The supermarket company was established in 1950, when the Italian, Prati Caruso brothers established it, as La Franco Italiana.
During the company's first few years, growth was slow, but when petroleum companies Shell and Creole Petroleum Corporation merged, the Paraguana peninsula registered an important economic and population growth, inspiring La Franco Italiana to expand. In 1974, the company's name changed officially from La Franco Italiana to Supermercado La Franco Italiana S.A..
In 1989, the company inaugurated what is, as of 2003, the largest supermarket store in Venezuela.
Many people in the Paraguana peninsula have nicknamed the company La Franco.