Jim Pattison Group

Type	Private
Founded	Vancouver, British Columbia (1961)
Headquarters	Vancouver, British Columbia
Key people	Jim Pattison, Chairman and CEO
Industry	Media, automotive, media, packaging, food sales and distribution, magazine distribution, entertainment, export and financial industries
Products	Media, Broadcasting, Grocery, Billboards
Revenue	$6.3 Billion - 2006
Owner	Jim Pattison
Employees	29,000 2007
Website	Jim Pattison Official Homepage

The Jim Pattison Group is Canada’s third largest privately held company and, in a recent survey by the Financial Post, The Jim Pattison Group was ranked as Canada’s 48th largest company. Jim Pattison, a Vancouver-based entrepreneur is the Chairman, President, CEO, and sole owner of the Jim Pattison Group. The Jim Pattison Group has more than 29,000 employees, and annual sales of $6.3 billion. With investments in Canada, the U.S., Mexico, Europe, Asia and Australia, The Jim Pattison Group is involved in a wide variety of industries including TV and radio stations, car dealerships, grocery store chains, magazine distribution, food service specialty packaging, advertising, real estate development, fishing, forest products, financial services, and entertainment.

History

The Jim Pattison Group began on May 8, 1961 when Mr. Pattison purchased a General Motors automobile dealership by borrowing $40,000 from the Royal Bank of Canada, and placing his home and life insurance policy with the bank as collateral. Acquisitions in subsequent years included the following:

• 1965 - Awarded license to operate Vancouver AM radio station CJOR
• 1967 - Acquired Neon Products (Vancouver) & Seaboard Outdoor Advertising
• 1968 - Acquired Overwaitea Foods (Vancouver)
• 1969 - Acquired Provincial News (Edmonton)
  • Employees: 2,500 Sales: $100 million
• 1980 - Started Jim Pattison Real Estate Group
  • Employees: 6,000 Sales: $500 million
• Purchased Beautiful British Columbia Magazine
• 1984 - Acquired Canadian Fishing Company
• 1985 - Acquired Ripley's Believe It or Not!
  • Employees: 6,000 Sales: $1 billion
• 1990 - Acquired the Foodservice Packaging Group
  • Acquired the Flexible Packaging Group
  • Acquired Coroplast and Montebello Packaging
  • Employees: 10,000 Sales: $2 billion
• 1991 - Started Jim Pattison Trade Group
  • Started Financial Services division
• 1994 - Acquired Westshore Terminals, a BC-based coal-export terminal facility
  • Employees: 15,000 Sales: $3 billion
• 1995 - Acquired Buy-Low Foods
• 1997 - Started Select Media Services
  • Opened Ripley's Aquarium, Myrtle Beach, SC
• 1999 - Acquired Cooper's Foods
  • Employees: 20,000 Sales: $4.4 billion
• 2000 - Opened Ripley's Aquarium of The Smokies, Gatlinburg, TN
  • Employees: 22,000 Sales: $4.6 billion
• 2001 - Acquired Monarch Broadcasting
  • Acquired Van-Whole Produce
  • Employees: 24,000 Sales: $5 billion
• 2002 - Started ProLogix Distribution Services and AccuLogix Distribution Services
  • Acquired Ever Corp.
  • Employees: 25,000 Sales: $5.2 billion
• 2003 - Acquired LIN PAC Inc.
  • Employees: 26,000 Sales: $5.5 billion
• 2004 - Acquired Classic Attractions (Texas)
  • Acquired St. Augustine Sightseeing Trains (Florida)
  • Acquired Maltese Signs (Norcross, GA)
  • Acquired auto lease business of Cross-Canada Car Leasing Limited (Toronto, ON)
  • Acquired periodical distribution companies in San Jose and Chico, CA
  • Employees: 27,000 Sales: $5.7 billion
• 2005 - Acquired control of Icicle Seafoods (B.C.) Inc.
  • Acquired Freeway Dodge Chrysler
  • Acquired Spartech Corporation’s corrugated plastic sheet business
  • Started the Vancouver edition of 24 Hours (in partnership with Quebecor Media)
  • Formed or purchased interests in several US and Canadian joint ventures in the periodical industry
  • Employees: 28,000 Sales: $6.1 billion
• 2006 - Acquired Carthage Cup, Carthage, TX
  • Acquired Creative Outdoor Ads, Halifax, Nova Scotia
  • Acquired Island Radio Ltd.'s six FM stations on Vancouver Island
  • Acquired OK Radio Group Ltd.'s two FM stations in Victoria, BC
  • Acquired A&W Fixtures, Cocoa, Florida
  • Started Great Pacific Bank Limited, Warrens, Barbados
• 2007 - Disposed of interest in the Vancouver 24 Hours
• 2008 - Acquired Guinness World Records from HIT Entertainment

Divisions

Some of the more significant divisions of the Jim Pattison Group include:

Illuminated Signs

• Pattison Sign Group

The Jim Pattison Food Group

• The Overwaitea Food Group
  • Overwaitea Foods
  • Save-On-Foods
  • Coopers Foods
  • PriceSmart Foods
  • Urban Fare
• Buy-Low Foods
  • Nesters Markets
• Canadian Fishing Company

The Jim Pattison Media Group

• The Jim Pattison Broadcast Group

Television Stations

• Kamloops, British Columbia - CFJC, E! affiliate
• Medicine Hat, Alberta - CHAT, E! affiliate
• Prince George, British Columbia - CKPG, E! affiliate

Radio Stations

• Courtenay/Comox/Campbell River, British Columbia - CKLR
• Cranbrook, British Columbia - CHBZ, CHDR
• Drayton Valley/Rocky Mountain House, Alberta - CIBW, CHBW
• Fernie, British Columbia - CJDR
• Grande Prairie, Alberta - CJXX
• Kamloops, British Columbia - CKBZ, CIFM
• Kelowna, British Columbia - CKOV, CKLZ
• Lethbridge, Alberta - CHLB, CJBZ
• Medicine Hat, Alberta - CHAT, CFMY
• Nanaimo, British Columbia - CHWF, CKWV
• Parksville/Qualicum Beach, British Columbia - CHPQ, CIBH
• Port Alberni, British Columbia - CJAV
• Prince George, British Columbia - CKDV, CKKN
• Red Deer, Alberta - CHUB, CFDV
• Vancouver, British Columbia - CJJR, CKPK
• Victoria, British Columbia - CJZN, CKKQ

• Pattison Outdoor - the largest domestic Out-of-Home advertising company in Canada, with a 41% market share of all traditional out-of-home advertising displays

Periodical Distribution

• The News Group, North America's second largest newspaper and magazine distributor.
• Select Media Services

Entertainment

• Ripley Entertainment - Ripley's Believe It or Not! Attractions
• Guinness World Records - Guinness World Record Book

Automotive Group

• The Jim Pattison Auto Group - 15 automobile dealerships throughout British Columbia.
• Jim Pattison Lease

The Jim Pattison Packaging Group

• Genpak- an independent supplier of disposable food service packaging in the US and Canada.
• Coroplast - manufacturer and marketer of corrugated plastic sheet for the graphics and re-usable packaging industries
• Montebello Packaging - manufacturer of collapsible aluminum and laminate tubes and ink markers

Export and Financial Services

• Westshore Terminals - Canadian coal export facility and the largest dry bulk terminal on the West Coast of the Americas

External links

• Jim Pattison Group
• CRTC chart of Jim Pattison Group's broadcast assets