The Giant Company facts for kids
 |
|
|
Formerly
|
Giant Food Stores |
|---|---|
| Subsidiary of Ahold Delhaize | |
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 1923 |
| Founder | David Javitch |
| Headquarters | Carlisle, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
|
Number of locations
|
190 stores (156 Giant stores, 34 Martin's stores, 133 pharmacies, 107 fuel stations, and over 175 online pickup hubs) |
|
Areas served
|
|
|
Key people
|
John Ruane (President) |
| Services |
|
|
Number of employees
|
35,000+ (September 2020) |
| Parent | Ahold Delhaize |
| Subsidiaries | Martin's Foods Giant Heirloom Market |
The Giant Company is a big supermarket chain in the United States. It used to be known as Giant Food Stores. You can find their stores in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia. They operate under two names: Giant and Martin's.
This company is part of a larger group called Ahold Delhaize. Its main office is in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. As of 2020, Giant had 190 stores, 133 pharmacies, and 105 gas stations. They also offer online shopping and home delivery, even to New Jersey through their Giant Direct service.
People often call The Giant Company "Giant-Carlisle" or "Giant/Martin's". This helps tell it apart from another chain called Giant Food. That chain is also owned by Ahold Delhaize and is sometimes called "Giant-Landover".
Contents
How Giant Started and Grew
The Early Days (1923-1950s)
The Giant Company began in 1923. A man named David Javitch opened a small meat market in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He called it Carlisle Meat Market.
In 1936, David bought another store in Lewistown, Pennsylvania. He named this new store the Giant Shopping Food Center. This was a big step! It was a full grocery store that sold both dry goods and fresh foods in one place. This was a new idea back then. The store was very popular. Soon, David decided to make his first Carlisle store a full grocery store too.
The company faced some tough times early on. One store in Hagerstown, Maryland opened and closed in the same month. Also, David's main store in Carlisle burned down. The Lewistown store was flooded twice!
Growing Bigger (1950s-1970s)
After each problem, David Javitch started over. His stores kept growing in the 1950s. More and more people were moving to the suburbs. New shopping centers were popping up. David took advantage of this and opened new stores in these areas.
In 1953, the Carlisle store moved to a new building. It was renamed Carlisle Food Market. This store was very modern. It had a parking lot, people to bag groceries, and outside lights. More stores opened under the Giant Foods name. By 1968, the ninth store opened.
David Javitch became the chairman, and his son, Lee Javitch, became the president. The company grew even faster when it bought the Martin's chain in Hagerstown, Maryland in 1969. These stores still use the Martin's name today. By 1973, Giant was 50 years old and had 18 stores.
Joining a Larger Family (1980s)
In 1981, the Javitch family sold the company to Royal Ahold Corporation. This is a large food company from the Netherlands. At that time, Giant had 29 supermarkets. Giant kept growing throughout the 1980s.
By the mid-1990s, almost all Giant and Martin's stores were updated. They became more modern and added new things for customers. These included banks inside the stores, pharmacies, Chinese food kitchens, coffee shops, and dry cleaning services. By the end of 1996, Giant had 75 stores.
In 1997, Giant joined with Edwards Super Food Stores, which was another company owned by Ahold. This made Giant even bigger, with 23,000 employees in six states!
New Ideas and Technology (2000s)
As the year 2000 arrived, Giant Food Stores started using a lot of new technological changes. They opened new stores with many helpful features for shoppers. These included gas stations, full floral departments, smoothie and juice bars, bigger deli and bakery sections, and organic produce.
Giant also started sponsoring the Giant Center arena in Hershey, Pennsylvania. This is where the Hershey Bears hockey team plays. They also sponsored the Skyview at Hersheypark.
In 2005, Giant opened a huge "Super Giant" store in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. This was partly because of competition from other supermarkets like Wegmans.
More Growth and Robots! (2010s)
In 2011, Giant opened its first grocery store in the city of Philadelphia. By the end of 2011, Giant and Martin's had over 180 stores and 92 gas stations across four states.
In 2012, Giant bought 16 Genuardi's Family Markets in the Philadelphia area.
A cool new thing happened in 2019: Giant started using a robot helper named "Marty" in all its stores! Marty rolls around the store by itself and checks for things like spills. This helps employees spend more time helping customers.
Also in 2019, Giant launched "Giant Heirloom Market." These are smaller stores designed for city areas. The first one opened in Philadelphia. One of these smaller stores even has an underground taproom!
The company also started its first online shopping and delivery service called Giant Direct in 2019.
Recent Changes (2020s)
In February 2020, Giant Food Stores changed its name to The Giant Company. They also updated their logos. Later that year, they introduced a new slogan: "For Today's Table," focusing on family values.
During the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Giant, like many stores, had to limit some products. But they quickly got back to normal. They also told people not to buy too much. They offered special shopping times for older customers and contactless delivery for online orders.
In 2021, The Giant Company opened a new online order fulfillment center in Philadelphia. This big building helps them deliver about 15,000 online orders each week! They also use robots in this center to help with storing and finding items.
Giant has continued to open new stores, including several in Philadelphia and Bucks County, Pennsylvania. One new Giant Heirloom Market opened in a historic building in Philadelphia, keeping its original design.
Martin's Foods
.jpg)
Martin's Foods is another chain of supermarkets. You can find them in Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and western Pennsylvania. Just like Giant stores, they are run by Giant-Carlisle and owned by Ahold Delhaize. The stores look very similar to Giant stores.
The Martin's name comes from a small chain that started in Hagerstown, Maryland. Giant-Carlisle bought Martin's in 1968. The name then spread to other nearby towns.
In 2000, Martin's stores started using the Bonuscard program, which gives customers special deals. Around the same time, they began selling gasoline at their stores.
Since August 2020, Martin's also uses the slogan "For Today's Table." Many Martin's stores are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
When Giant bought the Ukrops chain, Martin's stores expanded even further into central Virginia. These stores even kept some of Ukrops' popular recipes in their bakery and prepared food sections!
Giant-Landover vs. Giant-Carlisle
There's a key difference between The Giant Company (Giant-Carlisle) and Giant Food (Giant-Landover). Giant-Landover, which is mostly in more urban parts of Maryland, has employees who are part of a union. However, most Giant-Carlisle stores, found in South-Central Pennsylvania, do not have unionized employees.
Helping the Environment
The Giant Company is working on projects to use clean energy. In 2020, they installed a large solar panel system on the roof of their main office in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. They also added a seven-acre solar field nearby.
In 2021, Giant made a deal to get renewable energy for many of its stores, gas stations, and distribution centers in Pennsylvania. This means they are using energy from sources like the sun or wind, which are better for the planet.
Giving Back to the Community
Giant is involved in many sponsorships and charity efforts.
- Since 2018, Giant has been the official grocer for the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team.
- In 2019, they became an official partner of the Philadelphia 76ers basketball team.
- They are also the official sponsor of the Exposition Hall at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center.
The Giant Company supports many other good causes. These include the Please Touch Museum, the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and the Philadelphia Parks & Recreation Organization.
In 2022, Giant donated $1 million to Harrisburg University of Science and Technology. This money will help fund a research center focused on advanced agriculture and sustainability.
Giant also has a long history of supporting Pennsylvania State University. They help with projects like the Penn State Health Children's Hospital and the Children's Miracle Network.
|
