verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . october 2007 learn how and when to remove this template message giant food of maryland llc type subsidiary industry retail founded 1936 ; 80 years ago 1936 as giant food shopping center inc. headquarters 8301 professional place suite 115 landover maryland u.s. key people gordon reid president products supermarket pharmacy parent koninklijke ahold delhaize n.v. website giantfood.com giant food of maryland llc also known as giant is an american supermarket chain with 169 stores and 159 full service pharmacies located in delaware maryland virginia and washington d.c. 1 it is headquartered in an unincorporated area of prince george s county maryland in landover . 2 3 contents 1 etymology 2 history 2.1 1930s 2.2 1940s 2.3 1950s 2.4 1960s 2.5 1990s 2.6 2000s 2.7 2010s 3 references 4 bibliography 5 external links etymology edit giant is often known as giant landover to avoid confusion with sibling company giant carlisle . history edit a germantown maryland giant food store in september 2013 . 1930s edit former giant logo used from 1963 to 2008 . giant was founded in 1936 by nehemiah meir n.m. cohen and samuel lehrman . the first store was at georgia avenue and park road in the district of columbia . 4 1940s edit the chain experienced rapid growth following world war ii growing from nine stores in 1946 to 17 in 1950 . 5 co founder samuel lehrman died aged 70 while wintering in miami beach florida in january 1949 . 6 1950s edit between 1950 and 1952 giant added five new stores joining in the general expansion of the american economy . at this time the shopping center concept was taking hold in america and giant put a new store in the congressional plaza shopping center in rockville maryland . in 1955 the chain opened its first store in baltimore . by this time 48 percent of all its stores were located in shopping centers . in 1958 riding a new merchandising trend of combination supermarket department stores giant opened its first super giant store and within a year had opened eight more . also in 1958 the company opened its new headquarters and distribution center on a 40 acre site in landover maryland . in 1957 giant food shopping center inc. became giant food inc. and fiscal 1958 saw sales of more than 100 million . in 1959 the company with 53 stores including nine super giant stores went public . during this time giant computerized its inventory data customer information and payroll and bookkeeping operations . customer service features added in the 1950s included self opening doors mechanized checkouts and open display cases to make meats and frozen food directly accessible to the customer . in the 1950s giant initiated a scholarship program to encourage students to pursue food management careers . two of the first five recipients later became senior vice presidents at giant . 1960s edit in 1962 giant opened its first combination food store and pharmacy located in glen burnie maryland in the southdale shopping center . israel izzy cohen inherited the family mantle in 1964 and built the company into the 12th largest food chain in the united states . 7 1990s edit cohen died in 1995 at the age of 83 . a holding company was formed because none of the members of my family have had any experience or interest in operating giant food ... three years after cohen died giant was bought by royal ahold a dutch conglomerate . ahold promised few changes to the chain but ahold was soon plunged into turmoil after a financial scandal . starting in 1994 they expanded into the philadelphia delaware south jersey area but under the name super g as to avoid confusion with future sister chain giant of carlisle . in 2005 the decision was made to phase out the name and convert the south jersey stores to the stop & shop banner however these stores did not perform well and they have since closed sold to shoprite franchises . the delaware locations were converted to giant landover and the pennsylvania locations due to proximity to the giant carlisle locations were closed . 2000s edit a giant food store in march 2006 located at 8th and o streets nw in washington d.c. in 2004 ahold merged giant and stop & shop and eliminated more than 600 positions at giant s landover headquarters 4 creating stop & shop giant landover which itself is a subsidiary of netherlands based royal ahold . in 2006 giant signed a five year agreement with starbucks coffee to open starbucks locations in several of giant s stores . 8 the agreement was not renewed however upon expiration in 2011 due to many of the shopping centers who played host to giant stores also being host to stand alone independent starbucks franchises . giant introduced a new logo on august 21 2008 as part of a larger rebranding campaign ; 9 the logo is shared with stop & shop . 2010s edit in september 2012 giant sold its 760 000 sq ft 71 000 m2 distribution facility in jessup maryland . the company outsourced distribution to c & s wholesale grocers relocating its operations to pennsylvania . 10 references edit giant food press release includes store count giantfood.com https m.usps.com m ziplookupaction search city . missing or empty title help facility locations . giant food llc . retrieved september 6 2011 . 8301 professional place suite 115 landover maryland 20785 a b mui ylan q. 1 october 2007 . voice of giant food says goodbye . the washington post . retrieved 24 may 2016 . goodman s. oliver 19 june 1955 . giant opens 29th plans more stores . the washington post . retrieved 24 may 2016 via proquest . subscription required help . giant store co founder dies in miami . the washington post . 14 january 1949 . retrieved 24 may 2016 via proquest . subscription required help . alec matthew klein and shirley leung november 24 1995 . israel cohen giant food s chairman dies at 83 . the baltimore sun . moore marcus february 24 2006 . deal will bring starbucks to some giant stores . gazette.net . retrieved 2007 06 17 . walker andrea k. 2008 08 21 . giant food to unveil new logo today . baltimore sun . retrieved 2008 08 23 . lorraine mirabella september 24 2012 . giant food puts jessup warehouse on the market ; dry goods distribution center shut down over summer ; trucks are parked in the lot of the jessup dry goods warehouse . the baltimore sun . bibliography edit fisher eric september 21 1998 . dutch retailer royal ahold to wrap up acquisition of maryland s giant foods . knight ridder tribune business news . retrieved 10 november 2010 . external links edit wikimedia commons has media related to giant landover . official website stop & shop v t e ahold delhaize ahold delhaize founders delhaize family albert heijn stores europe albert albert heijn delhaize etos north america giant carlisle giant landover stop & shop webshops bol.com peapod former operations ahold ac restaurants stop & shop giant landover v t e ahold usa stop & shop giant carlisle giant landover martin s peapod v t e supermarket chains in the united states kroger baker s supermarkets city market dillons food stores food 4 less foods co. fred meyer fry s food & drug gerbes super markets harris teeter jay c king soopers kroger owen s pay less super markets qfc ralphs roundy s pick n save mariano s metro market copp s ruler foods scott s smith s albertsons acme markets albertsons amigos carrs haggen jewel osco lucky market street pavilions randalls safeway shaw s and star market super saver tom thumb united supermarkets vons supervalu county market cub farm fresh hornbacher s save a lot shop n save shoppers ahold delhaize food lion giant carlisle giant landover hannaford brothers company martin s food markets stop & shop southeastern grocers bi lo fresco y m s harveys supermarkets winn dixie wakefern pricerite shoprite the fresh grocer other national chains aldi iga lidl target walmart regional chains asian 99 ranch market great wall supermarket h mart hong kong supermarket island pacific supermarket marina food marukai corporation u.s.a. mitsuwa marketplace nijiya market seafood city shun fat supermarket uwajimaya hispanic bravo el ahorro supermarket fiesta foods fiesta mart la perla tapat a supermarkets m s club mi pueblo food center supermercados teloloapan vallarta supermarkets organic earth fare natural grocers trader joe s whole foods market wholesale bj s wholesale club costco sam s club conventional acme fresh market amigo andronico s balducci s bashas best yet market big y boyer s food markets inc. bristol farms brookshire brothers brookshire grocery company buehler food markets inc. c town supermarkets cash & carry central market d & w fresh market dave s markets dean & deluca demoulas market basket dierbergs markets dorothy lane market easy way store econofoods family fare fairway market fareway festival foods festival foods minnesota food giant food city foodarama foodland foodland hawaii foodtown pathmark gelson s gerland corporation giant eagle grand mart gristedes grocery outlet harmons harps food stores h e b heinen s fine foods highland park market homeland houchens hugo s hy vee ingles inserra supermarkets jerry s foods jungle jim s international market karns quality foods key food super fresh the food emporium king kullen kings super markets kuhn s quality foods lewis food town lion supermarket lowe s market lowes foods lund food holdings magruder s marc s market basket market of choice marsh supermarkets martin s super markets meijer met foods minyard food stores miracle mart mollie stone s markets morton williams new deal supermarket new seasons market niemann foods no frills supermarkets nugget markets pcc natural markets petrini s piggly wiggly piggly wiggly carolina co. pink dot price chopper price mart price chopper supermarkets publix pueblo raley s supermarkets red owl redner s markets remke markets rice epicurean markets ridley s family markets roche bros. rosauers supermarkets rouses russ s market save mart supermarkets saverite schnucks scolari s food and drug seafood city sedano s sellers bros. sendik s food market sentry foods seven mile market shop n save smart & final spartannash sprouts farmers market stanley stores star market stater bros. stew leonard s strack & van til straub s markets sullivan family of companies super dollar discount foods super one foods super saver foods b & r stores the fresh market times supermarkets tops friendly markets united grocery outlet urm stores valu king victory supermarkets village market food center weaver street market wegmans weis markets westborn market western beef winco foods woodman s markets yoke s fresh market zabar s zupan s markets defunct banners a mart a & p food basics pathmark waldbaum s abco foods alpha beta american stores appletree markets belle foods big bear stores big star markets bloom bottom dollar food bruno s buttrey food & drug byrd s carter s foods chatham clemens markets colonial stores dahl s foods daniel reeves stores david s supermarkets davis food city delchamps deskins dick s supermarket dominick s eagle food centers eberhard s eisner food stores farmer jack felpausch finast fisher foods food fair food world food a rama fresh & easy furr s genuardi s giant open air glen s markets grand union hamady brothers henry s farmers market hills supermarkets hinky dinky jitney jungle johnnie s foodmaster kessel food markets laneco marketside mars national supermarkets national tea omni superstore penn fruit penn traffic pick n pay supermarkets plus purity supreme quality markets qfi red food reid s schaffer stores company seaway food town seessel s simon david skaggs companies southern family markets sunflower farmers market sunflower market super duper sweetbay supermarket tidyman s twin valu ukrop s super markets