| Type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail (Grocery) |
| Founded | 1939 |
| Headquarters | Athens, Greece |
| Number of locations | 223 (2010)[1] |
| Key people | Gerasimos and Haralambos Vassilopoulos (Founders) |
| Products | Groceries, consumer goods |
| Employees | 9,586 (2009) |
| Parent | Delhaize Group |
| Website | http://www.ab.gr/ |
"Alpha-Beta Vassilopoulos" (Άλφα-Βήτα Βασιλόπουλος) or simply "AB" is a supermarket chain based in Greece. [2]
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The company was established in 1939 in Athens, Greece, when the brothers Gerasimos and Haralambos Vassilopoulos (Γεράσιμος and Χαράλαμπος Βασιλόπουλος) opened a small grocery shop, on Voulis Street, in downtown Athens. A few years later, they opened a second, larger shop on Stadiou Street, in Athens.
In 1969, Alpha-Beta Vassilopoulos S.A. (Άλφα-Βήτα Βασιλόπουλος A.E.) was formed. In 1970, the first 'real' supermarket was established in the Faros area of Psichiko (Ψυχικό), Athens. It was built and designed according to European standards, and it was one of the first of its kind in Greece. By 1989, AB had opened nine supermarkets in the greater Athens area.
In 1991, AB was listed on the Athens Stock Exchange. In the same year, the first AB MEGA supermarket was opened, in the area of Hellinikon, close to the old Athens Hellinikon International Airport. This shop received an award from the International Association of Retail Traders (Α.Ι.D.Α.) in 1991 for being the best and most comprehensive store in Europe. In the same year, AB also opened its first shop outside Athens.
In 1992, a new AB MEGA was built on the Athens-Lamia highway (Εθνική Αθηνών-Λαμίας). In the meanwhile, AB was acquired by the Belgian retail company "Delhaize Group". In 1994, AB was the first supermarket company in Greece to introduce the barcode system at its cashiers. Also, they introduced the AB series of products, a low-cost private label of alternative products to mainstream ones.
Between 1995 and 1998, AB opened a large warehouse, in Mandra, Attica (Μάνδρα, Αττική) and in 2009 a larger one for fresh and perishables, in Oinofyta, Voiotia.
By 2000, AB had 53 shops in 11 cities in Greece. On 16 October 2000, AB acquired the TROFO (Τροφό) and ENA Cash-and-Carry (ΈΝΑ Cash-and-Carry) supemarket chains, thus forming the second largest grocery retail chain in Greece in terms of market share. AB in one of the most important highlights in the domestic retail chain acquires the discount retail chain Plus Hellas, enhancing both its network by 29 stores, its presence in Northern Greece and obtaining a modern distribution centre (ΚΑΣ). In 2009, ΑΒ acquires the retail chain Κoryfi, enhancing both its network by 10 stores and its presence in Thrace.
AB has introduced a bonus-reward programme, dubbed the "AB Plus" card, and a credit card "AB Visa" (in co-operation with the National Bank of Greece), where its customers get some discount and awards.
In addition to the low-cost AB range of products, AB supermarkets also stock the Delhaize "365" ultra-low-cost label which includes products ranging from food and beverages to all sorts of household items. There is a dedicated corridor for organic products in every AB. During 2005, AB has gone through a slight facelift on their brand image. AB, deeply concerned over the environment and the consequences on biodiversity and on mankind, aims to create the necessary conditions to carry out and implement the principles of continuous and sustainable development in its areas of activity, as a result upgrading the country's environment by conserving energy in the stores, reducing greenhouse gases and recycling.