Forbes Magazine recently released their 2017 list of the Largest Private Companies in America, which now includes 3 Charlotte-area businesses.
This year, a total of 225 companies made the list (a company must make at least $2 billion annually, and be privately-held to be considered). The combined revenue of all the companies on the list was $1.57 trillion, down 3% from last year, and they currently employ roughly 4.7 million people, up from 4.5 million in 2016.
The 3 Charlotte-area companies that made the list include; American Tire Distributors, Belk, and Alex Lee.
Alex Lee is a newcomer to the list, landing at #220, with a total revenue of just over $2 billion and about 10,000 employees. The Hickory-based company is primarily focused on grocery distribution and sales, they are the parent company of Winston-Salem-based Lowes Foods, and Hickory-based Merchants Distributors.
Coming in at #115 is Charlotte-based retailer Belk. This past year they generated a total of $3.7 billion in revenue and they currently employ about 25,000 people across the country. The company was originally founded in 1888 by William Henry Belk in Monroe, NC. They’ve since expanded to 300 locations in 16 states.
The largest privately-owned company in our area is Huntersville-based American Tire Distributors Holdings, ranking #84 on Forbes’ list and generating over $4.6 billion last year with 4,700 employees. They originally started in 1935 with one small tire store in Lincolnton, NC. They now have 113 tire and wheel distributions centers across the U.S. and 27 across Canada.