Jewel-Osco

Itasca, IL United States

 

Company Description

Jewel-Osco operates about 180 combination food-and-drug stores mostly in Illinois, but also in Indiana, and Iowa. The regional chain is the #1 seller of groceries in Chicago with 30-plus stores there and about 40% of the market (ahead of  Safeway-owned Dominick's). Jewel-Osco trails rival Walgreen in pharmacy sales in Chicago. The company also runs about 30 fuel centers. Started as the Jewel Tea Company in 1899 and formerly the Midwest division of Albertson's (now Albertsons LLC), Jewel-Osco was sold to grocery retailer and wholesaler SUPERVALU in 2006. Long accustomed to being #1 in a two-company market, Jewel-Osco is fighting to stay on top of an increasingly crowded Chicago grocery market.