The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. (A&P) has been a trusted source of high-quality foods since it began in 1859. The company has strived to grow and evolve in order to meet the needs of the neighborhoods serves. Today A&P is one of the largest grocery companies in America’s largest market. However, they see themselves as a local business, working with growers, bakers, and manufacturers that are local to bring about personal, one-to-one service to the communities of the Northeast.

About Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co.

The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. was founded by George Gilman and George Huntington Hartford over 150 years ago. Its first store was located on Vesey Street in New York City. Back then it sold tea, coffee, and spices at value prices. It was not long before its stores began springing up all over the New York metropolitan area, and its salesman took to the road in their horse-drawn carriages towards New England and the Midwest.

The company was renamed Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company in commemoration of the first transcontinental railroad. In 1936 it became the first national supermarket chain of the United States. It led to the innovative way in which we shop today. Its vast advertising and promotional activities made A&P an American icon for many years.

It was once a behemoth among grocers in the U.S. Over the years the operations of Great A&P have slowly shrunk. The company is now 41.2% owned by the Tengelmann Group, a German retailer. A&P is proud of its heritage. It is still committed to building on its reputation as an industry innovator, serving their customers with fresh concepts and ideas.

Stats

Annual Sales – by the end of the fiscal year 2010 the company reached $9.1 billion in total sales.

Number of Employees – the company employs approximately 30,000 people

States Serviced – Great Atlantic & Pacific currently operates in 6 U.S. states which include:

  • Connecticut
  • New York
  • New Jersey
  • Pennsylvania
  • Delaware
  • Maryland

Store Locations

Currently there are 320 stores. They are split up by brands in the following way.

  • A&P – a total of 89 stores located in Connecticut, New York, New Jersey
  • Waldbaum’s – a total of 63 stores located in New York
  •  Superfresh – a total of 25 stores located throughout Delaware. Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania
  •  The Food Emporium – a total of 17 stores located in New York and Connecticut
  •  Food Basics USA – a total of 11 stores located in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania
  •  Pathmark – a total of 109 stores located in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware
  •  A&P Liquor/Best Cellars – a total of 18 stores located in Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, New York

Brands

  • America’s Choice
  • America’s Choice Gold
  • America’s Choice Reserve
  • Food Basics
  • Food Emporium
  • Food Emporium Trading Company
  • Greenway
  • Hartford Reserve
  • Home Basics
  • Master Choice
  • Mid-Atlantic Country Farms
  • Pathmark
  • Preferred Pet
  • Sierra Ranch
  • Via Roma
  • Woodson & James

Banners

  • A&P
  • Waldbaum’s
  • Farmer Jack
  • Pathmark
  • Super Fresh
  • Food Basics
  • The Food Emporium