submariner wrote: ↑12 Jul 2010 03:35
Just a little late-night musing...
Alternate history:
In 1986, Lucky Stores spun off it's GEMCO division. As a new company, GEMCO struggled to find its place in the late 80's discount arena. After closing all but their California stores in 1989, GEMCO went on a massive rebranding campaign, focusing on its strength as California's largest hypermarket chain. Shifting their focus to higher-quality items at reasonable prices, GEMCO became the primary competitor to Target stores. By 1995, GEMCO and Target were in an all-out retail war. GEMCO's grocery offerings soon rivaled that of Vons' Pavilions chain and GEMCO soon became the 'trendy' place to shop in California. In 2000, Kmart completely pulled out of California after years of dismal sales and being shuffled to fourth place with the mass intrusion of Wal-Mart stores. 2005 saw a growth spurt not unlike the Kohl's chain as GEMCO ventured out of California again into Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington.
Today, GEMCO operates over 200 stores in 10 states from the west coast all the way to Illinois. Filling a gap above Walmart's supercenters and the midwest stalwart, Meijer; GEMCO continues to operate clean, bright stores that are well stocked with designer label items at easy-to-handle prices. GEMCO's food selection continues to rival higher quality grocery stores with service departments tailored to the neighborhood where they are located. Citing the successes of Meijer, Walmart Supercenters, and GEMCO, Target never opened a hypermarket of their own; however they continue with the rollout of smaller "Markets" in most of their stores. Kmart Supercenters never evolved west of the Mississippi. After an unsuccessful invasion attempt, Walmart currently operates only a small handful of mainline stores in central California, and has no plans of operating any supercenters in the state.
GEMCO plans to expand to the east coast by 2015. However, GEMCO does not plan to enter the gulf coast region, citing Walmart's strong presence.
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Alternate, fictional history for National Tea:
In 1976, Canadian grocer Loblaw spun off its National Tea division and US Loblaws stores to its management. National Tea still was partially owned by George Weston Limited. National then sold off its weakest stores, such as Loblaws divisions in Los Angeles, Ohio and Pennsylvania, and National stores in Davenport.
National reinvented itself in 1980 by focusing on its reputation for strong food quality with splashy ad campaigns targeting the "yuppie" demographic. National was then known as a "classy" place to buy groceries. National then reported record sales numbers. National went on an acquisition spree, acquiring Applebaum's in Minneapolis, and A&P's stores in St. Louis.
In 1984, National made its biggest acquisition yet: rival Jewel Companies in Chicago. As National and Jewel were the top 2 grocers in Chicago, the FTC required National to sell its Chicago stores to Kroger, which returned Kroger to that market after a 14 year absence. In the deal, National not only got Jewel, but Star Market in Boston, Buttrey Foods in the northern Rockies/upper Midwest, and two drug store chains: Sav-on Drugs and Osco Drug. National then opened combo stores similar to Loblaws' "superstores" in Canada, combining a National banner with a drug store. These stores were forerunners to today's supercenters.
In 1989, National made another big acquisition: Lucky Stores, a California supermarket chain known for low prices and decent quality.
in 1994, National made another big acquisition, this one being Albertsons, a Western supermarket chain. Five years later, National acquired Acme Stores, a Northeast chain.
In 2009, National underwent a restructuring, selling off the unprofitable Albertsons Texas (except for El Paso) and Florida divisions, which were being hammered by Walmart Supercenters.
Today, National operates 1800 supermarkets across the US, from Maine to San Diego. It is owned by George Weston Foods in an alliance with Loblaw Companies (similar to Walgreens Boots Alliance). Like its sister chain Loblaw, it operates clean, modern supermarkets with strong quality foods at competitive prices, and carries the President's Choice brand.
Banners owned by National Tea:
National: Minnesota, Wisconsin, downstate IL, Missouri, North Dakota, eastern South Dakota, Iowa
Jewel: Chicagoland, NW Indiana, western Michigan
Miller's: Colorado, western Nebraska, eastern Wyoming, western South Dakota
Standard: Indiana (except NW)
Lucky: California, southern Nevada
Buttrey: Montana
Albertsons: Oregon, Washington, Idaho, northern Nevada, Utah, western Wyoming, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, eastern Nebraska, Kansas
Acme: Mid-Atlantic
Star Market: New England