A&P SupermarketsThe A&P Supermarkets is a major supermarket chain that operates various banners in New Jersey, Connecticut and New York among other places in America. They sell an array of products including tea and coffee.

History
In 1859, George Huntington Hartford and George Francis Gilman set up the business with the purpose of selling discount tea through mail order. A couple of years later in 1861, their first store opened in New York City. In 1969 the company was renamed to The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company from its original name The Great American Tea Company. In 1882, they expanded their product range to include coffee; the brand that was initially introduced was Eight O’Clock.

From the moment they opened their first store; other stores snowballed into existence with a total of 15,709 stores. The next big change in the company came in the change of ownership; in 1957 the company was sold by the family to a public company.

At this point the company started to suffer financial trouble, making people wonder whether selling the company was the right move. The Tengelmann Group came in and took over the majority of the company to keep them from going under as a result of severe financial problems. In order to turn the company around, James Wood was appointed CEO, and this appeared to be working as in 1986 the company was a large player in New York City.

The most recent news on the company involves more financial trouble, as in 2003 they suffered an annual total loss of $172 million. This was made worse by the long term debt burdening the company valued at $900 million and drastic changes had to be made in order to raise some of this money. One of the main ways that the company raised money was by selling stores.

Stats
The company’s customer service team can be contacted at the company headquarters at the following address: 2 Paragon Drive, Montvale, New Jersey, 07645-1718, U.S.A. Other important statistics about the company can be found listed below:

Ownership: Tengelmann Group
Public/Private: Public
Mergers: N/A
Number of Stores: 460 in 2008
Number of Employees: 79,000
Annual Revenue: N/A
Geography: New York, New Jersey and Connecticut
Demographic: Value Shoppers
Special Services: Pharmacy

Banners
A&P Food Market
A&P Super Foodmart
Food Basics USA
The Food Emporium
Pathmark
Super Fresh
Waldbaum’s
Super Center
Save-A-Center
Farmer Jack
Futurestore
Kohl’s Food Stores
A-Mart Discount Foods
W.E.O

Brands
A&P Own Brand
Super Fresh
Eight O’Clock
Red Circle
Bokar
Food Basics
Home Basics
Smart Price

Important Links
Corporate Home Page
Online Shopping
Circular and Specials
Jobs and Careers
Store Locations