For many years Burger King owned and operated its own distribution system, known originally as Distron. Distron, founded shortly after establishment of Burger King, primarily served the company-owned stores and 50–60 percent of franchised stores. Franchise groups were free to purchase supplies from one of seventeen independent distribution systems, often operated by larger franchise groups such as Carrols Restaurant Group. The Distron setup remained relatively stable until BK was purchased from Pillsbury by Grand Metropolitan. Grand Met originally planned to sell it after the purchase, but ended up reorganizing the division into two separate groups for procurement (Burger King Purchasing and distribution (Burger King Distribution Services [BKDS). The move resulted in the layoff of over a hundred staff members.