The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company
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- For the short story by John Updike, see A&P (story).
The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company, better known as A&P, is a supermarket chain in the United States.
History and leadership
The company was founded in 1859 as The Great American Tea Company by George Huntington Hartford and George Gilman in Elmira, New York. It was renamed "The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company" in 1870, and by 1876 had sixty-seven stores, increasing to 1000 by 1915. In 1920s and 1930s, the company dominated the American retail market. In the 1930s, A&P was operating approximately 16,000 stores with a combined revenue of US$1 billion.The company originally focused on the tea business. They were successful in capturing a large part of the market in the northeastern cities in the U.S. They purchased tea directly from Chinese tea plantations. Their low costs enabled them to undercut most of the market and grow unchecked.
The pressure it put on its suppliers led to the passing of several anti-predatory pricing laws by Congress.
Today, the company is no longer among the largest retailers in the United States, but it operates a total of 630 stores, 427 stores through its A&P US unit in nine U.S. states (Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Louisiana, Mississippi, Michigan) and the District of Columbia. The company, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, boasts an annualized sales volume of almost $11 billion and employs approximately 43,000 workers. Its corporate and U.S. headquarters is located in Montvale, New Jersey.
A&P operates ten other retail banners besides A&P, which include conventional supermarkets, food and drug combination stores, and discount food stores.
Its current Executive Chairman is Christian W.E. Haub, a member of the family that owns the Tengelmann Group of Germany. The Tengelmann Group bought a majority stake in A&P in 1979.
In 1983, A&P bought Kohl's Food Stores (originally part of the Kohl's department store chain) in Wisconsin from BATUS. The Kohl's chain was eventually closed in 2003.
The company formerly operated 237 stores through its A&P Canada unit in the Canadian province of Ontario. On August 15, 2005, the company finalized its sale of the Canadian operations to Metro Inc., a grocery retailer based in Montreal, for CAN$1.7 billion in cash and shares of Metro. It has also announced plans to divest itself of its Midwest operations.
Private brands, then and now
For many decades, the A&P supermarkets pioneered in the use of in-house brands. Eight O'Clock Coffee, Our Own tea and Ann Page and Jane Parker foods were almost as notable to regular shoppers as the outside retail brands the store carried. (A&P's coffee line was a hallmark of the store from practically the beginning and received its Eight O'Clock moniker by 1920. It was once a bigger moneymaker than the retail stores themselves.)A&P sold off Eight O'Clock Coffee to a San Francisco investment firm in 2003 (though the retailer continues to sell it). A&P has also replaced the Ann Page and Jane Parker labels with its America's Choice and Master Choice icons.
Banners
A&P US
- A&P Food Market (Super A&P)
- A&P Fresh Market
- A&P Super Foodmart (New England division)
- Waldbaum's
- The Food Emporium
- Super Fresh
- Farmer Jack
- Sav-A-Center
- Food Basics
In 2006, A&P sold A&P Canada and Food Basics Canada to Metro of Quebec. The name of the Canadian units are now owned by Metro Inc.
References
External links
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