virginia candy titan Mars (No. 3) and New York accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (No. 4).

The answer, alas, to the second question is (D). For all its population, Florida is as anemic as a home for large and prosperous private companies as it is for substantial public companies.

And finally, the surprising answer to the third question is (A). Tampa, Miami and Fort Lauderdale may rank among Florida's top metro areas, but Lakeland wins the boasting rights as the home of both No. 1 Publix and No. 7 Breed Technologies, an auto parts manufacturer.

In all, Florida is headquarters to seven private companies whose revenues topped $1-billion a year. If a few of the seven are not quite household names, consider this. Combined, they generated $33-billion in revenues last year and employed more than 150,500 workers. Publix dominates the state's private companies in size, but the remaining six billion-dollar-plus companies together generated more than $17-billion in sales, and employed almost 30,000. The national list of private companies is compiled annually by Forbes magazine.

There's even a silver lining. Since 1996, most of these private companies have proved to be aggressive climbers up the list of U.S. private companies. Here's a quick sketch of Florida's top seven:

No. 1: Publix, Lakeland. Ranks No. 5 nationally with $15.4-billion in revenues. Ranked No. 9 in 1996. The grocery chain's stock is not publicly traded but is made available for sale to current Publix employees and members of its board. In the latest quarter, Publix's income improved but it wasn't enough to offset the impact of a drooping stock market. Based on the most recent appraisal, its stock price decreased to $37 a share from $40.

No. 2: JM Family Enterprises, Deerfield Beach. Ranks No. 13 nationally with $7.8-billion in revenues. Ranked No. 27 in 1996. Founded by Jim Moran in 1968, the nation's largest privately held Toyota distributor and diversified auto corporation is about as paternalistic as they come. The company's headquarters is a sprawling green complex complete with a swimming pool, 24-hour fitness centers, restaurants, a massage center, a beauty salon and even dry-cleaning pick-up and delivery. There's more. Corporations nationwide may be cutting health benefits and pushing higher medical costs on to employees, but JM boasts free on-site medical care with two internal medicine specialists. Drugs kept in stock are dispensed for free. Pat Moran, the founder's daughter, now heads what is the country's largest woman-owned business.

No. 3: Southern Wine & Spirits, Miami. Ranks No. 35 nationally with $3.8-billion in revenues. Ranked No. 60 in 1996. After gaining an iron grip on alcohol distribution in South Florida, the company spread across Florida and now operates in nine other states. Secretive top executives Harvey Chaplin and Wayne Chaplin own more than half of the company.

No. 4: Epix Holdings, Tampa. Ranks No. 108 with $1.8-billion in revenues. Not ranked in 1996. Formed in 1998 via the merger of Tampa's Payroll Transfers and Employee Management Inc. in New Jersey, the company is a "professional employer organization" that handles payroll, benefits and human resources for thousands of small companies in 49 states. Like other PEOs, Epix is trying to shift to more white-collar work. In September, it laid off about 60 employees. Four investment groups own Epix, including one headed by Texas billionaire Robert Bass.

No. 5: Purity Wholesale Grocers, Boca Raton. Ranks No. 137 with $1.6-billion in revenues. Ranked No. 282 in 1996. Forget grocery retailing. This wholesaler gets the goods to grocers. The company takes advantage of discounts granted to large wholesalers by purchasing items and selling them to retailers not privy to such deals. Founder and wrestling enthusiast Jeff Levitetz raised $15,000 in 1982 to start Purity Wholesale.

No. 6: Rooms To Go, Seffner. Ranks No. 190 with $1.3-billion in revenues. Not ranked in 1996. Started just 11 years ago, the seller of affordable private-label furniture is the nation's largest furniture retailer (with more than 94 stores) and is pushing into such overseas markets as Japan. The company was founded with big bucks by New York furniture retailer Morty Seaman. Son Jeff now runs the show. In August, company and investment firm Sun Capital Partners bought 39-store Wickes Furniture Co.

No. 7: Breed Technologies, Lakeland. Ranks No. 222 with $1.2-billion in revenues. Not ranked in 1996. Breed began as an early maker of automotive air bags and seat belts by the husband-and-wife team of Allen and Johnnie Breed. It sought bankruptcy protection from heavy debts in 1999 but soon emerged refreshed from Chapter 11.

In Florida, other big private companies from the '90s could have been billion-dollar contenders but took different paths. Tampa's Spalding & Evenflo (No. 285 in 1996) was split up to appease bondholders. At No. 192 in 1996, Lykes Bros., Tampa Bay's best known private empire, was largely dismantled a few years ago in a bitter atmosphere so Lykes family members could cash out and go their separate ways. And many privately owned auto dealerships in the state were bought up in a wave of industry consolidation that formed giant AutoNation and other large (and now public) auto retailers.

Publicly traded companies must endure the rough times and public spotlight of today's roiling stock markets. But private companies struggle with their own versions of trouble. They just get to do it more discretely.

-- Robert Trigaux can be reached at trigaux@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8405.

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