A&P Grocery Stores
Our first retail spotlight, shines on "The Walmart before Walmart", the Great
Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, better known to the public as
A&P.
Established in 1859 by the collaborations of George Gilman and George Huntington Hartford, (who would have a long sketchy history of dealings with one another prior to) the Great American Tea Company was formed as a mail order business. Gilman was from a modest farm family that had earned a name in New York through a hide and leather business. Gilman's connections and low profile paired with the Huntington Hartford's familial wealth and interest in the transatlantic railroad success, made for a sure thing. The two would begin their enterprise importing and brokering tea eventually retailing from fancy, chandeliered stores.
In 1869, they would modify the name in tribute to the success of Collis P. Huntington's successful lobbying and establishment of the transcontinental railroad.
The Central (Atlantic) Pacific was now connected with the Union Pacific railroad, Atlantic had connected with Pacific. Sky was the new limit between trade from east to west. The company was now the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company.
By 1876 the company had locations as far west as St. Paul Minnesota and was growing into a full grocery empire.
Gilman would retire from the company, becoming silent partner after 18 years in 1878. The company would continue its explosive growth under the operation and management of George Hartford and his sons, marketing their first private label brand Eight O' Clock Coffee, which is still in operation. Gilman's passing in 1901 would essentially relinquish complete control to the Huntington Hartford family.
By 1881 the company had moved as far south as Richmond Virginia. The company would incorporate in 1900 in the state of New Jersery with a capital stock of over $2 million dollars. And by 1905 there were over 250 stores across the country.
It was in 1912 that the first official A&P small grocery opened. Housing items that would normally have been trips to several different merchants and at a lower cost than most family businesses had been able to provide, made the store instantly popular.
America's first chain of retail stores had been created. By 1915 the company had become the largest retailer not just in America but in the world. A run that would last over 50 years. There sales would exceed even those of Sears at its peak and both of its competitors Kroger & Safeway combined.
The 1920's would witness the growth slow despite the growing grocery selection. Legislation was also being passed by states and local governments to limit chain stores and protect small entrepreneurs. This movement would last until the 1930's when the war would employ the population at near 100%.
High "boutique" prices were blamed and John Hartford conceived of "economy stores" with "everyday low prices" and club style consumer plans for bulk orders.
Against the advice of his father and brothers, he rolled out these new concept stores as demos in the New Jersey and New York markets. The instant success, would see the initial A&P locations replaced by these no frills, low perk grocery stores.
By 1927, the company was composed of 15,000 stores and the catchy slogan,
Price undercutting of there vendors suggested retail price in order to keep with their low prices lead to legal troubles, most notable with popular brand Cream of Wheat. This lead to the company further expanding manufacture of its own private label products. Down to fishery's and canning/packing plants in Alaska, A&P would dominate food manufacturing as it had done food retail with its own bakeries, confectionery's and meat shops.
This seemed to be just in time for (or maybe a stimulus to...) America's Great Depression which began 1929 where the low prices were essentially necessary for the survival of the population.
The store would become self-service around 1936 with the creation of its first "supermarket" as a result of local competitor & "supermarket" originator, King Kullen.
The supermarket model would continue to phase out older modeled stores until about the 1950's when the company began to lose popular appeal. This is also when the Hartford brothers would pass on and leave the company to go publicly traded.
A downward spiral had begun of not "keeping up" enough. The once white urban city populations the stores had served were moving into the suburbs as more "modern" options emerged. The introduction and success of Walmart in 1962 dealt the most ultimate blow to the chain.
On its last legs, it would sell to German owned Tengelmann Group in the late 1970's ending private label production on all but its coffee and decreasing down to just 1000 stores.
A&P would try different store models like A-Mart, which was abandoned after it came under fire from competitor K-Mart.
The company began to acquire other grocery retailers as leverage in what would be a lot of acquisitions, sales & bankruptcies to follow. The Eight O' Clock coffee brand would be sold in 2003 (and is currently in the hands of Starbucks via TaTa Global Beverages)
By 2006 the 15,000 stores had dwindled down to just around 400 becoming a small regional grocery chain only known to small pockets of the population where the stores had managed to hang on.
A final bankruptcy in 2015 would see assets liquidated. The final location would close its doors November 2016.
One hundred and fifty six years of helping to pioneer the American spirit of convenience & excessive consumerism had dissolved...
Established in 1859 by the collaborations of George Gilman and George Huntington Hartford, (who would have a long sketchy history of dealings with one another prior to) the Great American Tea Company was formed as a mail order business. Gilman was from a modest farm family that had earned a name in New York through a hide and leather business. Gilman's connections and low profile paired with the Huntington Hartford's familial wealth and interest in the transatlantic railroad success, made for a sure thing. The two would begin their enterprise importing and brokering tea eventually retailing from fancy, chandeliered stores.
(BOSTON TEA PARTY MUCH?...😏)
In 1869, they would modify the name in tribute to the success of Collis P. Huntington's successful lobbying and establishment of the transcontinental railroad.
The Central (Atlantic) Pacific was now connected with the Union Pacific railroad, Atlantic had connected with Pacific. Sky was the new limit between trade from east to west. The company was now the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company.
By 1876 the company had locations as far west as St. Paul Minnesota and was growing into a full grocery empire.
Gilman would retire from the company, becoming silent partner after 18 years in 1878. The company would continue its explosive growth under the operation and management of George Hartford and his sons, marketing their first private label brand Eight O' Clock Coffee, which is still in operation. Gilman's passing in 1901 would essentially relinquish complete control to the Huntington Hartford family.
By 1881 the company had moved as far south as Richmond Virginia. The company would incorporate in 1900 in the state of New Jersery with a capital stock of over $2 million dollars. And by 1905 there were over 250 stores across the country.
It was in 1912 that the first official A&P small grocery opened. Housing items that would normally have been trips to several different merchants and at a lower cost than most family businesses had been able to provide, made the store instantly popular.
America's first chain of retail stores had been created. By 1915 the company had become the largest retailer not just in America but in the world. A run that would last over 50 years. There sales would exceed even those of Sears at its peak and both of its competitors Kroger & Safeway combined.
The 1920's would witness the growth slow despite the growing grocery selection. Legislation was also being passed by states and local governments to limit chain stores and protect small entrepreneurs. This movement would last until the 1930's when the war would employ the population at near 100%.
High "boutique" prices were blamed and John Hartford conceived of "economy stores" with "everyday low prices" and club style consumer plans for bulk orders.
Against the advice of his father and brothers, he rolled out these new concept stores as demos in the New Jersey and New York markets. The instant success, would see the initial A&P locations replaced by these no frills, low perk grocery stores.
By 1927, the company was composed of 15,000 stores and the catchy slogan,
"Where Economy Rules !"
It was around this time, that management was decentralized and
distribution centers established in what was broken down into six
regions. Ten years earlier, at the death of George Huntington in 1917, a
trust had been formed, dividing the company between the five sons with
George and John to keep authority.
Price undercutting of there vendors suggested retail price in order to keep with their low prices lead to legal troubles, most notable with popular brand Cream of Wheat. This lead to the company further expanding manufacture of its own private label products. Down to fishery's and canning/packing plants in Alaska, A&P would dominate food manufacturing as it had done food retail with its own bakeries, confectionery's and meat shops.
This seemed to be just in time for (or maybe a stimulus to...) America's Great Depression which began 1929 where the low prices were essentially necessary for the survival of the population.
The store would become self-service around 1936 with the creation of its first "supermarket" as a result of local competitor & "supermarket" originator, King Kullen.
The supermarket model would continue to phase out older modeled stores until about the 1950's when the company began to lose popular appeal. This is also when the Hartford brothers would pass on and leave the company to go publicly traded.
A downward spiral had begun of not "keeping up" enough. The once white urban city populations the stores had served were moving into the suburbs as more "modern" options emerged. The introduction and success of Walmart in 1962 dealt the most ultimate blow to the chain.
On its last legs, it would sell to German owned Tengelmann Group in the late 1970's ending private label production on all but its coffee and decreasing down to just 1000 stores.
A&P would try different store models like A-Mart, which was abandoned after it came under fire from competitor K-Mart.
The company began to acquire other grocery retailers as leverage in what would be a lot of acquisitions, sales & bankruptcies to follow. The Eight O' Clock coffee brand would be sold in 2003 (and is currently in the hands of Starbucks via TaTa Global Beverages)
By 2006 the 15,000 stores had dwindled down to just around 400 becoming a small regional grocery chain only known to small pockets of the population where the stores had managed to hang on.
A final bankruptcy in 2015 would see assets liquidated. The final location would close its doors November 2016.
One hundred and fifty six years of helping to pioneer the American spirit of convenience & excessive consumerism had dissolved...
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