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...)
Seiyu KK (株式会社西友, Kabushiki-gaisha Seiyū, lit.'Friend of Seibu Department Stores' or 'Friend of West'), or Seiyu Group (西友グループ, Seiyū Gurūpu), is a Japanese group of supermarkets, shopping centers and department stores, headquartered in Akabane (赤羽), Kita, Tokyo. On May 8, 2023, the Akabane headquarters office was relocated due to the redevelopment of Seiyu's Akabane store site. The current head office location is Kichijoji Honmachi, Musashino City, Tokyo.
Its company name means "innovation, leadership and excellence". (Full article...)
The Trusts are a group of two community-owned organisations (licensing trusts) with a near monopoly on the sale of alcohol in West Auckland. They are one of the largest alcohol retailers in New Zealand.
It was established in 1976 as a partnership of eight independent grocery stores. In the same year, Metro opened its first self-branded supermarket in Athens. Today (2015) the company has 108 stores all over Greece. 62 of its stores (usually sized between 1000-2000 m2) operate under the brand name My Market, while the remaining 46 (usually sized over 2000 m2) operate under the brand name Metro Cash & Carry. Metro is the sixth largest supermarket chain in Greece as measured by market share. (Full article...)
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Icebreaker is a merino wool outdoor and natural performance outdoor clothing brand headquartered in Auckland, New Zealand. It was purchased by VF Corporation, a NYSE listed entity in 2018. Icebreaker was conceived and designed around the philosophy of sustainability, using natural fibres, environmental and social ethics, and animal welfare. The company began by specialising in the creation of merino base layers and now offers underwear, mid layers, outer wear, socks and accessories based on natural fibres.
Icebreaker was founded in 1995 by Jeremy Moon, and now supplies its clothing to more than 4,700 stores in 50 countries. (Full article...)
David Jones was founded in 1838 by David Jones, a Welsh merchant and future politician, after he emigrated to Australia, and is the oldest continuously operating department store in the world still trading under its original name. (Full article...)
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Gala is a convenience shop chain in Ireland. Established in 1998, as of 2021 Gala had approximately 250 shops nationwide, all under franchise. The symbol group is supplied by a number of independent wholesalers which were formerly part of the National Wholesale group (now known as Stonehouse). In 2008, the brand recognised its tenth year in business. Gary Desmond is the chief executive officer.
Harvey Norman is an Australian multinationalretailer of furniture, bedding, computers, communications and consumer electrical products. It mainly operates as a franchise, with the main brand and all company-operated stores owned by ASX-listed Harvey Norman Holdings Limited. As of 2022, there are 304 company-owned and franchised stores in Australia, New Zealand, Europe and South-East Asia operating under the Harvey Norman, Domayne and Joyce Mayne brands in Australia, and under the Harvey Norman brand overseas. (Full article...)
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Extra was a retail chain in the German food sector that was part of REWE Group from July 1, 2008, til it ceased to exist in 2009. The company was previously among Metro Group. After it serves as a great supplier of food (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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føtex is a Danish chain of supermarkets. The business was established in 1960 as the first supermarket in Denmark and later gave rise to Salling Group (previously Dansk Supermarked Group).
The name "føtex" is a mix of the Danish words "Fødevarer" (daily groceries) and "Textil" (textiles). (Full article...)
Named after Roger Drake who opened the first store in Mitcham, Adelaide in 1974, Drakes has since expanded to become one of Australia's largest independent supermarket chains, operating over 60 stores in South Australia and Queensland. Drakes has an online shopping website which delivers groceries from eight stores in South Australia and one store in Queensland. It also has an online store for corporate platters called "Drakes' Little Site of Platters. This was rebranded to Feed me by Drakes in 2021, feedme.drakes.com.au". (Full article...)
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Simply Market is a brand of French supermarkets formed in 2005. This brand is a new concept to eventually replace Atac supermarkets. The brand belongs to the AuchanSuper subsidiary that manages the branches of Auchan supermarkets. The group planned to open 500 Simply Market supermarkets in France by 2015. (Full article...)
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Brugsen was originally the nondescript brand name of Coop amba's retail outlets in Denmark. After opening a series of branded stores starting in 1961 and deciding to focus on its retail operations in the 1980s, Coop began closing factories, and spun off its larger Brugsen stores as SuperBrugsen in 1991 and its smaller ones as Dagli'Brugsen the next year. In 1995, the smallest convenience stores were organized as LokalBrugsen.
After a failed attempt to merge their operations with Norway's Coop Norge (NKL) and Sweden's Kooperativa Förbundet (KF) as Coop Norden in 2002, Coop amba regained sole ownership of the group's Danish operations, Coop Danmark, in 2008. Coop Denmark continues to operate the SuperBrugsen, Dagli'Brugsen, and LokalBrugsen chains as separate divisions of its operations. (Full article...)
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Accent Group Limited is an Australian and New Zealand footwear and clothing retail, wholesaling and distribution company. It has more than 800 retail stores, along with 19 brands, and more than 20 online platforms.
Accent Group Limited is an Australian and New Zealand footwear and clothing retail, wholesaling and distribution company. It has more than 800 retail stores, along with 19 brands, and more than 20 online platforms.
United Video is a New Zealandhome videorental business that offered DVDs to rent and sell. The company was founded in 1984 and acquired by The Entertainers Limited in 2001. United Video went into liquidation in 2015. At its peak, United Video had over 100 stores throughout New Zealand. By the early 2020s, the company had declined due to competition from streaming services. By 2024, United Video was reduced to two stores in Morrinsville and Masterton (Full article...)
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Coccinelle was the stage name of Jacqueline Charlotte Dufresnoy (1931–2006), a French transsexual actress and entertainer.
It owns the trademarks Hyper U, Super U, UExpress and Utile, which are used by its members. (Full article...)
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Michael Hill International Ltd. is a speciality retailer of jewellery. As of June 2024, it operates 300 stores in Australia, New Zealand and Canada. The company employs approximately 2,600 permanent employees. Its headquarters are in Brisbane, Australia. (Full article...)
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Masoutis (Greek: Μασούτης) is a supermarket chain in Greece. Its headquarters are located in Thessaloniki. The company was established in 1976 by Diamantis Masoutis, its current owner, and the first Masoutis supermarket opened the same year in Thessaloniki city center. Masoutis is the largest regional retail grocery chain in Greece, and the seventh largest supermarket chain in Greece in terms of market share. As of 2010, the company had 193 retail and 17 cash-and-carry stores, all located in Northern Greece and Northeastern Aegean. The company has no plans to expand into Southern Greece or the Greek islands as of 2023. (Full article...)
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Selgros is a cash and carry chain in Europe, owned by Transgourmet Holding, a wholly owned subsidiary of Coop (Switzerland). It started in 1989 as a joint venture between Rewe Group (50%) and Otto Group (50%). In March 2008, Rewe took over 100% of the company, and in October 2008 formed the Transgourmet Holding company with Coop. In 2011, Coop purchased the remaining interests of Transgourmet, which included Selgros. (Full article...)
In 2024, Intermarché had 2,496 stores in 4 countries. (Full article...)
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Jaycar, formerly Jaycar Electronics, is an Australia-based retailer dealing in electronic components and related products for electronics enthusiasts. The company owns around 110 stores across Australia and New Zealand, and also sells its products online in the UK and US. It was founded in 1981 by Gary Johnston, who remained managing director until his death in 2021.
The company also has a wholesale arm, Electus Distribution. (Full article...)
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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