A&P
The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, better known as A&P, was an American chain of grocery stores that operated from 1859 to 2015.[1] From 1915 through 1975, A&P was the largest grocery retailer in the United States (and, until 1965, the largest U.S. retailer of any kind).[2]
"The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company" redirects here. For other uses, see The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (disambiguation) and AP (disambiguation).A&P
Gilman & Company (1859–1869)
Public
February 17, 1859 in New York City, New York, United States
November 2015; 8 years ago
15000 at peak (1930)
296 at liquidation (2015)
United States
28,500 (2015)
aptea.com at the Wayback Machine (archived October 17, 2015)
A&P was considered an American icon that, according to The Wall Street Journal, "was as well known as McDonald's or Google is today".[3][4] At its peak in the 1940s, A&P captured 10% of total US grocery spending.[5] Known for innovation, A&P improved consumers' nutritional habits by making available a vast assortment of food products at much lower costs.[6] Until 1982, A&P also was a large food manufacturer.[7]
A&P was founded in 1859 as "Gilman & Company" by George Gilman, who opened a small chain of retail tea and coffee stores in New York City, and then expanded to a national mail order business. The firm grew to 70 stores by 1878; by 1900, it operated almost 200 stores. A&P grew dramatically by introducing the economy store concept in 1912, growing to 1,600 stores by 1915. After World War I, it added stores that offered meat and produce, while expanding manufacturing.
In 1930, A&P, by then the world's largest retailer, reached $2.9 billion in sales ($52.9 billion today) with 15,000 stores. In 1936, it adopted the self-serve supermarket concept and opened 4,000 larger stores (while phasing out many of its smaller units) by 1950.[8] After two bankruptcies, A&P finally closed the last of its doors in 2015.
History[edit]
1859–1878: Gilman era[edit]
The forerunner of A&P was founded in the 1850s as Gilman & Company by George Gilman (1826–1901) to continue his father's leather tanning business; in 1858 the firm's address was 98 Gold Street in Manhattan. Gilman's father died in 1859, leaving the son wealthy. That year, Gilman & Company entered the tea and coffee business from that storefront. One source speculates that Gilman decided to enter a more respectable business in light of his wealth. In May 1861, Gilman turned over the tanning business to his brother Winthrop; George moved his tea business to 129 Front Street. Initially, Gilman & Company was a wholesaler. In early 1863 the firm became a retailer, Great American Tea Company. Quickly, it opened five stores, moving its office and warehouse to 51 Vesey Street.[9]
Gilman proved to be a master at promotion; the business quickly expanded by advertising low prices. The firm was able to offer low prices by acting as both the wholesaler and retailer. Gilman also built a nationwide mail order business. By 1866, the firm was valued at more than $1 million (~$16.3 million in 2023). In 1869, the transcontinental railroad was completed; Gilman created a parallel company, the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, to promote the then-new concept of prepackaged tea under the Thea-Nector name. The tea company, which some sources say was co-founded by George Huntington Hartford,[10] continued to use the Great American name for mail-order purposes. In 1871, A&P introduced another concept when it offered premiums, such as lithographs, china, and glassware with the purchase of coffee and/or tea at its stores. These premiums are now collectibles.[11]
For most of its history, A&P operated its stores under that name. That changed during the Scott and Wood eras when A&P created chains, or used the original names of acquired chains. The following were A&P's retail operations under a different name:
When A&P was founded, there were no branded food products, and retailers sold food commodities in bulk. In 1870, the company became among the first to sell a branded pre-packaged food product, introducing "Thea-Necter" brand tea. In 1885, the name "A&P" was introduced on baking powder containers. Also in the 1880s, the company adopted the name "Eight-O'Clock" for its coffee. When A&P moved its headquarters to Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1907, it included a bakery and coffee-roasting operation.[82]
A&P's evolution into one of the country's largest food manufacturers was the result of the 1915 court decision in the Cream of Wheat litigation that upheld the right of a manufacturer to set retail prices. To keep prices down, A&P put emphasis on private label goods.[83] By 1962, A&P operated 67 plants before consolidating many of them into the 1.5 million-square foot Horseheads facility, which was the largest food manufacturing plant in the world under one roof. In his 1952 book, American Capitalism, John Kenneth Galbraith cited A&P's manufacturing strategy as a classic example of countervailing power that was a welcome alternative to state price controls.[84]
As late as 1977, private label represented 25% of A&P's sales, with A&P manufactured products accounting for over 40% of this total. That year, A&P manufacturing reported sales of $750 million from its 23 plants(which by itself would have ranked A&P's manufacturing group at about number 350 in the Fortune 500).[7]
Until the creation of a combined Manufacturing Group in 1975, the corporation's production operations were conducted by four separate divisions:[8]
In the mid-1990s, A&P introduced a new simplified store brand called America's Choice, which would last until the chain's demise in 2015. (In Canada, the brand was called "Master Choice". This same branding was used for A&P's gourmet items in its U.S. stores.)
In 2008 and 2009, the corporation added the environmentally-sensitive Green Way brand, gourmet Food Emporium Trading Company brand, and low-cost Food Basics alternative.[90]
Woman's Day[edit]
What became Woman's Day was started by A&P in 1931, as a free leaflet with menus. In 1937, it was expanded into a magazine that was sold exclusively in A&P stores, for 5 cents. Circulation reached 3 million in 1944 and 4 million by 1958, when the magazine was sold to Fawcett Publications.[91]