The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, Inc. · Montvale, NJ United States ·(NYSE: GAP)

Once the biggest bagger of groceries in the US, The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (A&P) had been reduced to a handful of regional grocery chains but is moving toward filling up its cart again. It runs some 435 supermarkets in eight Eastern states and the District of Columbia. In addition to its mainstay A&P chain, the firm now operates seven others, including Super Fresh along the East Coast from New Jersey to Virginia and The Food Emporium and Waldbaum chains in the New York and New Jersey area. A&P acquired its longtime rival in the Northeast, Pathmark Stores, for about $1.4 billion in late 2007, reversing years of decline at the grocery company. Germany's Tengelmann Group owns about 40% of A&P. To read the full description, subscribe now.