Big Y Foods, Inc. (or Big Y) is an American supermarket chain. Big Y operates stores in Massachusetts and Connecticut. It operates under the trade names "Big Y World Class Market" or "Big Y Supermarket."
In 1936, a young entrepreneur, Paul D'Amour, aided by his brother, Gerald, and sisters, Ann Marie, Yvette, and Gertrude, purchased the Y Cash Market in the Willimansett section of Chicopee, Massachusetts, at a Y-intersection. On December 12, 1936, the brothers began Y Cash Market, the forerunner of Big Y. The company is headquartered in Springfield, Massachusetts. Big Y now is run by cousins Charles and Donald D'Amour.
Big Y is one of the largest independently owned supermarket chains in New England, and it employs over 12,000 people. In 2005 Big Y was the 268th-largest private company in the United States, according to that year's Forbes magazine "500 Largest Private Companies" list. Big Y is the fourth largest supermarket chain in New England after Quincy based Stop & Shop, Scarborough based Hannaford, and West Bridgewater based Shaw's Supermarkets. Big Y is the second largest in Southern New England after the aforementioned Stop & Shop.
Big Y Today
As of September 2017, Big Y operates 70 supermarkets in Massachusetts and Connecticut; many of which are located in the metropolitan areas of Springfield, Worcester, Greater Boston, and Hartford. In addition to its traditional supermarkets, Big Y owns and operates two specialty markets: Table & Vine, a large specialty liquor and wine store in West Springfield; and the Fresh Acres Market, a concept mixing an open-air-style farmers' market with upscale food choices, in Springfield. Big Y also operated two standalone pharmacies in Springfield and Wilbraham before eventually folding them into the pharmacies located in its nearby stores. In February 2015, Big Y opened its first Gas Station in Westfield, under the title 'Big Y Express.'
Big Y's largest competitor throughout its trade area is Stop & Shop, based out of Quincy, and to a lesser extent Big Y also competes with Boston-based Shaw's and Schenectady, New York's Price Chopper supermarkets. In Connecticut, Big Y is now the second-largest supermarket chain by number of locations, with only Stop & Shop operating more Connecticut stores.
Some Big Ys offer free child care for customers, operating as the Little Y Kids' Club. Big Y also competes by offering "buy one, get two free" sales and special coins redeemable for discounts that change bi-monthly.
Unlike most supermarkets, whose sales run Sunday to Saturday, Big Y's sales week is Thursday to Wednesday, as most customers get paid on Thursdays.
In 2011, Big Y's 75th anniversary, plans included a gala and a sweepstakes for customers with a top prize of $75,000; the drawing was held at the Big E.
In 2012 after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, Big Y's Newtown location put up four large green and white ribbons on the outside of the store and were also selling ribbons, shirts, and other items to show their support to those who were lost.
In 2013, Big Y announced they were partnering with fellow Springfield-based company, F.L. Roberts, to enter the convenience store and fuel station industry. The newly created convenience stores will be branded "Big Y Express." The first of these new stores opened in the fall of 2013 in Lee, adjacent to Big Y's full-size supermarket.
In July 2016, it was announced that Big Y had entered into a purchase agreement with Ahold and Delhaize Group for eight Hannaford Brothers locations in Massachusetts as part of the divestiture of stores to gain clearance from the Federal Trade Commission for the impending Ahold/Delhaize merger. The new stores will be located in Kingston, Quincy, Norwell, Milford, Norwood, West Peabody, Saugus, and Easton. The addition of the eight new stores brings Big Y's store count in Massachusetts to 37, and greatly increases its footprint in the eastern half of the state.
Store locations and expansion
Big Y focuses primarily on opening stores to strengthen its existing footprint, though that footprint is expanding slowly. Most Big Y stores are within a 75-mile radius of their Springfield headquarters. In 2010, Big Y announced that its new store plans included Lee, Franklin, and Milford, Massachusetts; according to its website, each town would have a store by 2012. The Lee store opened in November 2011, adding to Big Y's presence in the Berkshires; while the Franklin store opened in August 2012. The Franklin store is a sister location to Big Y's store in Walpole; those two had been their only stores in Greater Boston until 2016. Big Y also announced new stores in Foxborough and Holyoke, but plans for those locations were ultimately withdrawn.
In 2016, Big Y opened a Connecticut store in Shelton, bringing their store count in that state to 33. Big Y has also occasionally grown through acquisitions. In addition to the previously mentioned acquisition of eight former Hannaford stores, in late 2010 Big Y purchased seven stores from A&P, which was leaving central Connecticut. Four of these stores (Branford, Mystic, Old Lyme, West Hartford) were renovated and re-opened as Big Y World Class Markets within a short period of time.
Big Y has stores near the New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont state lines, but expansion into these states has not yet been officially announced. Big Y has explored into venturing into Rhode Island in the near future.
As of June 2017, the company operated 77 locations.
References
External links
- Official website
