A supermarket is a self-serviceshop offering a wide variety of food, beverages and household products, organized into sections. Strictly speaking, a supermarket is larger and has a wider selection than earlier grocery stores, but is smaller and more limited in the range of merchandise than a hypermarket or big-box market. In everyday American English usage, however, "grocery store" is often casually used as a synonym for "supermarket". The supermarket retail format first appeared around 1930 in the United States as the culmination of almost two decades of retail innovations, and began to spread to other countries after extensive worldwide publicity in 1956.
The supermarket typically has places for fresh meat, fresh produce, dairy, deli items, baked goods, and similar foodstuffs. Shelf space is also reserved for canned and packaged goods and for various non-food items such as kitchenware, household cleaners, pharmacy products and pet supplies. Some supermarkets also sell other household products that are consumed regularly, such as alcohol (where permitted), medicine, and clothing, and some sell a much wider range of non-food products: DVDs, sporting equipment, board games, and seasonal items (e.g., Christmaswrapping paper, Easter eggs, school uniforms, Valentine's Day themed gifts, Mother's Day gifts, Father's Day gifts and Halloween).
A larger full-service supermarket combined with a department store is sometimes known as a hypermarket. Other services may include those of banks, cafés, childcare centers/creches, insurance (and other financial services), mobile phone sales, photo processing, video rentals, pharmacies, and gas stations. If the eatery in a supermarket is substantial enough, the facility may be called a "grocerant", a portmanteau of "grocery" and "restaurant".
The traditional supermarket occupies a large amount of floor space, usually on a single level. It is usually situated near a residential area in order to be convenient to consumers. The basic appeal is the availability of a broad selection of goods under a single roof, at relatively low prices. Other advantages include ease of parking and frequently the convenience of shopping hours that extend into the evening or even 24 hours of the day. Supermarkets usually allocate large budgets to advertising, typically through newspapers and television. They also present elaborate in-shop displays of products. (Full article...)
Angeli Foods, also known as Angeli's Central Market or Angeli's Super Valu, was an American grocery store chain founded in Iron River, Michigan. Italian immigrant Alfred Angeli opened the first store in 1917, and the company grew to encompass several locations dotted across the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Angeli Foods remained under family ownership for three generations until its sale in 2022. (Full article...)
Gull New Zealand is a New Zealand petroleum distribution company and petrol station chain. It is the country's third largest fuel retailer, with 113 locations in New Zealand including 45 in Auckland. (Full article...)
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Restaurant Brands New Zealand Limited, trading as Restaurant Brands, is a New Zealandfast food company. Restaurant Brands currently operates and owns the master franchising rights for the Carl's Jr., KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell brands in New Zealand. Restaurant Brands operates most of New Zealand's stores for the brands they own rights to and provides management and support services to New Zealand's independent franchisees of the remaining stores. (Full article...)
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Aldi (stylised as ALDI) (German pronunciation: [ˈaldiː]ⓘ) is the common company brand name of two Germanmultinational family-owned discount supermarketchains operating over 12,000 stores in 18 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when they took over their mother's store in Essen. The business was split into two separate groups in 1960, that later became Aldi Nord (initially Northern West Germany), headquartered in Essen, and Aldi Süd (initially Southern West Germany), headquartered in neighbouring Mülheim.
In 1962, they introduced the name Aldi (a syllabic abbreviation for Albrecht Diskont). In Germany, Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd have been financially and legally separate since 1966, although both divisions' names may appear as if they were a single enterprise with certain store brands or when negotiating with contractor companies. The formal business name of Aldi Nord is Aldi Einkauf GmbH & Co., while the formal business name of Aldi Süd is ALDI SÜD Dienstleistungs-SE & Co. Each company is owned and operated independently, but they do have contractual business with one another. (Full article...)
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Norfa is a supermarket chain in Lithuania. In 2022, it was fourth largest chain of retail stores in Lithuania.
Harris Farm Markets is an Australian grocery chain with over 30 locations in New South Wales and Queensland with the majority of stores existing within the Sydney metropolitan area, the Brisbane metropolitan area, and various regional areas in New South Wales including Newcastle, Orange, Bathurst and Albury. The markets specialise in fruit, vegetables, cheeses, breads, delicatessen and gourmet grocery items.
They are Australia's biggest individual retailer of fruit and vegetables and promote 'odd-shaped' fruit called "Imperfect Picks" at lower prices in an initiative to reduce landfills. Harris Farm Markets also produce many of their products in Flemington, including yogurt, frozen goods, salads, juices and milk. (Full article...)
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SPAR, originally "DESPAR", styled as "DE SPAR" (Dutch pronunciation:[dəˈspɑr]), is a Dutch multinational franchise that provides branding, supplies and support services for independently owned and operated food retail stores. It was founded in the Netherlands in 1932, by Adriaan van Well. Its headquarters are in Amsterdam. The company operates a partnership programme and has a presence in most European countries, as well as throughout Asia, Africa and Oceania. (Full article...)
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Fakta, a chain of discount stores as of September 2022 superseded by 365discount and was founded in 1981 as Dansk Discount A/S, renamed Fakta in 1982. Six years later, the chain became a part of Coop Danmark. In May 2011, Fakta had 374 stores with around 6,000 employees. They operated stores located at more central urban places, called Fakta Q, which sold food, primarily convenience food. They were replaced by regular Fakta stores with Fakta Q being discontinued in 2017. Fakta's slogan is "Det er Fakta" ("It's a fact" or "It's Fakta"). The old slogan "Det er sund fornuft" ("It's common sense") is still used on Fakta-branded products. In the 21st century their slogan became "det tager kun 5 min" ("it only takes 5 mins"). In 2013, Fakta opened its first two stores in Germany, just south of the Danish border. (Full article...)
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Wesfarmers Limited is an Australian conglomerate, headquartered in Perth, Western Australia. It has interests predominantly in Australia and New Zealand, operating in retail, chemical, fertiliser, industrial and safety products. With revenue of A$43.5 billion in the 2023 financial year, it is one of Australia's largest companies by revenue. Wesfarmers is also one of the largest private employers in Australia, with approximately 107,000 employees.
Wesfarmers was founded in 1914 as a co-operative to provide services and merchandise to Western Australian farmers. It was listed on the Australian Securities Exchange in 1984 and grew into a major retail conglomerate. (Full article...)
Retail Apparel Group is an Australian and New Zealand clothing retail company, wholly owned by the Foschini Group. The company operates stores under the Tarocash, Connor, yd., Johnny Bigg, Rockwear and AXL+Co brands. (Full article...)
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Mosaic Brands Limited is an Australian fashion retail company. It operates 715 stores across Australia under the brands Millers, Rockmans, Noni B, Rivers, Katies, Autograph, Crossroads, W. Lane and Beme. The company's core market is women over the age of 50. In 2024 it was placed into voluntary administration with administrators appointed from FTI Consulting and receivers and managers from KPMG after not gaining approval on an emergency restructure. It announced it would wind down the Rockmans, Autograph, Crossroads, W.Lane and Beme brands, with receivers later winding down the Katies brand as part of extended store closures. (Full article...)
Plus was a German multinational discount supermarket chain founded in 1972. It operated 2,840 stores in Germany with an approximate 27,000 employees and about 1,200 stores in several other European countries. The retail model was to sell low-cost groceries with no expense incurred for display or marketing of products. Groceries were stored in the shipping cartons they came in, rather than being stacked on shelves. In German advertising, the name "Plus" was used as a backronym for "Prima leben und sparen" (approximately "top-notch living and saving"), featuring animated "little prices" (also sold as plush puppets) as their mascot. (Full article...)
Plus was a German multinational discount supermarket chain founded in 1972. It operated 2,840 stores in Germany with an approximate 27,000 employees and about 1,200 stores in several other European countries. The retail model was to sell low-cost groceries with no expense incurred for display or marketing of products. Groceries were stored in the shipping cartons they came in, rather than being stacked on shelves. In German advertising, the name "Plus" was used as a backronym for "Prima leben und sparen" (approximately "top-notch living and saving"), featuring animated "little prices" (also sold as plush puppets) as their mascot. (Full article...)
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Nike, Inc. (stylized as NIKE) is an American athletic footwear and apparel corporation headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, United States. It is the world's largest supplier of athletic shoes and apparel and a major manufacturer of sports equipment, with revenue in excess of US$46 billion in its fiscal year 2022.
The company was founded on January 25, 1964, as "Blue Ribbon Sports", by Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight, and officially became Nike, Inc. on May 30, 1971. The company takes its name from Nike, the Greek goddess of victory. Nike markets its products under its own brand, as well as Nike Golf, Nike Pro, Nike+, Nike Blazers, Air Force 1, Nike Dunk, Air Max, Foamposite, Nike Skateboarding and Nike CR7. The company also sells products under its Air Jordan brand and its Converse subsidiary. Nike also owned Bauer Hockey from 1995 to 2008, and previously owned Cole Haan, Umbro, and Hurley International. In addition to manufacturing sportswear and equipment, the company operates retail stores under the Niketown name. Nike sponsors many high-profile athletes and sports teams around the world, with the highly recognized trademarks of "Just Do It" and the Swoosh logo. (Full article...)
... that South African president Jacob Zuma requested a tour of a Sainsbury's supermarket during his state visit to the United Kingdom in 2010?
... that before Angeli Foods was sold this year, the first self-service grocery store in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan had been owned by three generations of a single family?
Three people are killed and fifteen others are injured in a mass stabbing at a supermarket in Songjiang district, Shanghai, China. Police arrest a 37-year-old man at the scene, adding that the man had come to Shanghai in order to "vent his anger due to a personal economic dispute". (Reuters)(BBC News)
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