Giant Food (Landover) facts for kids
| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | December 15, 1936 as Giant Food Shopping Center Inc. |
| Founders | Nehemiah Meir Cohen and Samuel Lehrman |
| Headquarters | 8301 Professional Place Suite 115 Landover, Maryland, U.S. |
|
Number of locations
|
165 stores; 153 pharmacies |
|
Key people
|
Ira Kress, President |
| Products | Grocery, general merchandise, gasoline |
| Services | Supermarket Pharmacy |
| Revenue |  $5.62 billion (2020) |
|
Number of employees
|
22,000 |
| Parent | Ahold Delhaize |
Giant Food of Maryland, LLC is a big supermarket chain in the United States. It has 166 stores in Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.. Giant Food is part of a larger company called Ahold Delhaize. Its main office is in Prince George's County, Maryland, near Landover.
People sometimes call it Giant-Landover to tell it apart from another store called The Giant Company. That store is based in Pennsylvania and is also owned by Ahold Delhaize.
Contents
History of Giant Food
Starting in the 1930s
Giant Food was started in 1936 by two people: Nehemiah Meir "N.M." Cohen and Samuel Lehrman. Cohen was a rabbi who came from Palestine after World War I. He had a kosher meat market. Lehrman helped by giving the money to start the company.
The very first Giant store opened in Washington, D.C.. In its early years, some people criticized Giant. They felt the company did not open stores in all neighborhoods.
Growing in the 1940s
Giant Food grew very quickly after World War II. In 1946, it had nine stores. By 1950, it had grown to 17 stores. Samuel Lehrman, one of the founders, passed away in 1949.
New Ideas in the 1950s
Between 1950 and 1952, Giant added five more stores. This was a time when the American economy was growing. Shopping centers were becoming popular. Giant opened a new store in a shopping center in Rockville, Maryland.
In 1955, Giant opened its first store in Baltimore. By then, almost half of its stores were in shopping centers. In 1958, Giant tried a new idea. They opened their first "Super Giant" store. These stores were a mix of a supermarket and a department store. Within a year, they had eight more Super Giant stores.
Also in 1958, the company opened a new main office and warehouse. It was on a large piece of land in Landover, Maryland. In 1957, the company changed its name to Giant Food Inc. By 1958, they were making over $100 million in sales. In 1959, Giant Food became a public company. This meant people could buy shares in the company. By then, they had 53 stores.
During this time, Giant started using computers. They used them to keep track of products and payroll. They also added new features for customers. These included doors that opened by themselves. They also had faster checkouts and open displays for food.
Giant also started a scholarship program in the 1950s. This helped students who wanted to work in food management. Two of the first students later became important leaders at Giant.
Changes in the 1960s
In 1962, Giant opened its first store with both food and a pharmacy. This was in Glen Burnie, Maryland. Giant was one of the first grocery chains in the United States to offer pharmacy services inside its stores.
Israel "Izzy" Cohen took over the company in 1964. He helped Giant become one of the largest food chains in the country. Around the time the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed, Giant began opening new stores in more neighborhoods. This was a response to earlier concerns.
The 1990s and Beyond
N.M. Cohen passed away in 1995. Three years later, a Dutch company called Royal Ahold bought Giant. Ahold promised not to make many changes.
In 2004, Ahold combined Giant and another store called Stop & Shop. This created a new group called Stop & Shop/Giant-Landover. In 2006, Giant started putting Starbucks Coffee locations inside some of its stores.
Giant introduced a new logo on August 21, 2008. This was part of a bigger plan to update its brand. This new logo was also used by Stop & Shop for a while.
Modern Times: 2010s and 2020s
In 2019, Giant made it easier to shop online. They launched "Giant Pickup." This allowed customers to order groceries online and pick them up at a local Giant store. In 2020, they added "Giant Delivers." This service lets online shoppers have their groceries delivered right to their homes. Giant also works with Instacart for online orders.
In January 2020, Giant announced its own line of wines called Artie. These wines are available in many stores in Virginia.
Giant also updated its loyalty program in March 2020. It's called Giant Flexible Rewards. Customers can earn points for gas and grocery savings. This program has been recognized as one of the best grocery reward programs in the country.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Giant pharmacies helped by giving many vaccinations. By December 2021, they had given over one million vaccines. This included COVID-19 shots and flu shots.
