The Giant Company
| File:The Giant Company logo.svg Logo used since 2020 rebranding | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail (Supermarket) |
| Founded | January 1, 1923 in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Founder | David Javitch |
| Headquarters | Carlisle, Pennsylvania , United States |
Area served | Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, New Jersey (online) |
Key people | Parag Shah (VP of Omnichannel Merchandising), Rick Herring (former CEO), Nicholas Bertram (President) |
| Products | Grocery stores, pharmacies, fuel stations, online shopping and delivery services |
Number of employees | approx. 23,000 (combined with Edwards Super Food Stores in 1997) |
| Parent | Ahold Delhaize |
| Website | www |
The Giant Company—previously known as Giant Food Stores—is a regional American supermarket chain serving Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia under the Giant and Martin's banners. Headquartered in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, it operates as a subsidiary of Ahold Delhaize. As of May 2025, the company managed 193 locations, including 133 pharmacies and 107 fuel stations, while offering online shopping and delivery services in New Jersey through Giant Direct.
To distinguish itself from the Maryland-based sister chain Giant Food, also owned by Ahold Delhaize, this entity is often referred to as Giant-Carlisle or Giant/Martin's. The Giant Company emphasizes growth by broadening its product range and service offerings.
Origins
The enterprise traces back to 1923 when founder David Javitch launched Carlisle Meat Market, a modest meat retailer in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. In 1936, Javitch expanded by acquiring a store in Lewistown and rebranding it as Giant Shopping Food Center—a pioneering grocery establishment combining dry goods with fresh produce under one roof. Encouraged by this success, the original Carlisle outlet was transformed into a full-service grocery store.
Despite early challenges—including an unsuccessful Hagerstown location and setbacks from fire and flooding—the business rebounded and maintained steady expansion.
Growth
During the 1950s, Javitch leveraged suburban expansion and mall developments by opening stores within strip malls. In 1953, the downtown Carlisle store relocated to a modern facility featuring conveniences such as parking and bagging services, adopting the name Carlisle Food Market. A second store in Carlisle followed in 1964.
By 1968, the chain operated nine stores with David Javitch serving as chairman and his son Lee Javitch as president. The acquisition of the Martin’s chain in Hagerstown, Maryland, in 1969 accelerated growth; these outlets continued operating under the Martin’s brand. The company further extended its footprint into New Jersey in 1970 through Clover-Markets stores.
In 1972, Nick Riso joined as vice president of sales and operations and introduced the "Everyday Low Prices" pricing strategy. By its 50th anniversary in 1973, the company had grown to 18 stores. Following David Javitch’s passing in 1974, Lee Javitch established a scholarship program for employees’ children. Store count reached 24 by the late 1970s; Nick Riso ascended to president while Lee Javitch took on the chairman role. Approaching the 1980s, the workforce numbered around 3,400 employees.
Acquisition by Ahold in 1981
In 1981, the Javitch family sold Giant to Royal Ahold Corporation, a food retail company based in the Netherlands. At that point, Giant operated 29 supermarkets. Throughout the 1980s, steady expansion continued; by 1988 under President Allan Noddle—who also served as company spokesperson—Giant celebrated its 50th store opening.
Between the late 1980s and mid-1990s, extensive renovations and enlargements modernized Giant and Martin's locations. New customer amenities included on-site banks, pharmacies, coffee shops, photo processing centers, and dry cleaning services. By 1996, Giant had expanded to encompass 75 stores.
In 1997, Giant merged with Edwards Super Food Stores—another Ahold subsidiary—resulting in two divisions operating across six states: Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. The combined workforce totaled approximately 23,000 employees with Tony Schiano appointed president and CEO.
2000s
At the dawn of the 2000s, Giant undertook significant technological enhancements and debuted a prototype store located in Hellertown, Pennsylvania. These newly designed outlets incorporated features such as fuel stations, floral sections, smoothie bars, expanded deli and bakery departments, as well as organic produce marketed under the Nature's Promise label. Concurrently, Edwards stores were rebranded to Ahold’s Stop & Shop in the New Jersey and New York regions.
Giant sought to broaden its reach by entering markets like Altoona, Pennsylvania. In 2001, it established a Shared Services partnership with Ahold’s Tops Markets based in Buffalo, New York—enabling both chains to maintain operational independence while sharing back-office functions. The company also introduced U-Scan self-checkout systems alongside launching the advertising slogan "Quality. Selection. Savings. Every Day." Additionally, Giant became the sponsor of the Giant Center arena in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
By January 2003, the Shared Services arrangement progressed into a full operational integration of Tops into Giant’s framework. On October 12, 2005, Giant unveiled its inaugural "Super Giant" location in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania aimed at competing with Wegmans. A second Super Giant store was launched in Willow Grove in 2008, becoming Pennsylvania’s largest Giant outlet at nearly 97,300 square feet.
In September 2006, Royal Ahold acquired 14 Clemens Family Markets stores—13 were rebranded as Giant while one remained FoodSource—and other locations were sold to C&S Wholesalers and A&P (which rebranded them as SuperFresh).
Leadership shifts included Carl Schlicker assuming the role of CEO for Giant/Tops in February 2007 following Tony Schiano’s retirement. Later, in July 2008, Sander van der Laan was named president and CEO of Giant-Carlisle.
On October 11, 2007, Ahold USA divested Tops Markets to Morgan Stanley Private Equity, separating it from Giant-Carlisle operations. By December 2009, Giant-Carlisle expanded its footprint by acquiring Virginia’s Ukrops chain under the Martin's brand.
2010s
Rick Herring was appointed president and CEO of Giant-Carlisle on January 7, 2010. The following year marked Giant’s entry into Philadelphia proper with its first grocery store on Grant Avenue. By December 2011, the combined operations of Giant and Martin's encompassed over 180 stores and 92 fuel stations across four states.
In January 2012, Giant significantly increased its market presence by purchasing 16 Genuardi's Family Markets in the Philadelphia region for $106 million. Leadership continuity was maintained when Nicholas Bertram succeeded Tom Lenkevich as President of Giant/Martin's in January 2018.
November 2018 saw further expansion as Giant-Carlisle acquired five Shop 'n Save supermarkets from SuperValu, operating them under the Martin's Food Markets brand. The company continued growth in 2019 by purchasing additional stores from Ferguson & Hassler and Musser’s Markets within Pennsylvania.
In 2019, Giant deployed "Marty," a robotic assistant designed to improve operational workflows and enhance customer interaction across multiple locations. That same year introduced the Giant Heirloom Market concept—a smaller urban store format targeting Philadelphia neighborhoods such as Graduate Hospital, University City, and Northern Liberties; the latter location includes an underground taproom.
August 2019 brought the announcement of a two-story flagship store spanning 65,000 square feet in Center City Philadelphia as part of the Riverwalk development project. This flagship emphasizes partnerships with local vendors and prioritizes customer experience with features like an outdoor terrace and complimentary parking; it officially opened on March 19, 2021.
In February 2019, Giant launched its inaugural e-commerce fulfillment center branded as Giant Direct to support online order pickup and delivery services—aligning with shifting consumer preferences and advancing its digital commerce capabilities.
2020s
In February 2020, Giant Food Stores underwent a rebranding to become The Giant Company, refreshing its name and logo across all outlets. By August, the company unveiled the tagline "For Today's Table," highlighting its commitment to family-oriented values.
At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the company placed temporary restrictions on essential items and utilized social media platforms to discourage panic buying. It introduced dedicated shopping hours for senior citizens, modified store operating hours, and broadened its contactless delivery services via Giant/Martin’s Direct.
In March 2021, Glennis Harris was appointed senior vice president of customer experience. Later that year, in November, The Giant Company launched a 124,000-square-foot Giant Direct E-commerce Fulfillment Center in Philadelphia designed to handle both online and in-store orders, capable of fulfilling approximately 15,000 home deliveries per week. This center employs Swisslog’s AutoStore robotic storage technology to streamline its distribution operations.
Toward the end of 2021, three new supermarkets opened: two locations in Philadelphia measuring 67,000 and 46,000 square feet respectively, alongside a 72,500-square-foot store in Bucks County. Additionally, a 32,000-square-foot Giant Heirloom Market debuted within Philadelphia’s Fashion District, preserving elements of the building’s historic interior design.
The company also revealed plans for two further Philadelphia locations—a 50,000-square-foot store on North Broad Street and a 40,000-square-foot outlet at South Broad Street near Washington Avenue.
On January 6, 2022, Parag Shah took on the role of vice president of omnichannel merchandising for center store products.
Martin's Foods
Martin's Foods operates as a supermarket chain serving Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and western Pennsylvania. Owned by Ahold Delhaize and managed by Giant-Carlisle, Martin's stores share many similarities with those under the Giant-Carlisle banner. After Ahold acquired Giant-Landover in 1998, certain Martin's locations were divested to comply with Federal Trade Commission requirements—particularly in Maryland counties where Giant had a stronger presence. Nevertheless, Martin's stores remain open in Eldersburg and Rising Sun, Maryland.
The Bonuscard loyalty program was introduced jointly by Martin's and Giant-Carlisle in 2000; around the same time, many stores began offering fuel services. Since August 2020, Martin's has adopted the slogan "For Today's Table," underscoring its dedication to quality and value. Many outlets operate around the clock and frequently dominate their local markets.
Martin's brand traces its roots back to a modest chain based in Hagerstown, Maryland, which Giant-Carlisle acquired in 1968. The brand expanded into Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Virginia—covering Allegany County (MD), Jefferson and Mineral counties (WV), Culpeper and Warren counties (VA), extending as far south as Petersburg (VA). In western Pennsylvania, Martin's took over Jubilee Foods stores to prevent brand confusion with Pittsburgh-based Giant Eagle. Current Martin’s locations in Pennsylvania include Altoona, Duncansville, Connellsville (the only store situated within the Pittsburgh metropolitan area), Indiana, and DuBois. There are no plans for further expansion into Pittsburgh.
Following its acquisition of Ukrops Super Markets, Martin's expanded deeper into central Virginia reaching southward to Petersburg and eastward to Williamsburg. These stores preserved Ukrops’ bakery recipes and customer service standards while implementing the Fuelperks rewards program instead of Martin’s typical fuel incentives. However, Martin's withdrew from the Richmond metro area in 2017 by shuttering some outlets and selling others to Publix Super Markets. This decision came after Ahold merged with Delhaize Group—the owner of Food Lion—which operates multiple locations near former Martin's stores in Richmond.
Relationship with Giant-Landover
A notable difference between these two chains is that Giant-Landover, which operates in urban Central Maryland, is unionized, whereas Giant-Carlisle, serving South-Central Pennsylvania, remains largely non-union except for locations in Lewistown and Burnham, Pennsylvania.
Despite Giant-Carlisle marketing products under the Giant-Landover brand and utilizing their store branding, both entities function as separate and autonomous companies.
Renewable energy initiatives
In June 2020, The Giant Company initiated its inaugural solar energy project at its Carlisle, Pennsylvania headquarters by installing a 625 kW rooftop solar panel system. Later that summer, the company expanded its sustainability efforts with the addition of a seven-acre solar field designed to support pollinators at the same facility.
Starting in 2021, Volta EV charging stations were deployed across all parking areas. By November 2021, Giant secured a long-term contract with energy supplier Constellation to provide renewable energy—totaling 155 million kilowatt-hours annually—to selected Pennsylvania stores, fuel stations, and distribution hubs. In 2022, the company began obtaining permits and preparing for installations that would enable it to feed surplus energy back into the electrical grid.
Sponsorships and philanthropic efforts
Giant has forged strategic partnerships with prominent sports teams, becoming the official grocer for the Philadelphia Phillies in 2018 and an official partner of the Philadelphia 76ers in 2019. That same year, it entered into a multi-year sponsorship agreement with Pennsylvania’s Department of Agriculture for the Exposition Hall at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center.
The organization actively supports various charitable causes through collaborations with institutions such as the Please Touch Museum and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. It also partners with Philadelphia Parks & Recreation to finance sports and recreational initiatives.
In January 2022, Giant contributed $1 million to Harrisburg University of Science and Technology to support its Research and Education Center for Advanced Agriculture and Sustainability. Furthermore, Giant sustains a longstanding philanthropic relationship with Pennsylvania State University, backing projects including Penn State Health Children’s Hospital, Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, and Children’s Miracle Network.