Discuss. Here are they're trucks. http://www.giantfood.com/
(http://www.hankstruckpictures.com/pix/trucks/john_becker/2003/apr/giant_168_jlb.jpg)
(http://www.hankstruckpictures.com/pix/trucks/sissick/2001/dec2/giant_food_stores_ih_9200_manada_hill_pa_july01b.jpg)
(http://www.hankstruckpictures.com/pix/trucks/john_becker/giant_416_jlb.jpg)
(http://www.hankstruckpictures.com/pix/trucks/john_becker/2003/apr/giant_260_jlb.jpg)
(http://www.hankstruckpictures.com/pix/trucks/john_becker/giant_374a_jlb.jpg)
http://www.hankstruckpictures.com/jlb_giant_food.htm
This is the logo they use on there labels, not on the store.
(http://www.ahold.com/_media/images/operating_companies/170px/giant_landover_170.jpg)
http://www.ahold.com/index.asp?id=463
There logo.
(http://www.giantpa.com/shareddev/giantc_templatesnew/giantnavbar/GiantNavBarImages/GIANT_Header3_r1_c1.gif)
http://www.giantfood.com/
There is also Giant stores in Maryland, which are connected to the other Giant chain, but have a seperate logo, store designs, etc... The giant stores in Maryland are just now Stop & Shop clones, while the Giant (or Martins) chain in PA is ran seperately.
Both chains are owned by Royal Ahold.
Giant MD:
(http://www.dcist.com/images/giant_red_21.JPG)
Here is their old old sign from the 50s.
(http://kidshow.dcmemories.com/giantfoodlogo.gif)
http://kidshow.dcmemories.com/pick4.html
Carlisle, PA.
(http://www.cumberlink.com/best_of/2004/images/best_market.jpg)
http://www.cumberlink.com/best_of/2004/supermarket.php
The one in Levittown Pa. here opened during the 70's I believe.
(http://www.arcwheeler.com/opportunityfund/giantfoodstore/giantfoodstore_1_lrg.jpg)
http://www.arcwheeler.com/opportunityfund/giantfoodstore.php
Heres one at nighttime.
(http://aginfo.psu.edu/psa/ss96/images/giant.jpg)
http://aginfo.psu.edu/psa/ss96/food.html
Harrisburg, Pa.
http://www.tbrendanoreilly.com/UnionDepositCorp.htm
QuoteOriginally posted by storehistoryguy
The one in Levittown Pa. here opened during the 70's I believe.
(http://www.arcwheeler.com/opportunityfund/giantfoodstore/giantfoodstore_1_lrg.jpg)
http://www.arcwheeler.com/opportunityfund/giantfoodstore.php
This Giant Food store in Levittown, Pa has closed and replaced by a Giant Food/Pharmacy Super store that's less than a mile west from this location.
Giant Food stores were the best thing in the MD/VA/DC area during the 70's and 80's and apparently they have fallen on hard times as many of the stores have begun to close in the MD/VA area. (More info available on the DC Grocery forum.)
In their day, they were spotless and all employees were trained to be very friendly and answer all questions with a smile. They were the first store that I remember to offer double coupons on certain days of the week in the 70's!
:yup:
Giant (of PA) opened a new store in Willow Grove, PA today. Their website has a good video of their store. It is 97,000 square feet and appears to be a lot nicer than the supermarkets of Connecticut. What do you think?
www.giantfoodstores.com/GO/willowgrove/VIDEO/index.html
QuoteOriginally posted by standa
Giant (of PA) opened a new store in Willow Grove, PA today. Their website has a good video of their store. It is 97,000 square feet and appears to be a lot nicer than the supermarkets of Connecticut. What do you think?
www.giantfoodstores.com/GO/willowgrove/VIDEO/index.html
This Giant (PA) location is actually called "Super Giant". The first one is located in Carlisle, PA.
This is not to be confused with Giant (MD)'s "Super Giant [Better known as Super G] stores that were in DE and NJ before being converted to Stop & Shop, and then sold off
The first "Super Giant (PA)" was actually in Camp Hill, not Carlisle.
I haven't seen this store yet (probably check it out this weekend..I live a few minutes away), but from what I can tell, it is just a regular Giant with other "extras" thrown inside. It still cannot beat the 130,000 square foot Wegmans a few miles up the road. Giant is becoming way too "GIANT" in the area. They have a store less than 2 miles away (a very tiny "Giant"...it was an independent for many years and was bought by Giant in 2006 when Clemens Family Markets sold off their stores), and two other locations only a few miles from the new store.
QuoteOriginally posted by MBZ321
The first "Super Giant (PA)" was actually in Camp Hill, not Carlisle.
I haven't seen this store yet (probably check it out this weekend..I live a few minutes away), but from what I can tell, it is just a regular Giant with other "extras" thrown inside. It still cannot beat the 130,000 square foot Wegmans a few miles up the road. Giant is becoming way too "GIANT" in the area. They have a store less than 2 miles away (a very tiny "Giant"...it was an independent for many years and was bought by Giant in 2006 when Clemens Family Markets sold off their stores), and two other locations only a few miles from the new store.
My mistake. I asume it would be in Carlisle, which is where Giant (PA) started.:dizzy:
QuoteOriginally posted by storehistoryguy
Harrisburg, Pa.
http://www.tbrendanoreilly.com/UnionDepositCorp.htm
Linglestown, actually (north of Harrisburg). Incidentally, this store has been remodeled several times (last time just a few years ago), yet Giant is building a new store nearby and planning to dump this one.
I believe ahold will not change the "Giant" brand labet from it's current look because it's used it bothe the Giant (PA) and Giant (MD) stores, unless they decide to use the "Stop & Shop" brand in the Giant (MD) stores.:yup:
Well, one or both of the Giant store logos will change, it's clear, it's on the website.
http://www.giantfood.com/
http://www.giantfoodstores.com/?CFID=24056278&CFTOKEN=97676853&jsessionid=923067619ea7d5b74126TR
there's two of them.
one of them will get the new logo.
It's the Giant (MD), as well as Stop & Shop's logo that have changed. Giant (PA)'s logo has not changed.
My Giant is a former Bradlees (also Jefferson Ward, and Two Guys). Interesting because Stop & Shop owned Bradlees. This store opened in 2002 and has just been remodeled. :huh: Must be planned obsolescence. One time I saw trucks at Giant with the Giant-Landover logo painted over! :holysh::huh::insane: One of these stores was just built on the site of a former Home Depot that moved and was demolished.
The "Giant" brand has now been split into two different Giant brands. The Giant(MD) and Stop & Shop uses this type of packaging now:
(http://akimages.crossmediaservices.com/dyn_li/200.0.88.0/Retailers/GiantFood/100820_W_04GERM_15arcb.jpg)
and Giant (PA) still uses the old packaging, with the current "Giant" PA logo in place of the combined Giant logo:
(http://giantfoodstores.gsnrecipes.com/Assets/123/images/logo_GIANT.jpg)
Giant [PA] acquired the Genuardi's locations in Feasterville, PA and Warrington, PA from Safeway. These two Genuardi's will close this Saturday, November 13 @ 6Pm, and reopened as Giant early next year.
The Giant store at 700 Stony Hill Road, in Yardley, PA, celebrated it's Grand Re-Opening this past Sunday, March 6, 2011
Giant in Feasterville, PA opens this wednesday, March 16th at 8am.
Here is the complete list of the 15 Genuardi's stores that Safeway sold to Ahild USA and will convert to Giant [PA]:
Phase 1 stores close June 28 at 6 p.m. and re-open July 8 at 8 a.m.
•1375 Boot Road, West Chester
•737 Huntingdon Pike, Huntingdon Valley
•2395 York Road, Jamison
•830 E. Baltimore Pike, Kennett Square
•467 Sumneytown Pike, North Wales, PA
•Pharmacies will close at 6 p.m. on June 28 and will re-open at 1 p.m. on June 30
Phase 2 stores close July 5 at 6 p.m. and re-open July 15 at 8 a.m.
•50 E. Wynnewood Road, Wynnewood, PA
•1121 Bethlehem Pike, Spring House
•950 Baltimore Pike, Springfield
•310 S. Henderson Pike, King of Prussia
•2350 Susquehanna Road, Roslyn
•Pharmacies will close at 6 p.m. July 5 and will re-open at 1 p.m. on July 7
Phase 3 stores close July 12 at 6 p.m. and re-open July 22 at 8 a.m.
•1844 Bethlehem Pike, Flourtown
•1925 Norristown Road, Maple Glen
•168 N. Flowers Mill Road, Langhorne
•4275 County Line Road, Chalfont
•550 E. Lancaster Avenue, St. Davids
•Pharmacies will close at 6 p.m. July 12 and will re-open at 1 p.m. on July 14
The Giant [MD] at Rosewick Road & US Route 301, in LaPlatta, MD, has a Giant [PA] building design
The GIANT in Bensalem has been renovating it's interior to the current Ahold USA design.
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7286/8736199163_8bbbf79ea1_z.jpg)
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7281/8737317936_4e77ace77e_z.jpg)
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7285/8737317378_e3dcd5fb0a_z.jpg)
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7288/8737321138_c2a3f0c120_z.jpg)
Are Giant and Giant Eagle Supermarkets both related somehow? Giant Eagle is based out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
They're separate chains; if Giant-PA has a store too close to the Giant Eagle area, they'll use the "Martin's" name.
Giant-PA also used the Martin's name when they took over Ukrop's in the Richmond, VA area.
No they aren't related.
These are the stores that Ahold owns (pic from their website), Giant (PA based), Martins, Giant (Maryland based), Stop & Shop.
(https://www.ahold.com/upload_mm/4/a/c/1084_AholdUSA-brand_911x405.jpg)
Giant Food Stores LLC (Giant [PA]) announced this past Friday, October 4, that they will be closing it's location in Warrington, PA. The store, located at 389 Easton Raod, was a former Genuardi's that Giant purchased in 2010.
Giant has 20 other stores in Bucks County, including stores nearby in New Britain Township, Warminster, and Plumstead. Giant did say that affected employees will be offered positions at other markets.
http://www.buckscountycouriertimes.com/business/giant-to-close-warrington-store/article_1e1c2a49-a343-5ac7-9742-634b6a529720.html (http://www.buckscountycouriertimes.com/business/giant-to-close-warrington-store/article_1e1c2a49-a343-5ac7-9742-634b6a529720.html)
FoodSource, the gourmet and very upscale division of the now-extinct Clemens Markets chain (most of which was bought by Giant but saw some stores become Super Fresh, and others close due to being near existing modern Giants) had a store in Greenville, Delaware which was the only store ever in the whole Clemens/FoodSource operation to be outside Pennsylvania. So I'm wondering... because this store stayed open for many months after Clemens was dissolved, would it have been for a short time the only Giant/Martin's-owned store in Delaware? Or could it have actually been run by the Super G/Giant Landover division of Ahold? They only have one store in Delaware after all their PA and NJ stores closed, and Safeway is in the same boat after their experiment with Genuardi's failed. I also wonder if maybe the FoodSource in Greenville was managed by Martin's somehow without direct control from the management of Giant Carlisle when it was open in 2007. Surprisingly the Bryn Mawr PA FoodSource was the last one to close, closing I think in 2011 when owned by Giant, but it would make more sense if the Greenville store had stayed open longer than the other two. It's a shame though the third store in Glen Mills PA couldn't have lasted longer, because it was barely changed from its former life as a Zagara's store (owned by Genuardi's and briefly Safeway before being spun off as a company that went bankrupt soon after) from the 80's, and it had a Wine & Spirits store inside that had to close with the FoodSource due to not having its own entrance/exit to the outside. Glen Mills was without a state-owned liquor store for miles after FoodSource closed in 2007, until a new one happened to open in a brand new shopping center across the street in 2010. The state should have kept their older store open that was "replaced" by the one in FoodSource, because the older store wasn't exactly that close to the new one which didn't last.
I officially hate giant I now have 3 giant cards one for the md division, pa division, and another for giant eagle, oh and my martins card. WHY!?!? OMG WHY!? I get that giant eagle is a totally different company so that's fine but someone please explain to me why Giant PA, Giant MD, and Martins can't all take the same card? If you wan't to have separate divisions that's fine but the least they could do is all take the same damn card.
Quote from: zonemad96 on February 17, 2014, 08:11:51 PM
I officially hate giant I now have 3 giant cards one for the md division, pa division, and another for giant eagle, oh and my martins card. WHY!?!? OMG WHY!? I get that giant eagle is a totally different company so that's fine but someone please explain to me why Giant PA, Giant MD, and Martins can't all take the same card? If you wan't to have separate divisions that's fine but the least they could do is all take the same damn card.
Giant (PA) and Martin's cards should be able to be used between the two...they are both on the same systems.
I worked at Shaw's from 2001-2006. Shaw's got married to Albertsons in 2004 (which also included ACME in the Philly area). A lot of out of state visitors felt that Shaw's should've been able to take the Alberstons and/or ACME cards after the chains got married. They never did.
Quote from: zonemad96 on February 17, 2014, 08:11:51 PM
I officially hate giant I now have 3 giant cards one for the md division, pa division, and another for giant eagle, oh and my martins card. WHY!?!? OMG WHY!? I get that giant eagle is a totally different company so that's fine but someone please explain to me why Giant PA, Giant MD, and Martins can't all take the same card? If you wan't to have separate divisions that's fine but the least they could do is all take the same damn card.
The only thing I know is that (at least as of a couple years ago) the MD Giant chain's checkouts wouldn't accept either the Martin's (which I wound up with in VA many years ago) or the Stop 'n Shop (since those are close to us here in NY, either on the MA side or further south in Dutchess County) cards.
However, I did find out something interesting - at least for getting the sale prices. There was an option where it came up to put in your phone # (which I assumed was in case you had a card but forgot it).
However, the cashier had me put my number in and that worked, even though I never had a Giant (MD) card.
So, I don't know if any random number would work, or if by using the phone # it then somehow taps into a larger corporate database (as I may have registered the phone # with either the Martins or SNS cards)?
Quote from: Marc B on February 18, 2014, 07:46:47 AM
I worked at Shaw's from 2001-2006. Shaw's got married to Albertsons in 2004 (which also included ACME in the Philly area). A lot of out of state visitors felt that Shaw's should've been able to take the Alberstons and/or ACME cards after the chains got married. They never did.
At least now that is no longer an issue, since they stopped requiring a card for sales after the last ownership transfer.
Quote from: MBZ321 on February 18, 2014, 12:54:59 AM
Quote from: zonemad96 on February 17, 2014, 08:11:51 PM
I officially hate giant I now have 3 giant cards one for the md division, pa division, and another for giant eagle, oh and my martins card. WHY!?!? OMG WHY!? I get that giant eagle is a totally different company so that's fine but someone please explain to me why Giant PA, Giant MD, and Martins can't all take the same card? If you wan't to have separate divisions that's fine but the least they could do is all take the same damn card.
Giant (PA) and Martin's cards should be able to be used between the two...they are both on the same systems.
I was told by one of their employees they don't and I know for a fact martins card's don't work with their easy scan system even if it's registered to use it at martins.
Quote from: BillyGr on February 18, 2014, 12:36:02 PM
Quote from: zonemad96 on February 17, 2014, 08:11:51 PM
I officially hate giant I now have 3 giant cards one for the md division, pa division, and another for giant eagle, oh and my martins card. WHY!?!? OMG WHY!? I get that giant eagle is a totally different company so that's fine but someone please explain to me why Giant PA, Giant MD, and Martins can't all take the same card? If you wan't to have separate divisions that's fine but the least they could do is all take the same damn card.
The only thing I know is that (at least as of a couple years ago) the MD Giant chain's checkouts wouldn't accept either the Martin's (which I wound up with in VA many years ago) or the Stop 'n Shop (since those are close to us here in NY, either on the MA side or further south in Dutchess County) cards.
However, I did find out something interesting - at least for getting the sale prices. There was an option where it came up to put in your phone # (which I assumed was in case you had a card but forgot it).
However, the cashier had me put my number in and that worked, even though I never had a Giant (MD) card.
So, I don't know if any random number would work, or if by using the phone # it then somehow taps into a larger corporate database (as I may have registered the phone # with either the Martins or SNS cards)?
If any random number would work then why would the even take the time to put it in why not just hit a magic button that gave you the "discounts"? I would try it out but I already have a card for every giant/martins store around me.
Quote from: zonemad96 on February 19, 2014, 04:31:50 AM
Quote from: BillyGr on February 18, 2014, 12:36:02 PM
Quote from: zonemad96 on February 17, 2014, 08:11:51 PM
I officially hate giant I now have 3 giant cards one for the md division, pa division, and another for giant eagle, oh and my martins card. WHY!?!? OMG WHY!? I get that giant eagle is a totally different company so that's fine but someone please explain to me why Giant PA, Giant MD, and Martins can't all take the same card? If you wan't to have separate divisions that's fine but the least they could do is all take the same damn card.
The only thing I know is that (at least as of a couple years ago) the MD Giant chain's checkouts wouldn't accept either the Martin's (which I wound up with in VA many years ago) or the Stop 'n Shop (since those are close to us here in NY, either on the MA side or further south in Dutchess County) cards.
However, I did find out something interesting - at least for getting the sale prices. There was an option where it came up to put in your phone # (which I assumed was in case you had a card but forgot it).
However, the cashier had me put my number in and that worked, even though I never had a Giant (MD) card.
So, I don't know if any random number would work, or if by using the phone # it then somehow taps into a larger corporate database (as I may have registered the phone # with either the Martins or SNS cards)?
If any random number would work then why would the even take the time to put it in why not just hit a magic button that gave you the "discounts"? I would try it out but I already have a card for every giant/martins store around me.
I have a GIANT [PA] card, and a old Super G card. I haven't tried using the GIANT [PA] card at the Stop&Shop locations in Northern NJ yet
To clear a few things up...
Giant-Carlisle (also known as Giant in PA) and Martin's *do* have interchangeable store cards. I have used my Giant-Carlisle card in Martin's stores, and vice versa.
Stop & Shop and Giant-Landover (also known as Giant of Maryland) cards do not work at Giant-Carlisle or Martin's.
SOMETIMES (emphasis on sometimes) you can use a Stop & Shop card at Giant-Landover, and vice versa. The issue seems to be related to how "new" your card is, and how "new" the cash registers are. A Brand new card from one sometimes works at the other. Older cards def do not work at the other.
Giant Eagle cards will only work at Giant Eagle, as they have nothing to do with any of the stores I mentioned above.
Quote from: FitchMike26 on March 06, 2014, 06:09:56 PM
To clear a few things up...
Giant-Carlisle (also known as Giant in PA) and Martin's *do* have interchangeable store cards. I have used my Giant-Carlisle card in Martin's stores, and vice versa.
Stop & Shop and Giant-Landover (also known as Giant of Maryland) cards do not work at Giant-Carlisle or Martin's.
SOMETIMES (emphasis on sometimes) you can use a Stop & Shop card at Giant-Landover, and vice versa. The issue seems to be related to how "new" your card is, and how "new" the cash registers are. A Brand new card from one sometimes works at the other. Older cards def do not work at the other.
Giant Eagle cards will only work at Giant Eagle, as they have nothing to do with any of the stores I mentioned above.
I don't have a modern GIANT [MD]/Stop & Shop card, but the old Super G card, so I would assume that card won't work at Stop & Shop.
MikeRA, you are correct. An older Super G card will def not work at Stop & Shop.
However, if you visit the service desk of a Giant-Landover store, and get a new card, that might work.
I've had my best success swapping between these cards when I use a brand new card, at a relatively new store. For example, using my new Stop & Shop card at a newly opened Giant-Landover store.
Here's something really mysterious: when Ahold asked permission from the FTC to buy Giant Landover/Super G back in 1998, Super G was forced to sell several PA stores to the Shop N Save division of Supervalu for the purpose of "preserving competition", yet when Giant bought the Clemens/FoodSource chain of about 20 stores in 2006, the FTC allowed the deal, and when Giant bought 15 Genuardi's stores in 2012, the FTC stopped Giant from buying only one that they made an offer for, and only because an Acme was very close by and the only other supermarket in town! So that Genuardi's ended up as a McCaffery's, part of a local gourmet chain.
Even more confusing is that a former Super Fresh in Maryland that opened in 1995 but was sold to Giant Landover in 1997 was given the Giant name and not the Super G name, even though it seemed the Super G name was to be used on all large (by 90's standards) Giant Landover stores. This Giant ended up closing soon afterward anyway and Hobby Lobby is now at the site. Unfortunately a Walmart Supercenter, Sam's Club, and Save-A-Lot are now the only places nearby to get groceries.
Super G had a store in Wilmington DE which was VERY close to the PA state line. Surprisingly it was renamed Super Giant around the same time the Super G stores in NJ became Stop & Shop, even though this could create confusion with the Super Giant (PA) stores such as the one in Willow Grove that this whole Giant/Martin's section was accidentally named after. But only about two years later this store got the new Giant/Stop & Shop logo anyway, and the word "super" disappeared for good. Around the same time the NJ Super G/Stop & Shop stores were sold to ShopRite. Ironically the Edwards stores in NJ had been renamed Super G around the same time Shop N Save closed their eastern PA stores, all of which had been Super G for a short time before 1998. Edwards and later Super G had a store in Trenton that closed in 2005, which I think was the only NJ Super G to never become Stop & Shop, and it now is an independent store called Food Bazaar (which interestingly has a logo that obviously ripped off Grand Union, who went bankrupt and left the area around the same time this store switched from Edwards to Super G). And at one time Pathmark was supposed to be sold to Ahold, with the Edwards stores being renamed Pathmark, but that plan must have been turned down completely by the FTC at the last minute.
Also, the former Super G/Shop N Save in Hilltown PA became a Clemens, but it was one of the only ones (if not THE only one) to close and become neither Giant nor Super Fresh. And Giant has a store in Norristown that sits very close to both a former Clemens and a former Genuardi's, so the Clemens became a Super Fresh and the Genuardi's became a Weis. On top of that, a former Super G/Shop N Save is close by that now is a ShopRite. Acme used to have a 70's store across the street that closed as soon as ShopRite came to town, becoming a Big Lots, but the former Super G/Shop N Save at the other end of Norristown was made an Acme Sav-on, one of the few new Acme stores opened under Albertsons ownership.
Super G/Shop N Save also had a store in Yardley PA that became a Super Fresh, but that closed when A&P went bankrupt two years back. And this store's main competitor through all three owners was a tiny Giant from the 80's which is still open, even though moving to the empty Super G site would seem to be perfect for them. Perhaps the 1998 FTC settlement makes it illegal for Giant to open here even though Super G is long gone from the area? The FoodSource division of Clemens and later Giant Carlisle once had a store in Delaware that was probably the object of some sort of dispute, because non-union Giant Carlisle has no presence in Delaware while unionized Giant Landover does. Perhaps this store was legally part of the Stop & Shop/Giant Landover division of Ahold at one point? Or maybe run by Martin's offices in Maryland or Virginia as a compromise?
And I have one last big question: was Super G planning to convert their PA stores to Giant (the PA chain NOT the mother of Super G) when the merger was restricted by the FTC? Because I wonder if maybe Super G wanted to keep their name in PA while coexisting with the local Giant chain, and this was really the FTC's concern because consumers might be unaware that the two would be part of the same company? I imagine Ahold may have been unwilling to compromise and rename the Super G stores Giant Carlisle (I'm assuming what Ahold wanted to do was keep the Super G name as is) because that would create confusion and dilute the trademarks of both chains with Giant in the name, but unfortunately for Ahold I guess they had to divest stores to preserve the integrity of the Giant/Martin's and Super G/Giant divisions.
Super G had a store in Wayne PA in the same cluster of stores as a Super Fresh, which now is a Pathmark. This Super G was allowed to remain open after all the other PA stores closed, but it closed due to low sales anyway not long afterward. It's amazing to think if it had stayed open, it instead of its biggest competitor might have been renamed Pathmark if Ahold had also swallowed that chain. I could see the Super Fresh closing and becoming a ShopRite though, and as we all know ShopRite is a very tough competitor. And if the Super Fresh had closed in the late 90's (as many Super Fresh stores only a few years old did) it wouldn't be too unusual if this particular store became a Genuardi's at first, but then a ShopRite later.
Giant Carlisle VERY rarely closes stores, unlike Stop & Shop and Giant Landover. Also it seems Giant/Martin's is much more upscale than the other two. Maybe in the future Stop & Shop will be converted to Giant Carlisle, and Giant Landover will be converted to Martin's?
Quote from: Stork of The Weak on March 22, 2014, 11:46:34 AM
Giant Carlisle VERY rarely closes stores, unlike Stop & Shop and Giant Landover. Also it seems Giant/Martin's is much more upscale than the other two. Maybe in the future Stop & Shop will be converted to Giant Carlisle, and Giant Landover will be converted to Martin's?
I think if anything happens, Giant and Giant become one Giant, and Stop & Shop and Martin's remain the same. There's too much name equity in Stop & Shop, and Martin's is used partly to not confuse people with Giant Eagle.
As it is, the circulars, store layouts, technology and new features are becoming increasingly uniform.
That former Super Fresh in Berwyn would have made a PERFECT replacement for the Genuardi's in Chesterbrook up the street.
Quote from: RoleModel on March 22, 2014, 02:52:32 PM
I think if anything happens, Giant and Giant become one Giant, and Stop & Shop and Martin's remain the same. There's too much name equity in Stop & Shop, and Martin's is used partly to not confuse people with Giant Eagle.
Some of the Martin's could switch to Giant - I remember seeing the Martin's name in Virginia, and I think it was used there since when those stores opened the PA Giant was still a separate company from the MD Giant.
Thus having a PA Giant store in parts of VA could have been confusing with the MD Giants nearby.
Of course, now that they are all owned by one company, it wouldn't matter.
I haven't checked the posts here in a few days. I'm going to give as much info as I can at once. I hope no one minds.
1) Giant-Carlisle and Giant-Landover will likely never merge. Why? Because Ahold wants to keep the unions out of Giant-Carlisle. This is why Giant-Landover was merged into Stop & Shop, which was already unionized.
2) The Martin's name is used anytime a store is within a certain proximity to Giant-Landover or Giant Eagle. The Ukrop's stores took on the Martin's name to avoid confusion with Giant-Landover, too.
3) The FTC is much less interested in anti-trust/competition issues nowadays than they were in the 1990s. Many mergers happen nowadays that would not have been approved 20 years ago. This is why the Ahold purchase of Giant-Landover required store divestitures, whereas recent acquisitions have required very few, or none.
4) Giant-Landover (which Stork refers to as Super G) still operates 6 stores in Delaware, including the one you mention on Route 202, just south of the PA state line. This store is still open, and is only 6 miles away, on the same road, as a Giant-Carlisle store (Dillworthtown Crossing, West Chester). Confusion does exist among locals.
5) The Hilltown PA store that was built as a Giant-Landover closed in 1998 and was sold to Clemens. Clemens opted to close a much older, smaller store in Hatfield to relocate to Hilltown. When Giant-Carlisle bought Clemens, they opted to close the Hilltown store, and build a brand new store on the site of the former Clemens in Hatfield. This was a smart decision, as the Walmart in the same Hilltown shopping center was planning to expand into a Supercenter, which has since opened. The former Hilltown store sits empty to this day.
6) The Yardley Giant-Carlisle was heavily renovated in late 2010, having a grand reopening in March of 2011. The SuperFresh/former Giant-Landover nearby was only announced as closing in early 2011. It's unlikely that Giant-Carlisle would have vacated a store they just spent millions renovating, to relocate to a location that likely would also need renovating. Besides, I hear the Yardley store is a very high volume, successful Giant-Carlisle. We also don't know who is holding the lease on the SuperFresh/former Giant-Landover. It's entirely possible that A&P does not want anyone else moving in there.
7) Here's a photo of the Giant-Carlisle in Yardley: http://www.flickr.com/photos/62355920@N00/6912781592/in/photolist-bwRP8w-bwSiWS-bKM2rn-6uWXND-6v2oxG-ds2BJ7
8) Here's a photo of the former Giant-Landover/SuperFresh in Yardley: http://www.flickr.com/photos/62355920@N00/3610219052/
9) When Giant-Carlisle purchased Clemens, only one Foodsource location was part of that deal: Bryn Mawr. Giant never operated the store in Greenville DE or Glen Mills PA. For a VERY short time, these 2 stores were operated by C&S Wholesalers, who quickly closed the stores. A&P?SuperFresh wasn't interested in purchasing them, so C&S found other buyers for the leases. The Fresh Market operates in the Glen Mills space, and Janssen's Market operates in the Greenville spot.
Thanks FitchMike26. I think the former Shoppers Food Warehouse in Fredericksburg, VA (may still be empty but I haven't been to that area to check in almost two years) might be a former Super G but that's just a guess based on the way it looks, and Super G didn't really have any unique building designs. Would you happen to know if it was one?
As far as I know, the Shoppers Food in the Central Park Shopping Center in Fredericksburg opened with the center in 1994. Here's a link mentioning the store closing in 2011, and it mentions the store existed there for 17 years:
http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2011/012011/01112011/599709
Thanks again! I did in fact find that article a long time ago, but considering the fact 1994 was the opening date, I was thinking it could have been a Super G because that was around the same time they started a huge wave of expansion that continued up to 1997. Also, Shoppers is/was a division of Supervalu, which seems to have very similar stores (but of course in a different part of the country) to Shop N Save which bought a lot of the former Super G stores. I guess the combination of Wegmans and a Walmart Supercenter both down the street must have been too much for Shoppers to handle in Fredericksburg.
Giant Landover currently has a store in Alexandria VA that I think may have opened with the Super G name, but last I checked (which was three years ago) it had the regular Giant name with the old logo, not the Super Giant name. Either way it now is due to get the fruit slice logo shared with Stop & Shop if it hasn't already.
One more question I have for you anyway: do you think Super G would have closed in Greater Philly anyway even if Ahold hadn't come into the picture? It seems they were the only supermarket chain in the area before Wegmans that entered the region after 1985 with all new, state of the art stores, which definitely was an advantage for them. Even Giant and Genuardi's did struggle to update certain smaller, older stores during the 90's. Also Super G didn't have any room to expand in Philadelphia itself. Their store in Berwyn closed officially due to low sales, but might have had better sales if the other stores nearby had been allowed to stay open.
1994 was the opening date of the Central Park Shopping Center *and* the Shoppers Food. That's really my only basis for thinking the store was never a Giant-Landover.
Also, Richfood did not purchase Shoppers until 1998, and then Richfood was purchased by SuperValu in 1999.
In regards to Alenandria VA, that store was always a Giant-Landover. I am not sure what name was on the outside when it opened. You seem extremely fond of the "Super G" name. Is there a reason for that? A Super G store is really no different from a regular Giant-Landover store. It's just a name on the outside of the building; just like there's no difference between Giant-Carlisle and Martin's.
It's hard to say what would have happened in the Philly market if Ahold hadn't purchased Giant-Landover. They did have a few nice locations; but even today, many of those locations are hard to get to. The Berwyn store (near King of Prussia) never did any business. After it closed, several other failed businesses have taken up that spot. Simply put, it was a bad place to put a retail store. The Barnes & Noble in the same center does a decent business, but it's the only bookstore for miles and miles. Even King of Prussia lacks a bookstore now.
Many retailers have tried to enter the competitive Philadelphia market with groceries. Right now, you just have so many options: ACME, Giant-Carlisle, Shoprite, Wegmans, SuperFresh/Pathmark, Redner's, Walmart Supercenter, Target P'fresh, Food Lion/Bottom Dollar, Thriftway/Shop & Bag, Genuardi's/Safeway, and I am probably forgetting one or two. It's just an over-saturated market.
If Giant-Landover HAD succeeded, it would have been at the expense of someone else. I'm not sure who would have been pushed out. Maybe Genuardi's sooner, or even Pathmark/Superfresh. It would have been helpful if one of these chains exited the market and sold their stores/leases to Giant-Landover.
It's not uncommon at all for news sources to omit important facts in articles about stores/shopping centers, or get those facts wrong, so I always infer more than an article tells me.
I only brought up Supervalu and its ownership of Shoppers because my impression is that Shoppers and Shop N Save both under Supervalu ownership have become the same basic concept, but used in different regions, not unlike Giant Landover now is to Stop & Shop.
I focus on the Super G name because it (when first used) represented an unofficial distinction between modern and outdated Giant Landover stores. The name never carried any force of law different from the Giant name, but the Super G name would in the 90's have represented a much bigger, nicer store than an older Giant Landover in inner-city Baltimore for example, which may have been a very old, decrepit store that started life as Acme or maybe another chain that has long since vacated Baltimore such as Food Fair/Pantry Pride (who Acme itself bought a number of former stores from in Philadelphia, including some former Penn Fruit stores).
As for Martin's, I know next to nothing about their history before 1970, but up to that point they were an independent chain that was then bought by Giant, which eventually in 1981 was bought by Ahold. I've never seen a picture of a Martin's building that matches the Giant stores built in the 80's (most of which were quickly replaced or at least remodeled, including the facades) so perhaps Martin's grew much faster than Giant grew its own chain during the 70's, meaning new Martin's didn't have to be built in the 80's?
Also the Berwyn store I wouldn't compare to anything in King of Prussia. Despite proximity, King of Prussia and Berwyn are in two different counties (Montgomery and Chester) and Berwyn is on the Main Line, while King of Prussia is not. While a lot of Main Liners definitely love King of Prussia Mall, most wouldn't want a mall anywhere on the Main Line itself. Also, the former Super G in Berwyn to my knowledge was subdivided between Linens N Things and PetSmart, then the former Linens N Things (which closed with that chain about five years ago) became a Big Lots which it is to this day. So that particular location isn't so terrible, but it doesn't have the great visibility of Gateway Shopping Center nearby where A&P was and later Super Fresh originally was.
As far as the oversaturation of the Philly market with supermarkets, now that so many consolidations have occurred, such as Giant/Genuardi's, Giant/Clemens, A&P (Super Fresh)/Pathmark, The Fresh Grocer/ShopRite, etc, it isn't really that saturated anymore. And back in the 90's it may have been, but Save-A-Lot was the only discount grocer anywhere in the region (and was smaller than it now is, and already limited to poorer communities as it always has been), not to mention the fact that most chains all seemed to be spread out just fine. Also it seems Redner's may be swallowed by Giant, because Giant already bought a Redner's in Lancaster that never closed to sit empty.
But I just realized something... three (East Norriton, Yardley, Warminster) of the five Super G stores required to be divested were already very close to a Giant Carlisle store, two of which opened in the 80's. The Eagleville (west of Norristown) and Hilltown stores were far enough away though, which along with the Berwyn paired with NJ and DE stores would have made for plenty to stay open. Giant did open a store at the former Jamesway site in Souderton in 2000, less than a mile north on 309 from the former Super G. It's interesting Giant could have opened at the Jamesway site as early as 1996 if they wanted to (Jamesway went out of business in late 1995) and possibly have opened before the Super G did in 1996. Also the Walmart in Harleysville opened next to an original Clemens that opened at the same time, and continues today as a small Giant. This would have seemed to have been a good site for Super G because their only competition would have been the independent Henning's store down the street (which relocated to a former Grant City/Jamesway site in the 2000s after it had sat vacant a long time) and the Landis Thriftway at the other far end of Harleysville, which is small but does have the advantage of a state store (closed Sundays though) for a neighbor.
I appreciate you explaining your Super G thinking to me. I never got to experience any of the smaller, outdated Giant-Landover stores in the 80s and 90s. Your thinking makes perfect sense to me. I'd love to hear of any still existing small, outdated Giant-Landover stores you can think of. I spend a lot of time in Maryland and Virginia, and would love to check one out sometime. By comparison, some of Giant-Carlisle's oldest, still open stores include downtown Lancaster, West York, Lewistown, Pottsville, and Waynesboro (which uses the Martin's name).
I live in King of Prussia, so I'm very familiar with the situation between KOP and Berwyn. In fact, for a time I worked in the restaurant next to the Giant-Landover in Berwyn. It was a beautiful store, but it did no business. After it closed, a number of different retailers have operated in the space. I think you're right that one was Linens & Things, but I feel that at least one or tow other stores have been in that space, too.
I don't see Redner's being swallowed by Giant-Carlisle. Redner's is employee owned, and it would make zero sense for those employees to sell their stock or agree to a merger.
The former Giant-Landover in Eagleville (now ACME) is only a mile and a half from the existing Giant-Carlisle store on Egypt Rd. Both stores are technically in Lower Providence Township.
Super G (or Giant MD) would have done awful if they stuck around any longer. I'm not sure they captured much market share during the few years they were around, and the stores were all very 'awkward'. The layouts of the stores were all very odd and difficult to shop, and even the shopping carts they used were TINY. I don't remember the pricing being very competitive either, but not too high either (basically, on the same level Giant-PA is now). (My nearest 'Super G' became a short-lived Shop 'n Save, then a ShopRite (both kept everything the same from Super G, although ShopRite replaced the carts). Then, another ShopRite owner took over the spot and completely gutted the building and made a much more standard layout. And this store does extremely well as a ShopRite, despite a Wegmans right down the road, and being in a shopping center next to a Giant (PA) store.
MBZ321, which former Giant-Landover store are you referring to? I'd like to check out this Shoprite.
Quote from: FitchMike26 on March 24, 2014, 07:46:34 PM
MBZ321, which former Giant-Landover store are you referring to? I'd like to check out this Shoprite.
Sorry to answer for him but I'm pretty sure this would be the store in Warminster. It's notable for being in a center next door to a center with a Giant (which was there first but has changed a lot over the years). The Giant is across from two former supermarkets that also are on the same corner. One was a Pathmark that closed in 2006 or 2007 and then was a "Waterloo Gardens" nursery store that closed after a short run. There also was a Food Fair/Pantry Pride that later was an early Genuardi's and now is a PETCO. Warminster also has an Acme from the 90's, but at the other end of town. Not sure but it may have replaced an earlier Acme (possibly more than one, because it wasn't too uncommon for 50's/early 60's Acmes to be replaced by slightly larger stores in the late 60's or 70's).
Quote from: Stork of The Weak on March 24, 2014, 09:22:23 PM
Quote from: FitchMike26 on March 24, 2014, 07:46:34 PM
MBZ321, which former Giant-Landover store are you referring to? I'd like to check out this Shoprite.
Sorry to answer for him but I'm pretty sure this would be the store in Warminster. It's notable for being in a center next door to a center with a Giant (which was there first but has changed a lot over the years). The Giant is across from two former supermarkets that also are on the same corner. One was a Pathmark that closed in 2006 or 2007 and then was a "Waterloo Gardens" nursery store that closed after a short run. There also was a Food Fair/Pantry Pride that later was an early Genuardi's and now is a PETCO. Warminster also has an Acme from the 90's, but at the other end of town. Not sure but it may have replaced an earlier Acme (possibly more than one, because it wasn't too uncommon for 50's/early 60's Acmes to be replaced by slightly larger stores in the late 60's or 70's).
Correct, Warminster. And the ShopRite is nothing really interesting to see, although it is a nice store (and they have been doing Triple coupons for the past year now, and they also take all Giant coupons, which is great if you are a couponing person). In comparison, the Giant next to here is pretty run down and feels dirty, and is really overdue for a remodel. When ShopRite moved in after Shop 'n Save, the business at Pathmark pretty much tanked. (And is still empty today, after being a garden store as mentioned, and a short lived flea market. Oh, there is also an old closed Kmart right up the road...lots of empty retail in this area).
There actually was an Acme in Warminster...not sure when it closed but I'm guessing the mid to late 80's. Is was on the corner of Street and York Rds. (It was later a Drug Emporium until the chain folded, and then was demolished for a new Rite Aid (which moved over from the 'FoodFair/Genuardi's/Petco center across the road).
The current Acme in Warminster is right on the boarder of Warminster and Southampton and opened in the early-mid 2000's, and is a pretty low-performing store from what I can see. (And the opening of a nearby Weis probably hasn't helped). [The current Acme shopping center once had a Thriftway until the late 90's/2001 at the latest. Acme built from the ground up next to the shopping center strip]. This store is technically a relocation from Southampton, PA, which was a 70's/80's style store (in itself, was a relocation from a much older 'A-Frame' Acme across the street, now Jo-Ann fabrics) that got creamed when a Giant opened a couple hundred feet away from it in the late 90's. (That Acme space no longer holds a grocery store, but it was briefly a McCaffrey's (after tons of $$ was spent to gut and remodel from Acme), and then a Fresh Grocer, but neither lasted more than a year).
I get the feeling the Giant due to its poor condition will move to the former Kmart site (most likely demolishing and building new though). This might win back customers who started getting groceries at the nearby Walmart when it reopened after a year of being closed for construction to become a Supercenter, even though it never expanded at all. Not sure but I thought I read somewhere a Jamesway was on the Kmart site originally. It must have been an early Jamesway (opened around 1964 perhaps) that would have closed around 1974 if not earlier.
Ahhhhh, Warminster. It all makes sense now. We actually discussed the Warminster ACME on here last week. It's funny how things come full circle lol
Quote from: Stork of The Weak on March 24, 2014, 10:21:05 PM
I get the feeling the Giant due to its poor condition will move to the former Kmart site (most likely demolishing and building new though). This might win back customers who started getting groceries at the nearby Walmart when it reopened after a year of being closed for construction to become a Supercenter, even though it never expanded at all. Not sure but I thought I read somewhere a Jamesway was on the Kmart site originally. It must have been an early Jamesway (opened around 1964 perhaps) that would have closed around 1974 if not earlier.
I doubt the Giant will move...it is in a prime retail spot in a busy shopping center, and the space is large enough, it is just old. The Kmart lot is kind of 'meh'. Once you go further down York Road, it becomes mostly residential, until you hit the town of Jamison, 2 or 3 miles away, where you hit a new-ish and very busy Giant (opened in 2012 after converting from Genuardi's).
I have seen references on Google Maps to the Kmart center as 'Jamesway Center'. If it was a Jamesway, the building must have been demolished before Kmart opened, and it must have been a very short lived store (either that or Jamesway was planned for the spot and later backed out..who knows.) I'm actually surprised the Kmart closed..it always seemed relatively busy by Kmart standards (especially after Walmart reopened with much less selection) and was even fixed up a bit in the last few years it was open. In comparison, the nearest two Kmart stores (Feasterville, Willow Grove) are complete dumps. But they slowly seem to be disappearing once the leases come up for renewal.
I don't see Giant moving either. They rarely relocate stores that have gas pumps. Giant usually has to do a lot of legwork to get gas pumps approved. And they've been pushing the gas rewards heavily in SEPA lately.
Also guys: We can change the name of this thread from "Willow Grove Super Giant" to just "Giant-Carlisle" if we keep changing the subject line to "Giant-Carlisle" each time we hit reply. After we all do it a few times, the name of the thread will change. I need your help to make this happen!
Quote from: FitchMike26 on March 25, 2014, 05:48:23 PM
I don't see Giant moving either. They rarely relocate stores that have gas pumps. Giant usually has to do a lot of legwork to get gas pumps approved. And they've been pushing the gas rewards heavily in SEPA lately.
Also guys: We can change the name of this thread from "Willow Grove Super Giant" to just "Giant-Carlisle" if we keep changing the subject line to "Giant-Carlisle" each time we hit reply. After we all do it a few times, the name of the thread will change. I need your help to make this happen!
Will do.
The only GIANT (PA) that is near me that has the gas station is the GIANT (PA) at Grant Avenue, south of Roosevelt Boulevard. This particular location was built on the site of the final location of Penn Fruit Company's Bakery, Warehouse and Main office complex.
I've been to the Grant Ave store in Philadelphia. It's a nice looking store, and the first to open within the city limits.
Giant is running a pilot program at stores in this part of the state (Philly, Huntingdon Valley, Willow Grove, Roslyn, Flourtown, Horsham, Feasterville, Southampton, Warminster, and Jamison).
The program is called "Choice Rewards" and it's designed for people who don't have access to the gas pumps, or don't have an interest in the gas program.
With Choice Rewards, customers can redeem 300 points for a 5% grocery discount, in the form of a savings certificate. The expiration dates of the program differ from the gas point program used in the rest of the chain. You can read more about Choice Rewards here:
http://www.giantfoodstores.com//shareddev/sharedcontent/savings/gasrewards_100_G.cfm?store_num=6427&CFID=69911844&CFTOKEN=81824205&jsessionid=8430b9d98e1d5e9d8e8b4817311974211673
Quote from: FitchMike26 on March 25, 2014, 05:48:23 PM
Also guys: We can change the name of this thread from "Willow Grove Super Giant" to just "Giant-Carlisle" if we keep changing the subject line to "Giant-Carlisle" each time we hit reply. After we all do it a few times, the name of the thread will change. I need your help to make this happen!
I created a new thread Giant-Carlise and merged the old into the new and removed the old.
Thank you Marc! Best poster here ever.
I spoke too soon....I happened to pop into the Warminster store today and they had a remodeling crew walking around surveying the store. Would be interesting if they expand their cafe' offerings (beer, etc.) to compete with Wegmans down the road. This store had a small cafe' seating area but it was ripped out/blocked off several years ago.
Quote from: MBZ321 on April 01, 2014, 06:10:27 PM
I spoke too soon....I happened to pop into the Warminster store today and they had a remodeling crew walking around surveying the store. Would be interesting if they expand their cafe' offerings (beer, etc.) to compete with Wegmans down the road. This store had a small cafe' seating area but it was ripped out/blocked off several years ago.
Hmmm, maybe now the ShopRite (former Super G) will move to the former Kmart site to better compete?
Shop-Rite was remodeled a few years ago as well. I really don't think any store's going to relocate from York & Street Roads; that's the prime intersection. As far as Warminster goes that Kmart really didn't have the best location.
I don't get why the PA Super G stores ever became Shop N Save. That chain had absolutely NO name recognition in Southeastern Pennsylvania and absolutely ZERO stores anywhere near the Philly suburbs. It seems Acme, Giant, Genuardi's, Pathmark, Super Fresh, and ShopRite all should have each bought one of those former stores (which would be perfect as there were six in the Philly suburbs).
What's up with Giant being such a dominant chain in Greater Philly? Even in 2000 it was still unknown to most of the region. Nothing wrong with Giant but I don't get how they were able to enter the Philly market with the combination of ShopRite and all the other older chains. However ShopRite was a chain in bad shape (not financially but the stores were dumps) when Giant first entered the area, and we know Acme, Pathmark, and Super Fresh all have been struggling for a long time. And Genuardi's was cursed once Safeway signed the merger agreement. Clemens also was a chain that opened a few new stores (but none that were new construction except for two of the three FoodSource stores) in the early 2000s, but was barely limping along. The former Clemens that survive today as both Giant and Super Fresh are among the worst stores in both those chains. It seems the Clemens family would have been better off closing all their stores and selling the real estate to a company like Kimco that could quickly and effectively sell the empty store sites to any and all non-supermarket retail companies that would be interested in them.
Hi Stork! You asked a lot of good questions. I'll try to give my best guesses on these.
1) The PA Giant-Landover (Super G) stores were ordered divested for antitrust issues. It's likely that at the time, the desire was to sell the stores to someone who would continue to operate them as one whole chain, for competition reasons. Simply breaking them up & selling them off to ACME, Superfresh, Pathmark, or someone else would have likely resulted in eventual closures.
2) It's easy to convince someone to enter a market/region when they are purchasing an entire chain. Safeway entered Philly by purchasing Genuardi's; Albertson's did the same by purchasing ACME, etc.
3) Shop N Save didn't last for the same reason Safeway didn't last here: you have to know the market, be willing to compete on price, and make some decisions locally. Running your Philly stores like your Pittsburgh or Chicago stores will not work here.
4) Giant-Carlisle became the dominant retailer in this area by building very big, modern stores, with lots of products, in lots of different areas. From 2001-2009, the stores churned out like ice cream. They rarely close stores without a nearby replacement. They also seem willing to scoop up the competition's stores when possible. They bought Clemens, they bought Genuardi's, and they even bought a vacant Superfresh in Doylestown. They probably bought up a few other vacant storres, too.
5) Price. Giant-Carlisle was willing to do everything they could from 2000-2009 to compete on price. By the time a few other people arrived on the scene with low prices as well (Wegmans, Walmart Supercenter, Bottom Dollar, Target P'fresh) Giant-Carlisle had already won over customers with their prices. To this day, 75% of what I buy is cheapest at Giant. I only go to Wegmans and Target for a few items each month.
6) The city. Giant-Carlisle didn't have to put up with existing stores in the city, when most other chains had to. ACME, Superfresh, Pathmark, and ShopRite all closed older, problem stores in the city in the 2000s. Giant never had to worry about this problem.
I welcome your thoughts on all of this!
Here's something really confusing: when the Philadelphia-based (started in Harrisburg though) Food Fair chain (later known as Pantry Pride) entered Washington DC in the 1950s, they had to use the alternative name "Food Lane" because a local chain was already known as Food Fair. Then not long afterward, Grand Union bought and renamed the DC Food Fair chain, so the Philly chain was given the right to use their own name. But soon afterward the Philly chain was renamed Pantry Pride anyway (but even this name change, which went with a big modernization effort, couldn't save them from going out of business just in time for 1980).
On top of that, some of the former Food Fair/Pantry Pride stores in the Lehigh Valley (Allentown area of PA) became stores also called "Food Lane", named after parent company Laneco. Eventually Laneco went out of business and the former Food Lane stores became Great Valu, part of a network of independent grocers all over the East Coast. What's funny is that not only did a lot of former Food Fair/Pantry Pride stores in Greater Philadelphia become Great Valu years earlier, but so did some of the former Grand Union stores in the DC area.
I don't know much about Food Fair/Pantry Pride. Sorry!
Quote from: FitchMike26 on April 12, 2014, 02:58:37 PM
I don't know much about Food Fair/Pantry Pride. Sorry!
No problem, I wasn't assuming you did. Maybe if the merger of Giant and Giant had happened way back in the early 50's, there never would have been two chains called Food Fair, or two chains called Food Lane. Just a thought...
I think the A&P in Pompton Lakes, NJ is a former Super G but I guess it also could have been either an Edwards or a Stop & Shop (probably a Super Stop & Shop) built soon after Giant Landover was bought by Ahold.
Also, I think the space opposite the Barnes & Noble at Marketfair Mall in Princeton was a Super G originally. I completely forget what stores are in that space currently, and unfortunately Bing Maps views aren't much help. This mall is weird because to my knowledge it never has had any department store anchors, but is like any other mall inside.
On another subject, wouldn't it have been a good idea for Giant (Carlisle) to close the few stores they had that overlapped with the Super G stores in Pennsylvania, while possibly converting the Super G stores to Giant Carlisle to replace the stores that closed? That to me would have made a lot more sense and been a lot lest wasteful than Super G scrapping so many stores that were almost new and were usually more upscale than the Giant Carlisle stores.
The Pompton Lakes A&P opened in the early 00s on the site of an Acme that was destroyed in a fire in 1997; neither Super G or Edwards went that far north into NJ. The A&P is set much further back from the road than Acme.
The Market Fair Mall in Princeton was just intended to be a small fashion-oriented upscale mall, with no major anchors (other than Barnes & Noble). It never had a grocery anchor, although the Whole Foods nearby was originally a Pathmark.
Ahold's goal then as it is now to keep the union and non-union chains separate; they couldn't convert the Super Gs into Giant-PAs without doing so, which is the reason they kept the Devon store a Super G until it closed. They also wouldn't have closed Giant-PAs in place of Super Gs; newer and upscale doesn't necessarily translate into more business (as the Devon store proved).
Everything JoshAustin said is pretty spot on. The Giant-Landover stores in PA *had* to close. Otherwise, there would have been no way to get rid of the unions.
Besides, evidence shows that these stores weren't doing all that well. Look at the Devon/Berwyn store that ended up closing anyway, due to lack of business. The VP of Public Affairs for Giant-Landover said it best: "It's not doing any business. It didn't do any business."
Story about the closing here:
http://articles.philly.com/1999-08-10/news/25484218_1_food-trade-news-barry-f-scher-supermarket
Stork, perhaps you should consider creating a website or blog dedicated to Super G? You seem to enjoy reminiscing about it a lot. It could be interesting to see photos of the stores nowadays, and what is in those places today!
It really surprises me Ahold still uses the Giant name for two different chains. Even with the Super G and Martin's names used to stop overlap, isn't there still a lot of potential for confusion? For example, wouldn't both Super G and Martin's sell products under the "Giant" name? It boggles my mind that Giant Carlisle sells products with the Giant Landover branding (with the Stop & Shop-like logo). Also when the Super G stores were open in PA, wouldn't lots of customers have asked employees what the G stood for in the name, and after finding out assumed the stores were part of Giant Carlisle? And I know I've seen bags and other items with the Giant (Carlisle) logo at Martin's stores, which could create a lot of confusion.
But at the same time why would the Super G name (as opposed to the traditional Giant name) have ever been used in NJ, a state that never had a Giant Carlisle presence? Of course in PA the Super G name was very necessary to prevent confusion, but considering the Super G logo was based on the regular Giant Landover logo, it's not like using the Giant name on one side of the river and the Super G name on the other side would have confused anyone to whom it mattered.
What's really ridiculous is that at the same time the Super G stores in NJ were renamed Stop & Shop, at least one Super G in Delaware (the closest one to Pennsylvania) was renamed Super Giant. Well a few years later the Super Giant (Carlisle) in Willow Grove opened. But also the Stop & Shop stores that were Super G in NJ were sold to ShopRite around that time, and Ahold finally created the new logo to be shared by Stop & Shop and Giant Landover, which the northernmost Giant Landover in Delaware got, minus the name "super". I have NO idea what valuable purpose changing this store's name from Super G to Super Giant had, though the name change did go with a remodel of the store, but no expansion happened to make the store "super". A Starbucks was added to the store as the only new feature at the time, but that closed anyway when the next name/logo change happened. Maybe the minor name change to Super Giant would have made sense if it happened years earlier, as Super G withdrew from PA, but Giant Carlisle grew EXPLOSIVELY in the Philly suburbs between the time Super G exited the market and the time Ahold scrapped the Super G name in NJ.
Anyway, my idea to prevent confusion would be to have renamed the whole of Giant Landover to Super G, while renaming the whole of Giant Carlisle to Martin's. Considering the names would change but not the logo designs, I don't see any reason why this would scare away loyal customers of either Giant. But maybe because those familiar with the older Giant Landover stores in the South would have come to expect more from the stores with the Super G name, and because the G was short for Giant, all Giant Landover stores should have been renamed Stop & Shop instead.
You're clearly obsessed with Super G.
Quote from: FitchMike26 on April 16, 2014, 07:10:43 PM
You're clearly obsessed with Super G.
What's your point? I know this is the Giant-Carlisle forum, but as it isn't dominated by current events/employment discussion like the Stop & Shop forum on this site, I like to use it to discuss the history of Ahold USA. Let's forget division names for a moment, I am "obsessed" with better decisions that retail companies could have made than the ones they actually made.
First, this thread is for the Giant-Carlisle division. There is another thread below for Giant-Landover.
Second, I get that you are/were a big fan of the short lived Super G experiment in the Delaware Valley. Unfortunately, that experiment did not work out. The PA stores weren't making any money, and had to close anyway due to the acquisition by Ahold. The South Jersey stores were tinkered with repeatedly, and still ended up closing. It's really only the Delaware stores that worked out at all.
Third, I am not a moderator here, and won't tell you want you can/can't post. But a lot of what you say is very far fetched speculation. "What if this happened and this had this name, and we renamed this that, and this store moved from this shopping center to that shopping center" etc. There's a ton of "what ifs" in the retail business. We can't possibly discuss every single scenario that ever could have happened.
The bottom line is, Giant-Landover could not compete in the majority of the Philadelphia market. No "what ifs" are going to change that today. Period.
Bringing this back to current events, why does the Super Fresh division of A&P still exist? Many of their relatively very few stores left at this point (only about 25 are still open!) are very small, very run down dumps. Three of their Delaware stores fit this description perfectly. They fairly recently exited NJ (except for one or two stores by the shore including in Ocean City) yet are hanging on in PA which would seem to have so many more supermarkets to compete with. It seems the PA stores have been kept just a little bit nicer and more up to date than the DE stores, but not by much.
Quote from: Stork of The Weak on April 17, 2014, 11:54:26 AM
Bringing this back to current events, why does the Super Fresh division of A&P still exist? Many of their relatively very few stores left at this point (only about 25 are still open!) are very small, very run down dumps. Three of their Delaware stores fit this description perfectly. They fairly recently exited NJ (except for one or two stores by the shore including in Ocean City) yet are hanging on in PA which would seem to have so many more supermarkets to compete with. It seems the PA stores have been kept just a little bit nicer and more up to date than the DE stores, but not by much.
Here is a list of the 21 superfresh and what they were previously
DE
1: Claymont Super Fresh Super Store: 2105 Philadelphia Pike (Store #562)
2: New Castle Super Fresh Food Market: 2044 New Castle Ave (Store 586) (Former A&P Supermarket)
3: Newark Super Fresh Food Market: 401 New London Rd (Store 588) (Former A&P Supermarket {Colonial Design})
4: Rehoboth Beach Super Fresh Super Store: 18578 Coastal Road, Unit 11 (Store 559)
5: Wilmington Super Fresh Food Market: 1812 Marsh Road (Store 584) (Former A&P Supermarket {Colonial Design})
MD
6: Ocean City Super Fresh Food Market: 12741 Ocean Gateway (Store 888)
7: Ocean City Super Fresh Food Market: 9507 Coastal Hwy (Store 950) (Former A&P Supermarket)
NJ
8: Manahawkin Super Fresh Food Market: 609 E Bay Ave (Store 471) (Former A&P Supermarket)
9: North Wildwood superfresh: 26400 Delaware Ave (Store 474) (Former A&P Supermarket/Super Fresh Food Market)
10: Ocean City Super Fresh Super Store: 800 West Ave (Store 477)
PA
11: Blue Bell (Center Square) superfresh: 1301 Skippack Pike (Store 314) (Former Clover Department Store’s Mini Mall/Clemens Supermarket)
12: Gladwyne superfresh: 1110 Youngsford Rd. (Store 294) (Former A&P Supermarket/Super Fresh Food Market {Colonial Design})
13: Havertown superfresh: 1305 West Chester Pike (Store 189) (Former Penn Fruit Supermarket/ Super Fresh Super Store)
14: Kennett Square Super Fresh Super Store: 863 Baltimore Pike (Store 244)
15: New Hope superfresh: 322 West Bridge Street (Store 718) (Former Thriftway Supermarket/Clemens Supermarket)
16: Philadelphia superfresh: 1001 South St. (Store 747) (Former Super Fresh Food Market)
17; Philadelphia superfresh: 309 South 5th Street (Store 730) (Former A&P Supermarket/Super Fresh Food Market {Colonial Building})
18: Philadelphia Super Fresh Super Store: 1851 S. Chris Columbus Blvd. (Store 726)
19: Philadelphia superfresh: 180 West Girard Avenue (Store #233)
Philadelphia superfresh: 7162 Ridge Pike (Built on site of former Colonial Design A&P Supermarket)
20: Richboro (Southampton) superfresh: 800 2nd St. (Store 252) (Former Super Fresh Super Store. Former location at western end of shopping center, opened as A&P Supermarket. Relocated to current store in 1999)
21: Wynnewood superfresh: 200 E. Lancaster Ave (Store 293) (Former A&P Supermarket/Super Fresh Food Market/Super Fresh Super Store {Colonial Building})List is updated 4/18/2014
The Superfresh division was created in 1982 to void the existing union contacts at certain A&P locations, mostly in/around Philadelphia. With the new division came new union contacts. New stores opening after 1982 fell under these new contracts, too.
The alternative was that A&P was going to permanently CLOSE all those locations. If I recall correctly, the idea to create a new division was a last minute idea to save these locations. And saved, they were...for the time being.
The Trappe, PA Superfresh, formerly a Clemens Family Market, closed in 2010. Here's a photo of that store:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/62355920@N00/4409631607/
Photo credit: Josh Austin
Quote from: Stork of The Weak on April 17, 2014, 11:54:26 AM
Bringing this back to current events, why does the Super Fresh division of A&P still exist? Many of their relatively very few stores left at this point (only about 25 are still open!) are very small, very run down dumps. Three of their Delaware stores fit this description perfectly. They fairly recently exited NJ (except for one or two stores by the shore including in Ocean City) yet are hanging on in PA which would seem to have so many more supermarkets to compete with. It seems the PA stores have been kept just a little bit nicer and more up to date than the DE stores, but not by much.
At least some of them probably stick around due to the areas they are in. Stores like the 5th St Philly store (which is only a few blocks from the historical area but in a more residental zone and most likely the only real "supermarket" in that area), the Newark DE store (which is directly across from a college, so probably lots of student traffic) and even the two in Ocean City MD (There was a Food Lion, and probably still is?, but with the area being somewhat more isolated as an island there is still not a lot of competition).
Combined with the fact that these areas aren't far from other A&P branches (Pathmark and the A&P stores themselves in various places) makes them not hard to deliver to, not like when they had a handful of A&P stores up here in NY at least an hour or more away from anything else and sometimes a several hour trip to get supplies to certain ones.
Quote from: FitchMike26 on April 17, 2014, 02:31:31 PM
The Superfresh division was created in 1982 to void the existing union contacts at certain A&P locations, mostly in/around Philadelphia. With the new division came new union contacts. New stores opening after 1982 fell under these new contracts, too.
The alternative was that A&P was going to permanently CLOSE all those locations. If I recall correctly, the idea to create a new division was a last minute idea to save these locations. And saved, they were...for the time being.
The Trappe, PA Superfresh, formerly a Clemens Family Market, closed in 2010. Here's a photo of that store:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/62355920@N00/4409631607/
Photo credit: Josh Austin
thanks. i updated the superfresh list which now shows 21 stores
What's up with Giant/Martin's changing their logo from orange to red? They did that around 2000. Since orange is a less common color, shouldn't they have stuck with it to suggest differentiation from the competition?
This Super Fresh (converted from an expanded 50's A&P) from a 1984 photo reminds me a lot of the Giant stores from the 80's: https://www.flickr.com/photos/42444189@N04/14073642274/
Super Fresh closed here in 1995 though because Acme opened a huge new store a block away less than a year earlier. Surprisingly Pathmark stayed open across the street from both stores, even though this was a very old Pathmark that started as ShopRite in the 60's. Of course it ended up being owned by A&P (also owner of Super Fresh) in the late 2000s, but closed less than a year ago after Acme did a minor remodel. ShopRite also is in town and really needs to update their store.
Giant-Carlisle has once again been ranked #1 in sales in the eight county Central Pennsylvania (Harrisburg) region.
First place: Giant with 50.7% market share. Sales for it's 46 stores in the region totaled $1.7 billion; about $36.9 million per store. Giant plans to open two new stores in the region this year, one in Hampden Township, Cumberland County, and another in Waynesboro, Franklin County.
Second place: Weis Markets with 16.34% market share. Sales for it's 39 stores in the region totaled $533.2 million; about $13.6 million per store. No new stores are planned in the region this year.
Third place: Shurfine Markets retailer co-op with a 14.28% market share. Sales for it's 35 stores in the region totaled $483.96 million; about $13.8 million per store.
Fourth place: Karns Foods with 3.76% market share. Sales for it's 8 stores in the region totaled $127.50 million; about $15.9 million per store.
Fifth place: Wegmans with 1.53% market share. Sales for it's 1 store in the region totaled $51.7 million; the highest per store average.
Link here:
http://www.pennlive.com/food/index.ssf/2014/07/giant_food_stores_food_trade_n.html
Giant is opening a new store in the Enola PA area, near Harrisburg in October.
The 76,000 store will feature all the bells & whistles, including a gas station and beer.
This store will replace a smaller Giant in Enola that opened in 1999.
More info here:
http://www.pennlive.com/food/index.ssf/2014/09/giant_to_close_store_giant_in.html
Giant is doing something it rarely does, and closing a store at 467 N Sumneytown Pike in North Wales, PA.
The small, outdated store was acquired from Genuardi's in 2012 and is only 33,000 sq ft; among the smallest still open in the entire chain. Genuardi's originally opened this location in 1976, almost 40 years ago.
A rare, freestanding Giant pharmacy about a mile south of the store will also be closing.
Giant operates a full size store about 4 miles away, also in North Wales, at 1201 Knapp Rd.
Photo of store:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/62355920@N00/7697050408
Photo of Pharmacy:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/62355920@N00/7697050888
Newspaper story here:
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20150106_Montco_Giant_grocery__pharmacy_to_close_this_month.html
Quote from: FitchMike26 on January 09, 2015, 11:39:52 AM
Giant is doing something it rarely does, and closing a store at 467 N Sumneytown Pike in North Wales, PA.
What do you think possessed Ahold to acquire this Genuardi's in the first place?
Any stores that Giant didn't buy would have been offered to someone else; likely Weis.
Giant probably wanted to prevent Weis from getting this location, and see what type of money it would do. While the store itself is small, the land it sits on is not, and a replacement store could have been built if demand warranted it.
Giant did let Weis have the Doylestown, Conshohocken, and East Norriton stores; but those 3 either sit literally across the street (or in East Norriton's case, 1 block away) from an existing Giant store.
Quote from: FitchMike26 on January 09, 2015, 11:39:52 AM
Giant is doing something it rarely does, and closing a store at 467 N Sumneytown Pike in North Wales, PA.
Giant has closed a couple of stores over the past few years.
One being a former independent/Clemens in Abington, PA (Willow Grove Super Giant opened around the time Giant took over Clemens and was not so far away). Still vacant today.
And they closed a former Genuardi's in Warrington in 2013 (Opened in 2010....never made money as a Genuardi's and Safeway basically forced Giant to take this store in order to gain the Feasterville location) Awkwardly positioned and the plans of a Super Walmart basically next door (under construction as of now) didn't help matters any.
But yeah, Giant never seems to close stores until they start to become unprofitable. I think Maple Glen, PA may be the next smallest Giant in the area, although there were rumors of this store being relocated somewhere nearby.
Hi Store215,
I didn't mean to imply that they NEVER close stores. Just that it's rare for them to do so.
In the last decade, they've closed Abington (former Clemens); Warrington (former Genuardi's); Food Source in Bryn Mawr; and Spring House, although it could be argued that they relocated across the street at Spring House into the former Genuardi's space.
Prior to these exceptions, the last time they closed a store without building a replacement nearby was in the 1980s in Ephrata, Lancaster County.
The moral of my post, is that Giant doesn't close stores easily, like their competitors do. Acme for example, has closed more stores in the last two years than Giant has in the last two DECADES.
Royal Ahold, owners of Giant-Carlisle, Giant-Landover, and Stop & Shop, has opened a 4th concept chain in Center City Philadelphia.
Everything Fresh, a 5200 sq ft store, opened in December at 1222 Walnut St. The small format store sells include organic items, and prepared foods.
Story here:
http://www.philly.com/philly/food/281827281.html
And a few photos here:
http://www.phillychitchat.com/2014/11/everything-fresh-is-coming-to-old.html
For the first time in 25-30 years, Giant is closing a non-acquired store, with no plans to build a replacement nearby.
The sole location in the city of Reading will close in August. The small, outdated, glass front location dates to the 1980s and cannot be expanded. A recently renovated (and larger) Weis Markets sits across the street. Giant is hoping it's customers will visit it's other 5 locations in the area.
Links here:
http://readingeagle.com/news/article/giant-food-to-close-lone-reading-location
http://www.wfmz.com/news/news-regional-berks/giant-on-rockland-street-to-close/34019522
Hmm. I was in a kick about researching Royal Ahold and found that they owned Stop and Shops, Giants, This Giant, and a store called martins. Giant was apparently the same as Stop and Shop, and this giant was different. Never been to either giant, but I kinda have considering I've been to stop and shop.
Quote from: Patrick Boots CEC on July 08, 2015, 08:52:06 AM
Hmm. I was in a kick about researching Royal Ahold and found that they owned Stop and Shops, Giants, This Giant, and a store called martins. Giant was apparently the same as Stop and Shop, and this giant was different. Never been to either giant, but I kinda have considering I've been to stop and shop.
Martin's is just another name for the Giant (of Carlisle) that this post is about. It came about when the two Giant chains were under separate ownership and the Carlisle chain started to expand into areas close to the Giant (of MD) chain, using the Martin's name to avoid confusion between the two chains. At this point, since they're all co-owned they could probably just get rid of the extra name, but never have done that.
I especially liked how the Old stop and shop text fits in with the Giant/Martins logo. My store had red text for SUPER STOP & SHOP.
Quote from: BillyGr on July 08, 2015, 11:05:25 AM
Martin's is just another name for the Giant (of Carlisle) that this post is about. It came about when the two Giant chains were under separate ownership and the Carlisle chain started to expand into areas close to the Giant (of MD) chain, using the Martin's name to avoid confusion between the two chains. At this point, since they're all co-owned they could probably just get rid of the extra name, but never have done that.
Although more recent, they also use 'Martin's' on locations far out in PA that are close to the unrelated 'Giant Eagle' chain.
Quote from: store215 on July 08, 2015, 04:29:06 PM
Although more recent, they also use 'Martin's' on locations far out in PA that are close to the unrelated 'Giant Eagle' chain.
Makes perfect sense in that situation as well.
One other spot that would make sense (since Giant and Giant are co-owned now) would be (or have been) in Frederick, MD as that town has both Giant (MD) and Giant Eagle. Seems that they could do that, even though it's the "other" Giant. Though perhaps Giant was there before Giant Eagle and didn't see any reason to switch.
Frederick is an interesting situation...
Giant-Landover (Giant-MD) was in that region first. Giant-Carlisle came later, and used the name Martin's in Frederick.
After Ahold purchased Giant-Landover, there was local outcry because the locals in the area wanted to keep Giant-Landover, instead of Martin's stores.
The Martin's stores closed, were sold off, and eventually became Giant Eagle.
An hour to the west, Giant-Carlisle kept the Martin's stores in the Hagerstown region.
Quote from: BillyGr on July 09, 2015, 01:54:09 PM
Quote from: store215 on July 08, 2015, 04:29:06 PM
Although more recent, they also use 'Martin's' on locations far out in PA that are close to the unrelated 'Giant Eagle' chain.
Makes perfect sense in that situation as well.
One other spot that would make sense (since Giant and Giant are co-owned now) would be (or have been) in Frederick, MD as that town has both Giant (MD) and Giant Eagle. Seems that they could do that, even though it's the "other" Giant. Though perhaps Giant was there before Giant Eagle and didn't see any reason to switch.
Giant MD stores are all Union, as far as I can tell. Although the chains are basically the same now, throwing the Martin's name up there would probably cause some outcry from the Union group.
Quote from: store215 on July 09, 2015, 05:55:56 PM
Quote from: BillyGr on July 09, 2015, 01:54:09 PM
Quote from: store215 on July 08, 2015, 04:29:06 PM
Although more recent, they also use 'Martin's' on locations far out in PA that are close to the unrelated 'Giant Eagle' chain.
Makes perfect sense in that situation as well.
One other spot that would make sense (since Giant and Giant are co-owned now) would be (or have been) in Frederick, MD as that town has both Giant (MD) and Giant Eagle. Seems that they could do that, even though it's the "other" Giant. Though perhaps Giant was there before Giant Eagle and didn't see any reason to switch.
Giant MD stores are all Union, as far as I can tell. Although the chains are basically the same now, throwing the Martin's name up there would probably cause some outcry from the Union group.
Does Giant Carlisle and Landover overlap? If they do, will they close stores?
The two Giants did overlap before they merged in 1998, but those stores had to be sold before it could go through. There were five Giant-MD stores in the Philly area (called Super G) that were sold to Supervalu; three of them are now Shoprites, one's an Acme, and one's a Burlington Coat Factory. There was also a Giant-PA under the Martin's name in Bel Air, MD that was sold.
Quote from: JoshAustin610 on July 10, 2015, 06:19:00 AM
The two Giants did overlap before they merged in 1998, but those stores had to be sold before it could go through. There were five Giant-MD stores in the Philly area (called Super G) that were sold to Supervalu; three of them are now Shoprites, one's an Acme, and one's a Burlington Coat Factory. There was also a Giant-PA under the Martin's name in Bel Air, MD that was sold.
The Burlington Coat store. Noone wanted the store as a supermarket?
The Super G in Hilltown (that's now Burlington) was a Clemens for a few years; it relocated from a smaller but better location in Hatfield. When Giant acquired Clemens they closed the Hilltown store, but demolished the old Hatfield location and built a new store there. The Walmart in the shopping center expanded to a Supercenter soon after, so any chances of another supermarket were gone at that point.
There was also a Giant-Landover (Super G) store in Devon PA (near King of Prussia) that is now subdivided between PetSmart and Big Lots.
JoshAustin, I noticed you do not have a photograph on your Flickr page of the Reading Giant that is closing soon. Will you be photographing it before it closes?
I have one from 2009: https://www.flickr.com/photos/62355920@N00/4078915657/
I've noticed the occasional problem with Flickr's search feature; pictures I know are on there don't always show up.
Thanks for posting the link. I searched through your photos but could not find it.
Quote from: FitchMike26 on July 11, 2015, 04:17:54 PM
There was also a Giant-Landover (Super G) store in Devon PA (near King of Prussia) that is now subdivided between PetSmart and Big Lots.
JoshAustin, I noticed you do not have a photograph on your Flickr page of the Reading Giant that is closing soon. Will you be photographing it before it closes?
don't forget about the Edwards/Super G in Trenton, NJ that later became Food Bazar
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/59/166119714_fd512853aa_b.jpg)
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4020/4651460017_12fb41f8f4_b.jpg)
Giant-Carlisle has a new division president. He is a former (before 2013) division president of Jewel-Osco:
http://www.cpbj.com/article/20170620/CPBJ01/170629981/giantmartins-name-new-president
Quote from: FitchMike26 on June 21, 2017, 09:34:48 PM
Giant-Carlisle has a new division president. He is a former (before 2013) division president of Jewel-Osco:
http://www.cpbj.com/article/20170620/CPBJ01/170629981/giantmartins-name-new-president
Hopefully he'll be able to make some positive changes (although doubtful)....Giant has been getting worse and worse and there is very little that differentiates themselves from Walmart anymore, especially in their newest and absolutely bland store 'remodels'.
I agree overwhelmingly. I grew up 5 minutes from corporate headquarters in Carlisle. I was born & raised to be loyal to Giant.
I used to spend 85% oh my grocery budget at Giant. Now it's more like 40%. Their selection sucks and their prices are horrible.
They really need to return to the way things were a decade ago.
The one at Grant Ave in Philadelphia now has a beer & wine section.
I think their store brand is mostly still good, but I thought it was cool when they had their own version of pepsi and coke.
(http://www.canmuseum.com/Staging/Images/Cans/14939L.jpg)
(http://www.canmuseum.com/Staging/Images/Cans/14904.jpg)
When they switched to the fruit bowl logo so they didn't have to print different logo's for giant, stop & shop and such, the store brand cola just went to the red one, so Spin Cola was no more.
I don't care about logos or beer. I care about:
1) Everyday low prices. This was Giant's slogan in the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s.
2) Product selection. More and more, thing I used to get at Giant are discontinued. Now I buy those same items at a competitor.
As always, just my opinion.
Ah ok, I didn't go to Giant until this decade.
But yea a lot of the selection (especially their store brand selection) has gotten discontinued the past couple years, their pricing on products I would say is usually average or a little higher.
Quote from: EddieJ1984 on June 25, 2017, 02:19:39 PM
The one at Grant Ave in Philadelphia now has a beer & wine section.
I think their store brand is mostly still good, but I thought it was cool when they had their own version of pepsi and coke.
(http://www.canmuseum.com/Staging/Images/Cans/14939L.jpg)
(http://www.canmuseum.com/Staging/Images/Cans/14904.jpg)
When they switched to the fruit bowl logo so they didn't have to print different logo's for giant, stop & shop and such, the store brand cola just went to the red one, so Spin Cola was no more.
Tops used have Rally and Spin colas for a short time until Ahold sold Tops.
Leaving out the discount chains Aldi and Save-a-Lot and non-traditional grocery stores such as Trader Joes, Whole Foods. Walmart, Target, etc where do the players in the greater Philly rank in price? Granted sale items can sometime skew the prices.
Here in Connecticut. (From Most Expensive to least Expensive)
BIG Y
Stop & Shop
Price Chopper/Market 32
ShopRite
Quote from: Brammy on June 25, 2017, 06:00:08 PM
Leaving out the discount chains Aldi and Save-a-Lot and non-traditional grocery stores such as Trader Joes, Whole Foods. Walmart, Target, etc where do the players in the greater Philly rank in price? Granted sale items can sometime skew the prices.
Here in Connecticut. (From Most Expensive to least Expensive)
BIG Y
Stop & Shop
Price Chopper/Market 32
ShopRite
IMO, by price, the ranking of traditional grocers goes in this order, with cheapest being first:
-Wegmans (comparing general everyday grocery items like milk, eggs, regular chicken breasts, etc.) and store brand to store brand. Many people are surprised by this, but if you stay away from the 'fancy' items, their prices even rival Walmart/Aldi)
-Giant
-Redner's (although not really a huge presence in the area, and a lot of the times they are a bit cheaper than Giant).
-ShopRite/The Fresh Grocer: also debatable and prices tend to vary by location since they are independently owned. Unbeatable sale/loss leader prices, but every day pricing is just average to higher than the above. If shopping in the city itself, save for one Giant store on the outskirts, ShopRite would be the cheapest)
-Acme
I'm inclined to agree. A lot of the items I used to get at Giant, I now get at Wegmans. A large majority of these items are store branded items, like:
store brand eggs (3 dozen for $2.49 / 83 cents a dozen)
store brand laundry soap ($1.99 for 50 oz)
store brand paper products
store brand health & beauty items
etc
I am fortunate that I live 5 minutes from a Wegmans, 2 Giants, 2 Walmarts, a Target, and an ACME (which I almost never go to). ShopRite & Redner's are within a 10-15 minute car ride.
Additionally, there are also some name branded items that Giant just stopped carrying, period. I get these items at places like Walmart, Target, Render's, and ShopRite.
Also, my favorite brand of TV dinner (Marie Callender's) used to be $2.49, every day, at Giant last year. They now want almost $4 for this item on an everyday price, which occasionally putting it on sale for $2.50 now.
When your SALE price today is higher than the EVERYDAY price you had 6 months ago, you're doing something wrong.
You definitely have to know your prices. Now at one area ShopRite near me their 33 ounce rotisserie chickens have been $4.99 for quite a while. This week's ad shows ShopRite Rotisserie Chicken $1 off. When I was there picking up a few things the other day I checked the price of the rotisserie chicken and the sign says ShopRite sale price $5.99 - $1.00 with your Price Plus Card . Final Price $4.99! Yeah the "sale price" is the price ShopRite has been selling it for for the past many weeks!
Now what really grinds my gears is that 1 gallon of milk has been $2.99 at Stop & Shop for the past few weeks. It couldn't be that price when I was still working there and getting an employee discount. *Eye Roll*
I don't know why, but at least here in Connecticut a gallon of milk is typically cheaper at a convenience store such as 7-Eleven or Cumberland Farms or one of many other convenience stores than at the grocery store. Sometimes like with the Stop and Shop example above and sometimes at ShopRite you get milk on sale, but typically Milk at the grocery store is upwards of $4.99/gallon.
ShopRite 20 ounce loadf of White Bread usually $1.00 with Price Plus. Stop & Shop is 99 cents for 16 ounces! (Of course if you like Wheat, Whole Wheat, or Whole Grain you pay more. - Of course "healthy" crap is always more. I don't like Wheat Bread). We were at Dollar Tree a couple weeks ago and they had Wonder Bread - $1 for a 16 ounce loaf! No place I know where you can get Wonder Bread for $1.
Wegmans is surprising in that - seems that many people just see the fancy (and expensive) stuff they offer in the fresh sections and think that applies to the whole store.
Since I'm in the part of NY that doesn't get to have them :( I have been known to stop at them when we've travelled to areas they are and pick up stuff that is not perishable for bringing home (the paper products note in one post reminded me of their towels that were like $2.99 for 8 rolls for a long time (it seemed, given how often I was near the stores) a few years ago.
The milk thing seems to be a way of drawing people in to the smaller stores (and then hoping you'll buy other more expensive stuff while you are there), not just for convenience stores but places like drug stores as well (and Walgreens seems to do that with sales on several food items fairly regularly as well).
The exception may be chains (Stewarts in this part of NY comes to mind) that started as dairy operations and thus may have lower prices just due to less people in the chain from farm to you.
Quote from: Brammy on June 26, 2017, 05:14:41 PM
You definitely have to know your prices. Now at one area ShopRite near me their 33 ounce rotisserie chickens have been $4.99 for quite a while. This week's ad shows ShopRite Rotisserie Chicken $1 off. When I was there picking up a few things the other day I checked the price of the rotisserie chicken and the sign says ShopRite sale price $5.99 - $1.00 with your Price Plus Card . Final Price $4.99! Yeah the "sale price" is the price ShopRite has been selling it for for the past many weeks!
Now what really grinds my gears is that 1 gallon of milk has been $2.99 at Stop & Shop for the past few weeks. It couldn't be that price when I was still working there and getting an employee discount. *Eye Roll*
I don't know why, but at least here in Connecticut a gallon of milk is typically cheaper at a convenience store such as 7-Eleven or Cumberland Farms or one of many other convenience stores than at the grocery store. Sometimes like with the Stop and Shop example above and sometimes at ShopRite you get milk on sale, but typically Milk at the grocery store is upwards of $4.99/gallon.
ShopRite 20 ounce loadf of White Bread usually $1.00 with Price Plus. Stop & Shop is 99 cents for 16 ounces! (Of course if you like Wheat, Whole Wheat, or Whole Grain you pay more. - Of course "healthy" crap is always more. I don't like Wheat Bread). We were at Dollar Tree a couple weeks ago and they had Wonder Bread - $1 for a 16 ounce loaf! No place I know where you can get Wonder Bread for $1.
Well at least you got an employee discount, when I worked at Giant there was none at all! I'm moving and being on my own in a month so I'll certainly be paying close attention to prices. My preference factoring in distance and price would be Shoprite (closest > Giant > Acme, nearest wegmans is 24 minutes away in jersey.
Where I'm moving to, which is still in PA, wegmens is still 20 minutes away in jersey (princeton). and giant is a half mile away, so giant probably will be my preferred store.
Quote from: EddieJ1984 on June 26, 2017, 07:01:38 PM
Well at least you got an employee discount, when I worked at Giant there was none at all! I'm moving and being on my own in a month so I'll certainly be paying close attention to prices. My preference factoring in distance and price would be Shoprite (closest > Giant > Acme, nearest wegmans is 24 minutes away in jersey.
Where I'm moving to, which is still in PA, wegmens is still 20 minutes away in jersey (princeton). and giant is a half mile away, so giant probably will be my preferred store.
Giant has gone way downhill, prices are all they have anymore, and even recently some prices haven't been that impressive. I'm not brand loyal, so I typically can do the majority of my shopping at Aldi and pick up the specials at ShopRite, with a Wegmans trip once in a while if I happen to be close by or I happen to be shopping after Aldi closes.
I wish Aldi was an option for me. Every time I've browsed there, the items on my list are cheaper somewhere else.
This is probably my fault though: I don't buy the stuff that Aldi has it's best deals on.
I like how their yogurt looks now
(https://i.imgur.com/ygg9O4R.jpg?1)
Giant has been named the official grocery store of the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team.
http://www.theshelbyreport.com/2018/05/09/giant-food-philadelphia-phillies-grocer/
Quote from: Brammy on July 09, 2018, 04:56:14 PM
Giant has been named the official grocery store of the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team.
http://www.theshelbyreport.com/2018/05/09/giant-food-philadelphia-phillies-grocer/
Giant is also the official supermarket of the Philadelphia Flyers
A new Giant store will open in Feasterville, PA on August 10. The store on Bustelton Pike (former Genuardi's) will close on August 9. The new store was built on the site of a Kmart
(http://www.theshelbyreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/StoreFront-765x510.jpg)
http://www.theshelbyreport.com/2018/10/04/giant-heirloom-market-new-store-concept/
First Darrenkamp's, and now Ferguson & Hassler (Fergie's) sell out to Giant
https://lancasteronline.com/business/local_business/ferguson-hassler-in-quarryville-to-close-after-years-sell-to/article_ce7a676e-7af8-11e9-a195-ffa6d57921ae.html
https://www.pennlive.com/food/2019/05/giant-agrees-to-buy-independent-grocer-in-lancaster-county.html
Hey. It's Brammy and I'm back on the board.
I just got back from King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. On Sunday when I was with my friend Kyle we stopped at the Giant on South Henderson Road in King of Prussia, so I could pick up some snacks for me to eat on the train on the way back to Connecticut. While at under 50,000 Square feet, which is small for a grocery store, it was laid out okay, unlike the Stop and Shop in Centennial Plaza in Meriden, Connecticut, which is of a similar size feels cramped. Anyway back to the Giant in KOP - they had an area for same-day Peapod Pick-Up (something being rolled out at many locations of both Giant and Stop and Shop) and I didn't see Marty the robot. I believe Giant got this site from Genuardi's.
While there is nothing wrong with the KOP Giant, they should've moved into the former ACME on DeKalb Pike rather than Hobby Lobby, if for no other reason than to just give Giant a bigger store. The former ACME is around 57,000 Square Feet.
Quote from: bjs203marc on September 03, 2019, 07:45:58 AM
Hey. It's Brammy and I'm back on the board.
I just got back from King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. On Sunday when I was with my friend Kyle we stopped at the Giant on South Henderson Road in King of Prussia, so I could pick up some snacks for me to eat on the train on the way back to Connecticut. While at under 50,000 Square feet, which is small for a grocery store, it was laid out okay, unlike the Stop and Shop in Centennial Plaza in Meriden, Connecticut, which is of a similar size feels cramped. Anyway back to the Giant in KOP - they had an area for same-day Peapod Pick-Up (something being rolled out at many locations of both Giant and Stop and Shop) and I didn't see Marty the robot. I believe Giant got this site from Genuardi's.
While there is nothing wrong with the KOP Giant, they should've moved into the former ACME on DeKalb Pike rather than Hobby Lobby, if for no other reason than to just give Giant a bigger store. The former ACME is around 57,000 Square Feet.
Marc, Welcome back!! How many names have you had here? Just wondering...
Giant has some big plans. Many new stores including one at 23rd and Arch in Philly, many store remodels, and a giant (pun intended) Giant Direct warehouse in Philly. They're also experimenting with small size stores called Giant Heirloom Markets.
https://www.supermarketnews.com/retail-financial/giant-food-stores-has-bigger-plans-pennsylvania
Plus 2 more full sized stores in Philadelphia:
https://www.inquirer.com/real-estate/commercial/lidl-giant-south-philadelphia-blatstein-wawa-gas-station-foxwoods-20200117.html
I was at the GIANT Heirloom Market on North 2nd Street, Philadelphia PA earlier today. It is a mix of a traditional GIANT (Produce and select departments) mixed with a convenient store (7 Eleven/Wawa). The one I was at also at sells Draft Beers & Wines you can drink at, at "Heirloom Underground"
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49430706341_f79854fd09_b.jpg)
GIANT also renamed/moderized the BonusCard to GIANT/MARTIN'S Choice Rewards. For this new program, you need a online account. If you have a BonusCard, it will still work as your Choice Rewards card.
I was around the Yardley, PA Giant a few weeks ago, it was in the middle of getting remodeled to the current decor (I would call it the "For todays table" decor), the outside sign hasn't been changed to the current Giant logo yet.
(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/861645636223238157/957087181485264956/20220215_132538.jpg)
(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/861645636223238157/957088465000988682/20220215_132613.jpg)
I went to Giant in The Metroplex Shopping Center in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania two weeks ago.
Here's what I was surprised by:
In-Store Starbucks
A special register to pay for alcoholic beverages.
A small seating area to eat.
A salad bar.
Sandwiches that were bigger than the ones at sister chain Stop & Shop.