A supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of

food and household merchandise, organized into departments. It is larger in size and has a
wider selection than a traditional grocery store and it is smaller than a hypermarket or
superstore.

The supermarket typically comprises of meat, fresh produce, dairy, and baked goods'
departments, along with shelf space reserved for canned and packaged goods as well as for
various non-food items such as household cleaners, pharmacy products and pet supplies.
Most supermarkets also sell a variety of other household products that are consumed
regularly, such as alcohol (where permitted), household cleaning products, medicine, clothes,
and some stores sell a much wider range of non-food products.

The traditional suburban 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. Its 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 far into the evening or even 24 hours a day.
Supermarkets usually allocate large budgets to advertising, typically through newspapers.
They also present elaborate in-store displays of products. The stores are usually part of a
corporate chain that own or control (sometimes by franchise) other supermarkets located
nearby — even transnationally — thus increasing opportunities for economies of scale.

Supermarkets typically are supplied by the distribution centres of its parent company, such as
Loblaw Companies in Canada, which operates thousands of supermarkets across the nation.
Loblaw operates a distribution centre in every province — usually in the largest city in the
province.

Supermarkets usually offer products at low prices by reducing their economic margins.
Certain products (typically staple foods such as bread, milk and sugar) are occasionally sold
as loss leaders, that is, with negative profit margins. To maintain a profit, supermarkets
attempt to make up for the lower margins by a higher overall volume of sales, and with the
sale of higher-margin items. Customers usually shop by placing their selected merchandise
into shopping carts (trolleys) or baskets (self-service) and pay for the merchandise at the
check-out. At present, many supermarket chains are attempting to further reduce labor costs
by shifting to self-service check-out machines, where a single employee can oversee a group
of four or five machines at once, assisting multiple customers at a time.

A larger full-service supermarket combined with a department store is sometimes known as a

hypermarket. Other services offered at some supermarkets may include those of banks, cafés,
childcare centres/creches, photo processing, video rentals, pharmacies and/or petrol stations

History
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A supermarket in Sweden in 1941

In the early days of retailing, all products generally were fetched by an assistant from shelves
behind the merchant's counter while customers waited in front of the counter and indicated
the items they wanted. Also, most foods and merchandise did not come in individually
wrapped consumer-sized packages, so an assistant had to measure out and wrap the precise
amount desired by the consumer. These practices were by nature very labor-intensive and
therefore also quite expensive. The shopping process was slow, as the number of customers
who could be attended to at one time were limited by the number of staff employed in the
store.[citation needed]

The concept of a self-service grocery store was developed by American entrepreneur

Clarence Saunders and his Piggly Wiggly stores. His first store opened in Memphis,
Tennessee, in 1916. Saunders was awarded a number of patents for the ideas he incorporated
into his stores.[1][2][3][4] The stores were a financial success and Saunders began to offer
franchises. The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company (A&P) was another successful early
grocery store chain in Canada and the United States, and became common in North American
cities in the 1920s. The general trend in retail since then has been to stock shelves at night so
that customers, the following day, can obtain their own goods and bring them to the front of
the store to pay for them. Although there is a higher risk of shoplifting, the costs of
appropriate security measures ideally will be outweighed by reduced labour costs.[citation needed]

Early self-service grocery stores did not sell fresh meats or produce. Combination stores that
sold perishable items were developed in the 1920s.[5]

Historically, there was debate about the origin of the supermarket, with King Kullen and
Ralph's of California having strong claims.[6] Other contenders included Weingarten's Big
Food Markets and Henke & Pillot.[7] To end the debate, the Food Marketing Institute in
conjunction with the Smithsonian Institution and with funding from H.J. Heinz, researched
the issue. It defined the attributes of a supermarket as "self-service, separate product
departments, discount pricing, marketing and volume selling."[citation needed]

It determined that the first true supermarket in the United States was opened by a former
Kroger employee, Michael J. Cullen, on August 4, 1930, inside a 6,000 square foot former
garage in Jamaica, Queens in New York City. [8] The store, King Kullen, (inspired by the
fictional character King Kong), operated under the slogan "Pile it high. Sell it low." At the
time of Cullen's death in 1936, there were seventeen King Kullen stores in operation.
Although Saunders had brought the world self-service, uniform stores and nationwide
marketing, Cullen built on this idea by adding separate food departments, selling large
volumes of food at discount prices and adding a parking lot.
A Safeway advertisement from the 1950s.

Other established American grocery chains in the 1930s, such as Kroger and Safeway at first
resisted Cullen's idea, but eventually were forced to build their own supermarkets as the
economy sank into the Great Depression, while consumers were becoming price-sensitive at
a level never experienced before.[9] Kroger took the idea one step further and pioneered the
first supermarket surrounded on all four sides by a parking lot.[citation needed]

Supermarkets proliferated across Canada and the United States with the growth of automobile
ownership and suburban development after World War II. Most North American
supermarkets are located in suburban strip malls as an anchor store along with other smaller
retailers. They are generally regional rather than national in their company branding. Kroger
is perhaps the most nationally oriented supermarket chain in the United States but it has
preserved most of its regional brands, including Ralphs, City Market and King Soopers.[citation
needed]

In Canada the largest such chain is Loblaw, which operates stores under a variety of regional
names, including Fortinos, Zehrs and the largest, Loblaws, (named after the company itself).
Sobeys is Canada's second largest supermarket with locations across the country, operating
under many banners (Sobeys IGA in Quebec).[citation needed]

In the United Kingdom, ex-US Navy sailor Patrick Galvani, son-in-law of Express Dairies
chairman, made a pitch to the board to open a chain of supermarkets across the country. The
UK's first supermarket under the new Premier Supermarkets brand opened in Streatham,
South London in 1951,[10] taking ten times as much per week as the average British general
store of the time. Other chains caught on, and after Galvani lost out to Tesco's Jack Cohen in
1960 to buy the 212 Irwin's chain, the sector underwent a large amount of consolidation,
resulting in 'the big four' dominant UK retailers of today: Tesco, Asda (owned by Wal-Mart),
Sainsbury's and Morrisons.[citation needed]

In the 1950s, supermarkets frequently issued trading stamps as incentives to customers.

Today, most chains issue store-specific "membership cards," "club cards," or "loyalty cards".
These typically enable the card holder to receive special members-only discounts on certain
items when the credit card-like device is scanned at check-out.[citation needed]

Traditional supermarkets in many countries face intense competition from discount retailers
such as Wal-Mart, Tesco in the UK, and Zellers in Canada, which typically are non-union
and operate with better buying power. Other competition exists from warehouse clubs such as
Costco that offer savings to customers buying in bulk quantities. Superstores, such as those
operated by Wal-Mart and Asda, often offer a wide range of goods and services in addition to
foods. The proliferation of such warehouse and superstores has contributed to the continuing
disappearance of smaller, local grocery stores; increased dependence on the automobile;
suburban sprawl because of the necessity for large floorspace and increased vehicular traffic.
Some critics consider the chains' common practice of selling loss leaders to be anti-
competitive. They are also wary of the negotiating power that large, often multinational
retailers have with suppliers around the world.[citation needed]

[edit] Growth in Developing Countries

There has been a rapid transformation of the food retail sector in developing countries in the
last fifteen years. This applies particularly to Latin America, South-East Asia, China and
South Africa. However, growth is being witnessed in nearly all countries. With growth, has
come considerable competition and some amount of consolidation.[11] The growth has been
driven by increasing affluence and the rise of a middle class; the entry of women into the
workforce; with a consequent incentive to seek out easy-to-prepare foods; the growth in the
use of refrigerators, making it possible to shop weekly instead of daily; and the growth in car
ownership, facilitating journeys to distant stores and purchases of large quantities of goods.
The opportunities presented by this potential have encouraged several European companies to
invest in these markets (mainly in Asia) and American companies to invest in Latin America
and China. Local companies also entered the market.[12] Initial development of supermarkets
has now been followed by hypermarket growth. In addition there were investments by
companies such as Makro and Metro in large-scale Cash-and-Carry operations.

While the growth in sales of processed foods in these countries has been much more rapid
than the growth in fresh food sales, the imperative nature of supermarkets to achieve
economies of scale in purchasing, means that the expansion of supermarkets in these
countries has important repercussions for small farmers, particularly those growing
perishable crops. New supply chains have developed involving cluster formation;
development of specialized wholesalers; leading farmers organizing supply; and farmer
associations or cooperatives.[13] In some cases supermarkets have organized their own
procurement from small farmers; in others wholesale markets have adapted to meet
supermarket needs.[14]

[edit] Typical supermarket merchandise

Inside an Asda supermarket in Keighley, West Yorkshire, England.

Sainsbury's supermarket front end in the UK

Fruit on display in a supermarket in Japan.

Inside a Serbian supermarket

Larger supermarkets in North America and in Europe typically sell a great number of items
among many brands, sizes and varieties, including:

 Alcoholic beverages (as state/provincial and/or local laws allow)

 Baby foods and baby-care products such as disposable diapers
 Breads and bakery products (many stores may have a bakery on site that offers
specialty and dessert items)
 Books, newspapers, and magazines, including supermarket tabloids
 Bulk dried foods such as legumes, flour, rice, etc. (typically available for self-service)
 Canned goods and dried cereals
 Car-care products (motor oil, cleaners, waxes)
 CDs, Audio cassettes, DVDs, and videos (including video rentals)
 Cigarettes and other tobacco products
  Clothing and footwear (typically a general, limited assortment)
 Confections and candies
 Cosmetics
 Dairy products and eggs
 Delicatessen foods (ready-to-eat)
 Diet foods
 Electrical products such as light bulbs, extension cords, etc.
 Feminine hygiene products
 Financial services and products such as mortgages, credit cards, savings accounts,
wire transfers, etc. (typically offered in-store by a partnering bank or other financial
institution)
 Flowers
 Frozen foods and crushed ice
 Fresh produce, fruits and vegetables
 Greeting cards
 House-cleaning products
 Housewares, Dishware and cooking utensils, etc. (typically limited)
 Laundry products such as detergents, fabric softeners, etc.
 Lottery tickets (where operational and legal)
 Luggage items (typically limited)
 Meats, fish and seafoods (some stores may offer live fish and seafood items from
aquarium tanks)
 Medicines and first aid items (primarily over-the-counter drugs, although many
supermarkets also have an on-site pharmacy)
 Nonalcoholic beverages such as soft drinks, juices, bottled water, etc. (some stores
may have a juice bar that prepares ready-to-drink freshly squeezed juices, smoothies,
etc.)
 Personal hygiene and grooming products
 Pet foods and products
 Seasonal items and decorations
 Snack foods
 Tea and Coffee (some stores may have a commercial-style grinder, typically available
for self-service, and/or a staffed coffee bar that prepares ready-to-drink coffee and tea
beverages)
 Toys and novelties

In some countries, the range of supermarket merchandise is more strictly focused on food
products, although the range of goods for sale is expanding in many locations as typical store
sizes continue to increase globally.

[edit] Typical store architecture

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challenged and removed. (February 2009)
A Kroger store in the Gulfton area of Houston

Most supermarkets are similar in design and layout due to trends in marketing. Fresh produce
tends to be located near the entrance of the store. Milk, bread, and other essential staple items
are usually situated toward the rear of the store and in other out-of-the-way places, purposely
done to maximize the customer's time spent in the store, strolling past other items and
capitalizing on impulse buying.[citation needed]

The interior of a Loblaws supermarket in Toronto

The front of the store, or "front end'" is the area where point of sale machines or cash
registers are usually located. Many retailers also have implemented self-checkout devices in
an attempt to reduce labor costs.[citation needed]

[edit] Criticisms
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challenged and removed. (July 2010)

 Supermarkets, in general, tend to narrow the choices of fruits and vegetables by

stocking only varieties with long storage lives,
 In the United States, major-brand supermarkets often demand slotting fees from
suppliers in exchange for premium shelf space and/or better positioning (such as at
eye-level, on the checkout aisle or at a shelf's "end cap"). This extra supplier cost (up
to $30,000 per brand for a chain for each individual SKU) may be reflected in the cost
of the products offered. Some critics have questioned the ethical and legal propriety of
slotting fee payments and their effect on smaller suppliers [4] [5] [6].
 In Britain supermarkets have been accused of squeezing prices to farmers, forcing
small shops out of business, and often favouring imports over British produce. [7]
 Supermarkets can generally retail at lower prices than traditional corner shops and
markets due to higher volume throughput. This has led to small businesses losing
customers and closing in many areas, which can be seen as an adverse effect on the
local infrastructure. In 2000, the Finnish government drafted the new shopping hours
 law in such a way, that shops with a sub-supermarket floor area (<400m2) have year-
around Sunday opening rights, while supermarkets are permitted to stay open on
Sundays only during the summer and mid-winter months.[citation needed]
 In New Zealand, supermarkets have been accused of buying fresh produce from
growers at low prices and selling with ridiculously high mark-ups, sometimes as high
as 500%[8].

Served countries (besides the

Company Headquarters Map
headquarters)
Australia, Canada, China (Hong Kong and
 Japan, Macau), Denmark, Indonesia, Malaysia,
7-Eleven
 USA Mexico, Norway, Philippines, Singapore,
South Korea, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand
Czech Republic, Latin America, Netherlands,
Ahold  Netherlands Poland, Portugal, Scandinavia, Slovakia,
Spain, Thailand, US
Australia, Austria (branded as Hofer),
Australia, Belgium, Denmark, France,
Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland,
Aldi  Germany
Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal,
Romania, Slovenia (branded as Hofer),
Spain, Switzerland, UK, USA
Argentina, China, Hungary, Italy,
Auchan  France Luxembourg, Morocco, Poland, Portugal,
Romania, Russia, Spain, Taiwan, Ukraine

Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary,

bauMax  Austria
Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey

Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Italy,

Billa  Austria
Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Ukraine

Cactus  Luxembourg Luxembourg.

Algeria, Argentina, Bahamas, Bahrain,
Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Colombia,
Cyprus, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Greece,
Carrefour  France Indonesia, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, Malaysia,
Pakistan, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Saudi
Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand,
Tunisia, Turkey, UAE
Cencosud  Chile Argentina, Brasil, Colombia, Peru

Chedraui  Mexico USA

Cora  Belgium France, Hungary, Luxembourg, Romania

Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Italy, Lithuania,

CBA  Hungary Malta, Montenegro, Poland, Romania,
Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia

 Denmark
Coop Norden  Norway
 Sweden

Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, South

Costco  USA
Korea, Taiwan, UK
Czech Republic, Germany, Greece,
Delhaize  Belgium Indonesia, Luxembourg, Romania, Slovakia,
USA
DMA
 Brazil Brazil
Distribuidora

Dunnes  Ireland Spain, UK

E-Mart  South Korea China

Falabella  Chile Peru

Giant
 Malaysia Brunei, Indonesia, Singapore
Hypermarket

H-E-B  USA Mexico

IKEA  Sweden See: List of IKEA stores

China, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan,

Isetan  Japan
Thailand

Ito-Yokado  Japan China

 China (mainland and Hong Kong), Malaysia,
JUSCO  Japan
Taiwan, Thailand

Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic,

Kaufland  Germany
Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Slovakia.

Konzum  Croatia Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus,

Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France,
Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy,
Lidl  Germany
Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland,
Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia,
Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK,
Lotte Mart  South Korea China, Indonesia, Vietnam
China (mainland and Hong Kong), Hungary,
Marks and India, Ireland, Kuwait, Malaysia, Malta,
 UK
Spencer Philippines, Poland, Romania, Singapore,
Thailand, Turkey
Maxi  Serbia Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro

Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria,

Mercator  Slovenia
Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, China, Croatia,

Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Greece,
Hungary, India, Italy, Japan, Moldova,
Metro  Germany
Morocco, Netherlands, Pakistan, Poland,
Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia,
Spain, Turkey, Ukraine, UK, Vietnam

Bulgaria (branded as T-Market), Estonia,

Maxima  Lithuania
Latvia

Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan,

Migros  Turkey
Macedonia, Russia
Mobexpert  Romania Bulgaria, Serbia
Andorra, Argentina, Belgium, Bulgaria,
Mr. Bricolage  France Madagascar, Mauritius, Morocco, Romania,
Spain, Uruguay
Netto  Denmark Germany, Poland, Sweden, UK, (until 2011)

Northern  Canada USA (Alaska)

Parkson  Malaysia China, Vietnam

Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary,

Penny Market  Germany
Italy, Romania

Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary,

Praktiker  Germany Luxembourg, Poland, Romania, Turkey,
Ukraine
Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary,
Plus  Germany
Greece, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain

Profi  Belgium Hungary, Romania

Real  Germany Poland, Romania, Russia, Turkey

RIMI  Norway Finland

Rimi Baltic  Latvia Estonia, Lithuania

Rema 1000  Norway Denmark, Slovakia, Sweden

Bulgaria, Italy, Moldova, Russia, Serbia,
Romstal  Romania
Ukraine
Safeway Inc.  USA Canada

Selgros  Germany Poland, Romania

Selver  Estonia Latvia (2008–2009)

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Botswana,

China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark,
Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary,
India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mauritius,
SPAR  Netherlands
Montenegro, Namibia, Norway, Poland,
Romania, Russia, Slovenia, South Africa,
Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, Ukraine,
Zambia, Zimbabwe

Stockmann  Finland Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia

SuperValu  Ireland Spain, UK (Northern Ireland)

China, Czech Republic, Hungary, India,

Tesco  UK Ireland, Japan, Malaysia, Poland, Slovakia,
South Korea, Thailand, Turkey, USA
Veropoulos  Greece Macedonia, Serbia
VP Market  Lithuania Estonia, Latvia 100px

Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Mexico,

Wal-Mart  USA
UK (as ASDA)

Wellcome  Hong Kong Taiwan

Winn-Dixie  USA Bahamas

Hong Kong, India, Japan, New Zealand

Woolworths  Australia (Branded as Countdown from 2010), South
Africa
New Supermarket Chain in India
 
New Supermarket Chain in India
The Financial Times yesterday carried this announcement, on the expansion of the empire of supermarkets in
India.
India opens western-style supermarkets

By Jo Johnson in New Delhi

India's national capital region will enter the modern retailing era today, with the opening of the first recognisably
western-style supermarkets in this sprawling conurbation of 15m people.

At a preview of one of three stores that will open in Noida, a satellite city of Delhi, prices of key vegetables were
about half those of other grocers in the capital, a big draw in such a cost-sensitive market.

Reliance Industries plans to open 100 Reliance Fresh stores in the capital by April as part of a proposed $5-$7bn
(£2.5-£3.6bn) investment in a "farm-to-fork" supply chain that will force radical change on one of the largest and
most inefficient sectors of the Indian economy.

In the latest phase of its breakneck roll-out of supermarkets ahead of the arrival of foreign-backed retail rivals,
Reliance will today open nine pilot supermarkets in Noida, Gurgaon, Faridabad and Ghaziabad, four booming
suburbs. It opened its first store in Hyderabad last September and now has 46 in operation.

With an average of 5.5 stores per 1,000 people, India has the highest retail outlet density in the world. But almost
all of the 12m "mom and pop" stores that account for 98 per cent of the $300bn industry's sales lack access to
capital and technology.

The pace of the planned store roll-out is unprecedented, with Reliance aiming to "carpet" 100m sq ft and achieve
$25bn in sales by 2010, according to Raghu Pillai, president and chief executive of Reliance Retail.

Wal-Mart Stores late last year announced a joint venture with Bharti Enterprises that will see it enter the Indian
market as a wholesaler. Foreign supermarket retailers are barred from India under the country's foreign direct
investment rules.

Conscious of the political backlash it will face if it is seen to be putting small shopkeepers to the wall, Reliance
yesterday said its business would be "inclusive" and that it would allow existing "mom and pop" stores to buy
from it at wholesale prices.

Promising to create 500,000 jobs in three years, Mr Pillai said the industry's rapid growth would leave room for
modern retailers to co-exist with family-run operations. Reliance plans to open stores in 784 cities and towns and
6,000 smaller towns.

At the Noida store, onions were on sale for Rs13 (15p) per kilo and garlic for Rs81 per kilo, compared with Rs24
and Rs150 respectively at Allied Fruit, a family-run store in Khan Market, a shopping area in south Delhi popular
with expatriates and wealthy Indians. "These are fabulous prices," said Jai Bendre, Reliance Retail's foods
marketing head.

Reliance is also breaking new ground by pricing many products to the second decimal place, a selling-point for
customers whose average shopping basket costs just Rs150. A pot of Chulbuli Imli, a confection made out of
tamarind, for example, was priced at Rs23.52.

The emergence of potentially deflationary forces in the retail sector will be welcomed by the Reserve Bank of
India at a time when inflation has broken out of the central bank's comfort range, crossing 6 per cent.

With money supply and bank credit growth of 20.4 per cent and 30.2 per cent (ahead of targets of 15.5 per cent
and 20 per cent), economists expect the RBI to lift the repo and reverse repo rates 25 basis points to 7.5 per cent
and 6.25 per cent tomorrow