Hannaford

OUR STORY We're still connected to those early roots as a local market, and the connection we have to the sources of our fresh foods is core to the way we do business. Hannaford, Your Local Grocer Since 1883 The Hannaford brothers began selling produce in Portland, Maine, in 1883, but it took a lot more than fresh tomatoes and apples to grow their business. The brothers looked at their customers and understood what they cared about most – family, community, quality, value – and built the business accordingly, with core values that still show us the way. Today, we live those values in more than 180 stores and with 26,000 associates, our roots still firmly planted in the Northeast. Major Milestones 1883 Arthur Hannaford sells high-quality fruits and vegetables from a one-horse produce cart on the Portland, Maine, waterfront. 1902 Hannaford Bros. Co. is incorporated under the leadership of Arthur's brothers, Howard and Edward. 1906 Edward Hannaford succeeds his brother, Howard, as president. He served in this capacity for 34 years – the longest of any Hannaford president to date. 1920 A leading produce wholesaler in Northern New England, Hannaford relocates to a five-story, state-of-the-art warehouse on Cross Street in Portland. 1929 Hannaford begins a long-standing partnership with the United Way; in 2007, associates raise and donate more than $1.8 million to help fund United Way programs. 1935 At the suggestion of Vice President Stewart Taylor, Hannaford joined the Clover Farm Group, a national organization of independent grocers, allowing the company to increase variety and inventory while reducing operating costs. 1939 Hannaford expands into the wholesale grocery business with the purchase of H. S. Melcher Co., parent company of Red & White stores throughout Maine. 1940 Stewart Taylor was rewarded for his business acumen by being named Edward Hannaford's successor as president of the company. 1944 Hannaford ventures into retailing for the first time under a unique equity partnership arrangement with William T. Cottle, owner of Cottle's Supermarkets. 1946 Hannaford's Board of Directors voted unanimously to pursue doing business in New Hampshire. 1955 Continuing a strategic shift from wholesale to retail, Hannaford merges with T. R. Savage Co. of Bangor, laying the groundwork for future retail expansion in Northern Maine. 1960 To service an expanding retail business, Hannaford opens a modern 200,000-square-foot warehouse in South Portland, Maine; Walter Whittier is appointed president of the company. 1966 Hannaford's retail presence in Maine continues to grow with the purchase of the 31-store Sampson's supermarket chain. 1967 Hannaford purchases specialty foods distributor Progressive Distributors, based in Winthrop, Maine. 1971 Hannaford has 59 supermarkets in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont and 43 wholesale accounts; earnings top $1 million. The company goes public; Jim Moody is appointed president of the company. The daughter of former president Stewart Taylor, Florence Petrlik, becomes the first woman to sit on the Hannaford Board of Directors. 1973 Hannaford opens its first Wellby Drug Store. 1982 The Hannaford Trucking Company is established to supply Hannaford's growing retail business. 1984 Hannaford opens its first Super Shop 'n Save, adding pharmacy services to the company's supermarket format. Hugh Farrington is appointed president of Hannaford Bros. Co.; Jim Moody is named chairman of the board and CEO. 1987 Hannaford expands into New York and Massachusetts; sales surpass $1 billion. 1990 Hannaford purchases the eleven-store Alexander's chain in New Hampshire. 1992 Sales surpass $2 billion. The Wellby Drug Store chain is sold to focus on adding pharmacy services into the company's existing supermarkets. 1993 Upon her retirement, Florence Petrlik, the first woman to sit on the Hannaford Board of Directors, gave an endowment to create the Hannaford Scholarship Program, enabling dependents of associates to further their education. 1994 Hannaford acquires Wilson's Supermarkets, with twenty stores in North Carolina and South Carolina; begins development of Strategic Information Process (SIP) – an innovative, computer-based decision support system. 1995 Hannaford expands in the Southeastern U.S. The company purchases six Farm Fresh stores, opens Superstores in five new markets in North Carolina and Virginia and builds a new 431,000-square-foot warehouse in Butner, North Carolina. 1996 The company changes the name of its Shop 'n Save private-brand label to Hannaford brand. 1997 Sales exceed $3 billion. The company changes the name of its supermarkets from Shop 'n Save to Hannaford throughout New York State. 1999 Hannaford announces its acquisition by Belgium-based Delhaize Company, joining a $14 billion global food retailer. 2000 The acquisition by Delhaize Company – soon to be renamed Delhaize Group – is completed; Hannaford is now part of the fifth-largest food retailer in the United States, with 1,400 stores from Maine to Florida. Hannaford introduces a new prototype supermarket in Falmouth, Maine, as well as the company's first smaller-format 35,000-square-foot store in Milton, New York. 2001 Hannaford acquires five Grand Union supermarkets in New York. The company changes the name of its supermarkets from Shop 'n Save to Hannaford in the Portland, Maine, market. Ron Hodge is appointed CEO; Hugh Farrington is named Delhaize Group executive vice president and is elected to the board of directors of Delhaize Group. 2002 The company changes the name of its supermarkets from Shop 'n Save to Hannaford throughout Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont. 2003 Total sales grow by an impressive 7.3 percent over the previous year. Hugh Farrington retires after 35 years of dedicated service. 2004 Hannaford acquires nineteen Victory Supermarkets in Central and Southeastern Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire. 2006 Hannaford opens fourteen new stores, the most in a single year by the company; expands pharmacy service to 120 stores; announces the landmark Guiding Stars program, a store navigation system that makes it easy to find foods with more nutrition. 2008 Hannaford celebrates its 125th anniversary. 2009 Hannaford has 167 stores and more than 26,000 associates. 2009 Hannaford opens a new supermarket in Augusta, Maine, that was the first grocery store in the country to receive LEED Platinum recognition for its advanced environmental practices. Many of these practices are now standard for Hannaford. 2011 Hannaford To Go opens as a pilot in Dover, New Hampshire. This service allows customers to order groceries online and pick them up at the store. This program continues to be offered in more and more stores. 2012 Hannaford becomes the first major supermarket in the United States to document that all seafood products sold, in every department across the store, are sustainably harvested. 2013 The Turner Hannaford store receives the "Best of the Best Award" from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's GreenChill Partnership for installing a first-in-the-nation refrigeration system that is far better for the environment than a typical system. 2015 Hannaford opens a 20,000-square-foot small-format concept store in North Berwick, Maine. The store has new decor as well as merchandising techniques designed specifically for smaller locations. 2016 Hannaford completely eliminates food waste at 53 of its stores. Across the Northeast, the company donates more than 25 million pounds of food for hunger relief and diverts most other potential waste to composting facilities. 2016 Hannaford celebrates the 10th anniversary of Guiding Stars, the science-based system invented at Hannaford to rate the nutritional quality of every food in the store. 2016 Hannaford opens a new large-format concept store in Bedford, New Hampshire. The supermarket features an in-store kitchen and cafe and specialty-shop-style departments. 2016 Hannaford becomes part of the newly formed company Ahold Delhaize through the merger of Delhaize Group and Ahold.