abhishreshthaa
Abhijeet S
Acme Markets is a Philadelphia-based supermarket chain owned by Eden Prairie, Minnesota-based corporation SuperValu. Acme was founded in 1891 by Samuel Robinson and Robert Crawford in South Philadelphia and now operates about 125 supermarkets[1] in the Philadelphia region under the Acme name.
In 1917, Robinson and Crawford merged Acme Markets with four other Philadelphia-area grocery chains, and the combined company was named American Stores. In 1947, it began opening stores in downtowns with white porcelain storefronts, and introduced a new logo. From 1951 to 1954, it built stores with the same logo and porcelain, but in freestanding stores, sometimes in shopping centers. It introduced a new logo in 1961, and replaced the "Acme Markets" or "Acme Super Markets" banners with simply "Acme". In 1963, it began building stores with a peaked roof, many in shopping centers, which averaged 30,000 square feet (2,787 m2). These were built until 1972. The company acquired California's Alpha Beta stores in 1961. In 1978, it acquired many former Pantry Pride and Penn Fruit stores from bankrupt Food Fair. American Stores was acquired in 1979 by Skaggs Drug Centers which took the American Stores name, and relocated the headquarters to Salt Lake City, Utah. That same year, the company announced that it would be closing most of its store locations in New York state.
Strengths
* Wide portfolio of store brands & regional banners
* National presence & supply chain capabilities
* Knowledge of distribution and logistics from wholesale business
* Local market familiarity (Albertsons in West Coast, Jewel in Chicago, Shaw's in New England)
* Experience operating a decentralized structure
* Willingness to tolerate multiple solutions and approaches
Weaknesses
* Store operations labor expertise in short supply
* Integration of retail systems
* Divisional alignment
* Marketing expertise underdeveloped
* Lacks shopper data for local insights or targeted marketing programs
Opportunities
* Leverage acquisition of Albertsons
* Development of national banners
* Focus on higher-margin retail business & other departments (i.e., organics)
* Efficiencies from centralizing operations
* National supply chain
* Leverage loyalty card data for shopper insights
Threats
* Highly leveraged
* Wal-Mart Supercenter competition in key markets
* Too dependent on local management knowledge - no systems in place
* Risks losing customers from wholesale business
* Standardizing its stores while it centralizes operations
In 1917, Robinson and Crawford merged Acme Markets with four other Philadelphia-area grocery chains, and the combined company was named American Stores. In 1947, it began opening stores in downtowns with white porcelain storefronts, and introduced a new logo. From 1951 to 1954, it built stores with the same logo and porcelain, but in freestanding stores, sometimes in shopping centers. It introduced a new logo in 1961, and replaced the "Acme Markets" or "Acme Super Markets" banners with simply "Acme". In 1963, it began building stores with a peaked roof, many in shopping centers, which averaged 30,000 square feet (2,787 m2). These were built until 1972. The company acquired California's Alpha Beta stores in 1961. In 1978, it acquired many former Pantry Pride and Penn Fruit stores from bankrupt Food Fair. American Stores was acquired in 1979 by Skaggs Drug Centers which took the American Stores name, and relocated the headquarters to Salt Lake City, Utah. That same year, the company announced that it would be closing most of its store locations in New York state.
Strengths
* Wide portfolio of store brands & regional banners
* National presence & supply chain capabilities
* Knowledge of distribution and logistics from wholesale business
* Local market familiarity (Albertsons in West Coast, Jewel in Chicago, Shaw's in New England)
* Experience operating a decentralized structure
* Willingness to tolerate multiple solutions and approaches
Weaknesses
* Store operations labor expertise in short supply
* Integration of retail systems
* Divisional alignment
* Marketing expertise underdeveloped
* Lacks shopper data for local insights or targeted marketing programs
Opportunities
* Leverage acquisition of Albertsons
* Development of national banners
* Focus on higher-margin retail business & other departments (i.e., organics)
* Efficiencies from centralizing operations
* National supply chain
* Leverage loyalty card data for shopper insights
Threats
* Highly leveraged
* Wal-Mart Supercenter competition in key markets
* Too dependent on local management knowledge - no systems in place
* Risks losing customers from wholesale business
* Standardizing its stores while it centralizes operations