A supermarket is a self-serviceshop offering a wide variety of food, beverages and household products, organized into sections. This kind of store 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 United States usage, however, "grocery store" is often used to mean "supermarket".
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...)
Loblaw Companies Limited is a Canadian retailer encompassing corporate and franchise supermarkets operating under 22 regional and market-segment banners (including Loblaws), as well as pharmacies, banking and apparel. Loblaw operates a private label program that includes grocery and household items, clothing, baby products, pharmaceuticals, cellular phones, general merchandise and financial services. Loblaw is the largest Canadian food retailer, and its brands include President's Choice, No Name and Joe Fresh. It is controlled by George Weston Limited, a holding company controlled by the Weston family; Galen G. Weston is the chair of the Loblaw board of directors, as well as chair of the board of directors and CEO of Canada-based holding company George Weston.
Kaufland ([ˈkaʊ̯flant]) is a German hypermarket chain, part of the Schwarz Gruppe which also owns Lidl. The hypermarket directly translates to English as "buy-land." It opened its first store in 1984 in Neckarsulm and quickly expanded to become a major chain in what was formerly West Germany. It operates over 1,500 stores in Germany, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and Moldova. (Full article...)
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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.
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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Mace is a convenience shopsymbol group operating as three separate entities with different ownerships in Great Britain, the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The shops are independently owned and join the groups, paying a fee for marketing and branding support and purchasing their stock from the brand owners. (Full article...)
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Australian Liquor Marketers is the liquor arm of Metcash. It distributes liquor to businesses around Australia and New Zealand, and runs a franchise of almost 2900 liquor stores operating as The Bottle-O, Cellarbrations, IGA Liquor, Duncans, Thirsty Camel, Big Bargain, Porters and Merchants Liquor.
The company has 13 distribution centres across every state and territory of Australia, and a distribution centre in New Zealand. It is Australia's largest supplier of liquor to independently owned liquor retailers and largest broad-range liquor wholesaler, supplying to 12,000 liquor customers. (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, and consists of 13,996 stores in 48 countries. Its headquarters are in Amsterdam. The company operates a partnership programme and has a presence in most European countries, as well as many others throughout Asia, Africa and Oceania. (Full article...)
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Huffer is a New Zealand clothing brand and company started in the late 1990s by New Zealanders Steve Dunstan and Daniel Buckley. The company originally produced and sold outdoors clothing primarily directed towards snowboarders but it has since evolved to become a popular streetwear brand in New Zealand and Australia. (Full article...)
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Netto Marken-Discount (also known as just Netto, formerly Plus) is a German discount supermarket chain owned by the German supermarket cooperative Edeka Group, and operates mostly in the south and west of Germany. The company reached its 1000th store in 2004, then aggressively expanded to the 4000th store in 2009, making it the largest discounter in Germany. (Full article...)
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Accent Group 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.
Walmart has 10,586 stores and clubs in 24 countries, operating under 46 different names. The company operates under the name Walmart in the United States and Canada, as Walmart de México y Centroamérica in Mexico and Central America, and as Flipkart Wholesale in India. It has wholly owned operations in Chile and a majority stake in Massmart in South Africa. Since August 2018, Walmart held only a minority stake in Walmart Brasil, which was renamed Grupo Big in August 2019, with 20 percent of the company's shares, and private equity firm Advent International holding 80% ownership of the company. They eventually divested their shareholdings in Grupo Big to French retailer Carrefour, in transaction worth R$7 billion and completed on June 7, 2022. (Full article...)
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Carrefour Express is a convenience store chain owned and operated by French retailer Carrefour with locations in three continents. Carrefour Express was created in 2007 to consolidate all convenience stores owned by Carrefour worldwide under one name. In 2010, all convenience store operations in France, including Marché Plus, Champion and Shopi were rebranded as Express. (Full article...)
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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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Pak'nSave (stylised as PAK'nSAVE) is a New Zealand discount food supermarket warehouse chain owned by the Foodstuffs cooperative. It is one of the three main supermarket chains in New Zealand, alongside Woolworths New Zealand and New World (the latter is also owned by Foodstuffs). There is a total of 58 Pak'nSave stores throughout the country.
Pak'nSave stores are large and have a no frills environment, often with unlined interiors and concrete floors. From 2015, Pak'nSave was consistently the cheapest supermarket in New Zealand during several years of surveys. (Full article...)
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Caltex first started in New Zealand as the Star Oil Company in 1920, which was registered and established to import and distribute fuel oils from the USA under the Texaco brand. Lubricating products were handled by the Texas Company Australasia Limited (i.e. predecessor of Caltex Australia) while refined products such as petrol and kerosene were distributed by Star Oil Company under agreement with the Texas Company. Service stations selling Texaco fuel began in the early 1930s. When Caltex was established globally in 1936, Texaco signage was changed at service stations to the new name. However, it was not until 12 January 1945 when Caltex Oil (N.Z.) Limited was registered and incorporated.
New Zealand was the first country where Caltex sold Boron fuel, which had been sold in the country for two years under the name Texol. The success in New Zealand allowed Caltex to sign up rights to sell Boron in other markets worldwide. It remained Caltex's fuel brand globally until it was phased out in the 1980s. In November 1996, Caltex Oil (N.Z.) Limited changed its name to Caltex New Zealand Limited. In 1999, the first ever non-service station (stand-alone) Star Mart store in New Zealand opened in Wellington. At the beginning of 2006, there were 20 stand-alone Star Marts throughout the country. In 2009, the stand-alone stores were sold off and rebranded as Fix; remaining Fix stores were rebranded as Night 'n Day in 2017. (Full article...)
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Night 'n Day is a chain of New Zealand grocery stores. The stores operate long hours, and sell a range of ready-to-eat products.
Night 'n Day is the third largest grocery retailer in New Zealand. Since 2011, it has rapidly expanded its network of stores and focused more on coffee and takeaway food. During the 2010s, it was one of the fastest-growing companies in New Zealand by revenue. As of 2022 there are 57 Night 'n Day stores around New Zealand. (Full article...)
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Mad Mex Fresh Mexican Grill, referred to simply as Mad Mex, is an Australian-based multinational chain of fast-food restaurants based in Sydney, that purveys Mexican cuisine, while the Mad Group own the master franchise for the restaurant in New Zealand.
Mad Mex Fresh Mexican is Lucha libre-themed and was voted the best Mexican restaurant nationwide in the Lifestyle Food Awards. (Full article...)
The overall size of the sector has been increasing since the end of the 1997 Asian financial crisis, with retail sales increasing by 30% between 1999 and 2005. One contributing factor was the growth of larger stores with greater buying power and economies of scale, at the cost of smaller bricks and mortar merchants. Another contributing factor was low price inflation, with the price of imported goods falling 12% during that period. (Full article...)
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Cotton On Group is an Australian retail company known for its fashion, clothing and stationery brands. As of 2020, it has over 1,500 stores in 18 countries employing 22,000 people across eight brands: Cotton On, Cotton On Kids, Cotton On Body, Factorie, Typo, Rubi, Supré, Ceres and Cotton On Foundation.
The design team in the company's Australian office, control the steps of production from merchandise planning to establishing specifications, and production is outsourced to approximately 850 suppliers and factories globally. Cotton On Group sources its materials and products from a number of locations worldwide with the majority of its suppliers being located in China, Bangladesh, India and Australia. It also works with suppliers in Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, the United States and other parts of Asia. These facilities are used for horizontal division of labour, rather than being integrated. (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, Nike CR7, and subsidiaries including Air Jordan and Converse (brand). 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 a British supermarket uses barriers to prevent shoppers grabbing food with yellow discount stickers out of the hands of staff?
... that the rapper Jords did not know his father was a musician until a chance encounter in a British supermarket?
... that when Mexia Supermarket was abandoned because of its owners' bankruptcy, all of the food inside was left to rot for more than three months?
... 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?
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![Image 1 Kaufland ([ˈkaʊ̯flant]) is a German hypermarket chain, part of the Schwarz Gruppe which also owns Lidl. The hypermarket directly translates to English as "buy-land." It opened its first store in 1984 in Neckarsulm and quickly expanded to become a major chain in what was formerly West Germany. It operates over 1,500 stores in Germany, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and Moldova. (Full article...)](/wiki/File:Blank.png)
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