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Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company

The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company
A&P
Formerly called
Gilman & Company (1859–1869)
Industry Grocery
Fate Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Founded 1859 (158 years ago) (1859) in New York City, New York, United States
Founder George Gilman
Defunct November 30, 2015 (2015-11-30)
Headquarters Montvale, New Jersey, US
Number of locations

15,709 at peak (1930)

296 at liquidation (2015)
Areas served
United States and Canada
Number of employees
28,500 (2015)
Website aptea.com

15,709 at peak (1930)

The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, better known as A&P, was an American chain of grocery stores that ceased supermarket operations in November 2015, after 156 years in business. From 1915 through 1975, A&P was the largest food/grocery retailer in the United States (until 1965, the largest U.S. retailer of any kind). A&P was considered an American icon that according to The Wall Street Journal "was as well known as McDonald's or Google is today" and that A&P was "Walmart before Walmart." Known for innovation, A&P and the supermarkets that followed its lead significantly improved nutritional habits by making available a vast assortment of food products at much lower costs. Until 1982, A&P also was a large food manufacturer. In his 1952 book, American Capitalism, John Kenneth Galbraith cited A&P's manufacturing strategy as a classic example of countervailing power that was a welcome alternative to state price controls.

Founded in 1859 by George Gilman as "Gilman & Company", within a few years it opened a small chain of retail, tea, and coffee stores in New York City and operated a national mail order business. The firm grew to 70 stores by 1878 when Gilman passed management to George Huntington Hartford, who turned A&P into the country's first grocery chain. In 1900, it operated almost 200 stores. After Hartford acquired ownership, A&P grew dramatically by introducing the economy store concept in 1912, growing to 1,600 stores in 1915. After World War I, it added stores that offered meat and produce, while expanding manufacturing. In 1930, A&P, now the world's largest retailer, reached $2.9 billion in sales with 16,000 stores. In 1936, it adopted the self-serve supermarket concept and opened 4,000 larger stores (while phasing out many of its smaller units) by 1950.


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