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...)
The longtime Subway slogan, "Eat Fresh", is intended to indicate that their toppings are indeed fresh. It was the fastest-growing franchise in the world in 2015 and, as of September 2023, has over 37,000 locations in more than 100 countries and territories. More than half its locations (21,796 or 58.1%) are in the United States. It is the largest single-brand restaurant chain and the largest restaurant operator in the world. Its international headquarters are in Shelton, Connecticut, with further headquarters in Miami, Florida. (Full article...)
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Leader Price, (full name: Société S.A. Leader Price Holding), is a French discount store chain of the Groupe Casino, headquartered in Paris, France. The chain sold its 545 directly owned stores in France, currently operating only franchise stores. (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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Haywrights was a New Zealand department store chain that was founded in 1929 and eventually grew to be one of the largest department store chains in New Zealand. (Full article...)
Before its reintroduction, the original 'Woolworths' brand was phased-out in the late 2000s. All but one store were rebranded as Countdown by 2011, with the exception in Mount Maunganui. (Full article...)
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Aldi (stylised as ALDI) is the common company brand name of two German multinational 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, headquartered in Essen, and Aldi Süd, headquartered in neigbouring Mülheim.
In 1962, they introduced the name Aldi (a syllabic abbreviation for Albrecht Diskont), which is pronounced [ˈaldiː]ⓘ. 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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Z Energy is a New Zealand fuel distributor with branded service stations. It owns some of the former assets of Shell New Zealand and Chevron New Zealand. It has been a subsidiary of Australian petroleum company Ampol since May 2022.
Shell left the New Zealand fuel distribution business in April 2010, selling its operations to Infratil and the New Zealand Superannuation Fund, with the operations being rebranded as Z Energy in 2011. Z Energy acquired Chevron's New Zealand subsidiary Caltex in June 2016. (Full article...)
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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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The Alnatura Produktions- und Handels GmbH is a chain of organic food supermarkets and producer of organic food headquartered in Darmstadt, Hesse in Germany. The company was founded in 1984 by Götz Rehm and distributes food and textiles, produced according to ecological aspects, under the trademark Alnatura. The company is based on ideas of the esoteric anthroposophy of Rudolf Steiner, which is founder Götz Rehm strongly influenced by. The company is like Demeter and others, part of the pseudoscientific anthroposopical community in Germany.
These products are sold both by various drugstore and retail chains as well as the captive organic supermarket [de] chain Alnatura Super Natur Markt. Alnatura currently operates 107 supermarkets in Germany, each with 500 to 800 square meters of retail space, mainly in Baden-Württemberg, Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate. (Full article...)
There are 51 Guthrie Bowron stores around New Zealand, including five in Auckland. (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...)
The chain is made up of 78 petrol stations, including five in Auckland. Most of the petrol stations are based in small towns and stock petrol and diesel; many have amenities and small convenience stores. (Full article...)
Lidl is the chief competitor of the similar German discount chain Aldi in several markets. (Full article...)
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Rodd & Gunn (Rodd and Gunn) is a New Zealand manufacturer of clothing footwear and accessories. It was founded in 1946 in New Zealand by Jim Jarvis. By 1995, the label had been acquired by the Australian firm Action Downunder. The firm outfitted the New Zealand national team participating in the 2012 London Summer Olympics.
The company operates 50 stores in New Zealand (19), Australia (20), United States (10) and the United Kingdom (1). They also operate 10 outlet locations in New Zealand (3), Australia (6) and the United States (1). They are also stocked in Canada, Ireland and France. (Full article...)
There are 84 Mitre 10 member stores around New Zealand, including 19 in Auckland. Together, the members employ more than 8000 staff. (Full article...)
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Aldi (stylised as ALDI) is the common company brand name of two German multinational 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, headquartered in Essen, and Aldi Süd, headquartered in neigbouring Mülheim.
In 1962, they introduced the name Aldi (a syllabic abbreviation for Albrecht Diskont), which is pronounced [ˈaldiː]ⓘ. 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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Match is a Belgian multinational chain of supermarkets owned by Louis Delhaize Group. As 2023, the supermarket chain is present with 77 supermarkets in Belgium, 115 in northeast France and 25 in Luxembourg. The network also includes Smatch supermarkets in Belgium and Luxembourg.
Louis Delhaize Group, which owns Cora, Match and Smatch supermarkets, announced in 2023 that it will exit from food retail by selling activities in Belgium to Colruyt, in Luxembourg to E.Leclerc and in France to Carrefour. (Full article...)
Briscoe Group is a New Zealandretail chain. It has 92 stores throughout New Zealand trading under the Briscoes Homeware (48) and Rebel Sport (44) nameplates. The company was founded in 1861 in Dunedin, New Zealand, providing wares to gold miners. Profit in 2022 was $88.4 million. It has 2,300 staff in 90 stores. (Full article...)
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Briscoe Group is a New Zealandretail chain. It has 92 stores throughout New Zealand trading under the Briscoes Homeware (48) and Rebel Sport (44) nameplates. The company was founded in 1861 in Dunedin, New Zealand, providing wares to gold miners. Profit in 2022 was $88.4 million. It has 2,300 staff in 90 stores. (Full article...)
Whitcoulls is a major New Zealand book, stationery, gift, games & toy retail chain. Formerly known as Whitcombe & Tombs, it has 54 stores nationally. Whitcombe & Tombs was founded in 1888, and Coulls Somerville Wilkie in 1871. The companies merged in 1971 to form Whitcoulls. (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...)
... 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?
... 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?
Four people are killed and ten others are wounded in a shooting at the Mad Butcher supermarket in Fordyce, Arkansas, United States. The suspect, Travis Eugene Posey, is shot and arrested by Arkansas State Police. (AP)
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