How does one have as great a brand name as A&P, yet still arrive in bankruptcy? Simple. It neglects its core brand, A&P, and it goes trudging off in all sorts of different directions in search of something new. A&P has been doing this for decades, and now, finally, an iconic American retailer is bankrupt. [...]

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Just returned from my neighborhood Winn Dixie where a register printer-generated coupon informed me to look for the same taste, new look Eight O’Clock Coffee. I was appalled at the change; I thought the company had decided to retain the venerable red bag. The TATA Group, owners of the iconic Eight O’Clock Coffee brand, are [...]

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SAVANNAH – Entries are out in the Savannah College of Art & Design’s Phoenix Project. (See a full list of entries here.) At right, one of two concepts for A&P, The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (NYSE: GAP). A&P is about to experience its 150th Anniversary, but it has struggled, and is tiny compared [...]

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MONTVALE, N.J. – There is but one grocery chain that inspires literature. It’s the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company (NYSE: GAP), this year celebrating its 150th anniversary. In John Updike’s Kennedy-era short story “A&P” a 19-year-old clerk identifies with three scantily clad girls who come into an A&P in a small town in Massachusetts, [...]

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Beats Starbucks? A recent study from Consumer Reports, published on Yahoo, looked at coffee from blind taste tests, including all brands. Their verdict? We quote Consumer Reports: Chock full o’Nuts and Maxwell House have pushed coffee that’s “heavenly” and “good to the last drop” since 1932 and 1907, respectively. But off-notes, little complexity, and, for [...]

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MONTVALE, N.J. – We somehow missed this one over the holidays. Jane Parker is BACK. Yippeee. Apparently, the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company (NYSE: GAP) re-introduced Jane Parker Fruitcake, and now is making the selling of this brand a yearly holiday tradition. Could Ann Page spices be next? As far as we know, they [...]

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