Randolph H. Price; Southland Pioneer in Wholesale Food Industry

Randolph H. Price, Southern California pioneer in the wholesale food industry, has died. He was 86.

Price, who spent his entire 45-year career at Certified Grocers of California, died Nov. 10 of heart failure in Laguna Beach, where he had lived in retirement.

The innovative Price was one of the first in his industry to introduce computerized billing and inventory control, when he purchased two Burroughs electronic data processing systems in 1956. Twenty years later, he helped develop the Datachecker electronic checkout system, forerunner of those used today by major supermarkets.

The Los Angeles-born Price, financially unable to finish college because of the Depression, found work in 1934 unloading rail cars for Certified Grocers in Los Angeles’ produce district.

He retired from the company in 1979 as president and chief executive officer, after helping to make Certified the largest wholesale grocer in the world. Organized in 1922 by owners of small independent grocery stores, Certified now has annual sales of $1.8 billion and serves 2,759 retail food stores from its Los Angeles, Stockton and Fresno warehouses, which employ about 2,000 people.

Within four years after his ground-level beginning, Price moved from the warehouse to office manager. He became treasurer in 1945, controller in 1951, vice president and treasurer in 1957 and senior vice president for operations in 1971. In 1973, he was elected president and chief executive.

During his retirement, Price divided his time between Laguna Beach and Corona del Mar, boating, fishing, camping and traveling.

Widowed twice, by the death of Evelyn Skuce in 1983 and Bonnie Gledhill in 1994, Price is survived by two daughters, Judi Clarke of Corona del Mar and Jan Steele of Palo Alto; a brother, Jack of Escondido; six grandchildren, and two great grandchildren.