Farmer Jack
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| Farmer Jack | |
| Type | Public |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1924 |
| Headquarters | Detroit, Michigan |
| Industry | Retailer |
| Products | Bakery, liquor, dairy, delicatessen, frozen foods, produce, meat & poultry, general merchandise, pharmacy (selected locations), seafood, banking (selected locations) |
| Website | http://www.farmerjack.com |
Farmer Jack is a 67-store supermarket chain in southeastern Michigan. The Detroit-based company is owned by A&P (Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co.), a New Jersey-based chain of 407 stores under the banners Waldbaum's, The Food Emporium, Super Foodmart, Super Fresh, Sav-A-Center and Food Basics.
Farmer Jack stores are typically in suburban areas and usually part of a strip mall. Some of the stores also exist as stand-alone stores. Each store typically offers standard grocery items, produce, meats and a pharmacy.
Curiously, many stores also have coffee grinders near the check out counters, and baggers will volunteer to grind coffee beans, usually the "8 O'Clock" variety sold in-store. Other in-house brands are America's Choice, Master's Choice and Health Pride.
Many people incorrectly call Farmer Jack "Farmer Jack's."
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[edit] History
The company dates to 1924, when Jewish Russian immigrant Tom Borman opened a neighborhood grocery store, Tom's Quality Meats, at 12th and Forest in Detroit. In 1927, his brother Abraham "Al" Borman started his own store on Kercheval on the city's east side. The brothers eventually formed a partnership. The brothers split up in 1945, with Tom developing Lucky Stores and Al developing Food Fair markets. In 1955, the two operations merge into Food Fair, operating under the corporate entity Borman Food Stores Inc. Four years later, the renamed Borman's Inc., sold more than 400,000 shares of stock, with the Bormans retaining control. Proceeds from the stock sale fueled a buying binge: Borman's bought State Super Markets of Ferndale American Stores Inc., acquired nine Lipson-Gourwitz Co. markets in Detroit and planned an expansion to 46 stores.
In 1966, Borman announced the opening of three suburban shopping centers that would contain gas stations, car washes, garden supply stores, Yankee discount stores and food stores -- operating under the new moniker of "Farmer Jack."
By 1972, Detroit became a major zone of grocery store competition, with about six major grocery chains competing in the region, including Chatham's and Great Scott! In a speech, Paul Borman claimed A&P's move to discount-type stores had nearly destroyed the supermarket industry.
By 1987, the company was struggling to keep Detroit area stores operating amid a strike by clerks and cashiers, who were supported by meat cutters and Teamsters. Borman's eventually bought out 800 workers at a cost of $12.9 million. This started a period of losses that would eventually prompt the sale to A&P. During a decade of merger-mania in the supermarket business, Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. Inc. (A&P) paid $76 million for 79 Farmer Jack stores operated by Borman's. The buyout placed A&P in the number one slot among grocery stores in the Detroit area, with control of 36% of the market. By 1994, nearly all A&P stores in Metro Detroit had been converted to Farmer Jack stores.
[edit] Restructuring
Through the 1990s, Farmer Jack began to lose its dominance in the Detroit market, partially because of competition from new-comers Meijer and Kroger (and in later years, Wal-Mart, which offered a larger variety of services). In 2002, the chain reorganized, closed four stores and cut headquarters staff. About thirty 24-hour stores trimmed hours. In 2005, the chain was officially up for sale, and the initial plan was to sell the chain to Spartan Stores, while still keeping labor contracts with the United Food and Commercial Workers intact.[1] However, Spartan backed out of the deal and the final decision was made not to sell the chain and Farmer Jack operates to this day as a division of A&P. [2]
[edit] Community
Farmer Jack is perhaps best known for its slogan and jingle, which often was heard on WJR and WOMC: "It's always Savings Time at Farmer Jack." In May 2006, the company announced it was reintroducing the slogan with a refreshed advertising campaign.[3]
Farmer Jack is one of the few grocery store chains still operating in the city of Detroit. It opened a 60,000 square-foot store in Highland Park on the site of Henry Ford's first assembly plant. (There was controversy in 2004 when Farmer Jack closed another location in Highland Park [4]). In 2003, a 64,000-square-foot store opened at the corner of Jefferson and St. Jean, becoming the largest Farmer Jack in Detroit.
