Hy-Vee, Inc.

Hy-Vee, Inc. is a private, employee-owned supermarket chain founded in 1930 by Charles Hyde and David Vredenburg. Headquartered in West Des Moines, Iowa, the company operates more than 280 retail stores across the Midwestern and Southern United States. As one of the largest private companies in the U.S., Hy-Vee generates annual revenues of over $13 billion and employs more than 75,000 people. The company is owned by its employees through a 401(k) plan, with the Hy-Vee Stock Fund being the largest shareholder in the company.

Hy-Vee is an operating company whose primary business is retail grocery. Its large-format supermarkets offer a wide range of products and services, including bakeries, delicatessens, pharmacies, floral departments, and coffee kiosks. Many locations also feature full-service restaurants, fuel stations with convenience stores, and health clinics. The company has expanded its offerings to include private-label products, online shopping, and different store formats like "Hy-Vee Fast & Fresh" for convenience-focused customers.

As an operating company, Hy-Vee's patent litigation profile consists of defending against lawsuits. The company is tracked as a defendant in one case and has not been a plaintiff. This posture is typical for a large retailer focused on its own operations rather than patent assertion. The single tracked case, filed in 2025, is in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, a popular venue for patent litigation.

The case, Alpha Modus, Corp. v. Hy-Vee, Inc., involves a non-practicing entity (NPE) as plaintiff. Alpha Modus is a publicly traded company that has filed numerous patent infringement lawsuits against retailers, asserting patents related to technologies like real-time consumer behavior analysis, digital advertising, and smart retail displays. Alpha Modus has disclosed that it has filed 24 such enforcement actions and has reached settlements in several of them.