Moran & Cato

Moran & Cato was the largest chain of grocery stores in Australia in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.[1] The partnership was established in Melbourne on 24 July 1882 when Frederick John Cato joined his cousin Thomas Edwin Moran who ran two grocery stores in Fitzroy and Carlton.[2] Moran died in 1890 at the age of 39 and was succeeded by his widow.[2] The following years saw expansion into Tasmania and New South Wales and incorporation of the company in 1912.[2]

By 1935 the company was employing nearly one thousand people and had about 120 branches in Victoria and Tasmania and 40 in New South Wales.[2] In 1962, it was still the largest independent retail grocery chain and wholesaler in Australia and a competitor to Coles Supermarkets and Woolworths Supermarkets, and had largely converted its stores to the self-service model in 1957–1961.[3]

The company was taken over by competitor Permewan Wright Limited in 1969.[4][5]