Farmer Jack
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Farmer Jack was a
supermarket A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earli ...
chain based in
Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...
. At its peak, it operated more than 100 stores, primarily in metropolitan Detroit. In its final years, the chain operated as the Midwest subsidiary of the New Jersey-based A&P Corporation. A&P closed the Farmer Jack chain on July 7, 2007. Farmer Jack stores were typically in suburban neighborhoods, usually anchoring strip malls. In addition to offering groceries, each store operated full-service produce, floral,
delicatessen Traditionally, a delicatessen or deli is a retail establishment that sells a selection of fine, exotic, or foreign prepared foods. Delicatessen originated in Germany (original: ) during the 18th century and spread to the United States in the m ...
,
bakery A bakery is an establishment that produces and sells flour-based food baked in an oven such as bread, cookies, cakes, donuts, pastries, and pies. Some retail bakeries are also categorized as cafés, serving coffee and tea to customers who ...
,
pharmacy Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it links heal ...
, meat, and seafood departments, with some locations including a bank.


History

Farmer Jack's beginnings were in 1924, when Jewish-Russian immigrants Tom Borman and Sam Burlak opened a neighborhood grocery store, Tom's Quality Meats, at 12th and Forest in Detroit. In 1927, his brother Abraham "Al" Borman opened a store on Kercheval on the city's east side. The brothers eventually formed a partnership, which ended in 1945, with Tom developing Lucky Stores, and Al developing Food Fair markets. In 1955, the two operations merged into Food Fair, operating under the corporate entity Borman Food Stores Inc. Four years later, the renamed Borman's Inc., sold more than 400,000 shares of stock, with the brothers retaining control. Proceeds from the stock sale fueled a buying binge: Borman's bought State Super Markets of Ferndale; American Stores Inc., acquired nine Lipson-Gourwitz Co. markets in Detroit, planning an expansion to 46 stores. In 1966, Borman announced the opening of three suburban shopping centers that would contain gas stations, car washes, garden supply stores,
Yankee The term ''Yankee'' and its contracted form ''Yank'' have several interrelated meanings, all referring to people from the United States. Its various senses depend on the context, and may refer to New Englanders, residents of the Northern United St ...
discount stores, and food stores, operating under the new moniker of ''Farmer Jack''. By 1972, Detroit became a major zone of grocery store competition, with six chains competing in the region, including
Chatham Chatham may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Canada * Chatham Islands (British Columbia) * Chatham Sound, British Columbia * Chatham, New Brunswick, a former town, now a neighbourhood of Miramichi * Chatham (electoral district), New Brunswic ...
and Great Scott! In a speech, Paul Borman claimed A&P's move to discount-type stores had nearly destroyed the supermarket industry. Borman acquired the 13-store Arnold Drug pharmacy chain in 1965, but dissolved this division in 1981 in order to cut financial losses. In 1987, Borman's was flush with cash, and took advantage of
Safeway Safeway is an American supermarket chain founded by Marion Barton Skaggs in April 1915 in American Falls, Idaho. The chain provides grocery items, food and general merchandise and features a variety of specialty departments, such as bakery, d ...
's troubles as an opportunity to diversify its store base beyond Michigan when it bought that chain's 60-store
Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...
division. Those stores were throughout
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, southern
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, and in adjacent towns in
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and
Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...
. The Safeway stores were renamed ''Farmer Jack''; the company planned to remodel and update them, as Safeway had not invested much in the division. The expansion was short-lived and by the end of 1988, Farmer Jack sold the 60-store division to various retailers including 29 stores to
Boise, Idaho Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown are ...
-based retailer
Albertsons Albertsons Companies, Inc. is an American grocery company founded and headquartered in Boise, Idaho. With 2,253 stores as of the third quarter of fiscal year 2020 and 270,000 employees as of fiscal year 2019, the company is the second-large ...
. Later in 1987, a lengthy strike by Detroit-area clerks and cashiers, who were not supported by meat cutters or
Teamsters The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), also known as the Teamsters Union, is a labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of The Team Drivers International Union and The Teamsters National Union, the u ...
, depleted Borman's cash reserve and forced the company to buy out 800 workers at the cost of $12.9 million. The 1987 strike started a period of losses that would prompt the sale to A&P. In 1989, beginning a decade of
merger mania __NOTOC__ The term "merger mania", as used in financial and law journals, describes a period of high activity in corporate mergers and acquisitions ( M&A), "Merger Mania, Banking and Loans Article - Inc. Article", Leslie Brokaw, March 1996, web ...
in the supermarket business, A&P paid $76 million for 79 Farmer Jack stores operated by Borman's. The buyout made A&P the top player among grocery stores in southeastern Michigan, with a 36% share. By 1994, all A&P stores in
metro Detroit The Detroit metropolitan area, often referred to as Metro Detroit, is a major metropolitan area in the U.S. State of Michigan, consisting of the city of Detroit and its surrounding area. There are varied definitions of the area, including the ...
had been converted to Farmer Jack stores. In the mid-1990s, A&P rebranded select stores within the East (mostly in
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
and
South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...
) to the Farmer Jack banner; while they shared the same name, these stores were not controlled by the Midwest division. These stores were closed or sold by 1999. In September 2003, a newly built Farmer Jack opened in
Milford, Michigan Milford is a village in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 6,175 at the time of the 2010 census. The village is located within Milford Township. The village is known for being the home of the Milford General Motors ...
; a new store opened in
Waterford, Michigan Waterford Township is a charter township in the geographic center of Oakland County, Michigan, United States. In 2020, the population of Waterford Township was 70,565. Communities Waterford Township has five unincorporated communities: * Clin ...
, in 2005. The company planned a new store for
Dearborn Heights Dearborn Heights is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. With a population of 63,292 at the 2020 census., Dearborn Heights is part of the Detroit metropolitan area, and is considered a bedroom community. History Dearborn Heigh ...
in 2004, but it opened as
Food Basics Food Basics Ltd. is a Canadian supermarket chain owned by Metro Inc. The company operates over 130 stores throughout Ontario. History Food Basics was created by A&P Canada to compete with the successful No Frills warehouse-style supermarket op ...
instead. After A&P discontinued the Food Basics brand locally, the company converted it into a Farmer Jack.


Decline and demise

After initial merger pains, Farmer Jack rose to prosperity, becoming A&P's most profitable division through the 1990s. But in 2002, the chain began losing money. Former executives attributed this to several reasons: * The decision to expand the chain beyond metro Detroit; stores in the Toledo,
Flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and start fir ...
,
Saginaw Saginaw () is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Saginaw County. The city of Saginaw and Saginaw County are both in the area known as Mid-Michigan. Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township and considered part of Greater ...
and
Lansing Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, makin ...
markets were unsuccessful and proved to be a major financial drain. * The lack of capital improvements within its existing stores. In 2001,
Kroger The Kroger Company, or simply Kroger, is an American retail company that operates (either directly or through its subsidiaries) supermarkets and multi-department stores throughout the United States. Founded by Bernard Kroger in 1883 in Cincin ...
committed to a five-year, $345M initiative to remodel or replace its existing metro Detroit stores. In 2002–2003, Farmer Jack committed just $50M. Analysts blamed the discrepancy on A&P's financial woes and its need to conserve cash. * A delayed response to the price war launched between
Meijer Meijer Inc. (, ; stylized as meijer) is an American supercenter chain that primarily operates throughout the Midwest. Its corporate headquarters are in Walker, Michigan, which is a part of the Grand Rapids metropolitan area. Founded in 1934 as ...
, Kroger and Super K-Mart. * The discontinuation of awarding
Northwest Airlines Northwest Airlines Corp. (NWA) was a major American airline founded in 1926 and absorbed into Delta Air Lines, Inc. by a merger. The merger, approved on October 29, 2008, made Delta the largest airline in the world until the American Airlines ...
mileage for purchases in late 2001, which alienated many of its affluent consumers. * A&P's decision to lay off most local executive management, merchandising operations, accounting, advertising and marketing positions, consolidating and performing these operations from its Montvale headquarters instead. "You really, truly need someone in the organization who knows the market, who knows the customer, ut there wasnobody left," a former executive told the
Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, US. The Sunday edition is titled the ''Sunday Free Press''. It is sometimes referred to as the Freep (reflected in the paper's web address, www.freep.com). It primari ...
. While A&P panned local management for accounting irregularities that affected the company, former executives blamed the breadth of the layoffs on the company's desire to cut costs. Market Scope projected that Farmer Jack led metro Detroit in market share with 27.5% at year end 2001. It began a free fall in 2002; by the end of the year, Kroger led the market while Meijer climbed to 16.1% from 10.1% in just one year. In 2003, Farmer Jack announced its first round of store closures and that it would seek voluntary buyouts among its most senior employees. In June, in a move made by the company to ‘get its consumer base back,’ but attributed by the media as a marketing gimmick, each store was closed for 37 hours so that they could be thoroughly cleaned; when the stores reopened, employees debuted with new uniforms and the loyalty card and weekly sales were discontinued in favor of everyday low pricing. Additionally, a new marketing program titled "We’re Thinking Fresh" promoting ‘it’s fresh or it’s free - guaranteed’ was launched. An analysis by the ''Detroit Free Press'' among a basket of commonly purchased items concluded that Farmer Jack's price had indeed went from most expensive to least expensive among its peers; however, the paper also noted that "in spite of the surface shine, some areas of the store (where the paper shopped) needed a scrubbing. The coolers looked old, a frozen food area had bent and crooked shelves, and some inner cooler door frames were dusty and dotted with bits of paper." The paper speculated that competitors would match Farmer Jack's prices and it would suffer from the same problems it had before the makeover. In early 2004, ten Farmer Jack locations were converted into A&P's
Food Basics Food Basics Ltd. is a Canadian supermarket chain owned by Metro Inc. The company operates over 130 stores throughout Ontario. History Food Basics was created by A&P Canada to compete with the successful No Frills warehouse-style supermarket op ...
format in an attempt to compete with discount chains such as
Save-A-Lot Save A Lot Food Stores Ltd. is an American discount supermarket chain store headquartered in St. Ann, Missouri, in Greater St. Louis. It is a subsidiary of Onex Corporation with about 900 independently owned and operated stores across 32 st ...
. Less than a year later, nine were closed while the other—a new-build store in Dearborn Heights—was converted into a Farmer Jack. Simultaneously, the closure of 15 Farmer Jacks was announced; four more closures were announced later in the year. In early 2005, A&P placed Farmer Jack for sale, seeking an estimated $250M for 71 core stores; the remaining locations were offered individually. Later that year, workers approved wage cuts conditional on a sale to
Spartan Stores SpartanNash (formerly Spartan Stores, Nash Finch) is an American food distributor and grocery store retailer headquartered in Byron Center, Michigan. The company's core businesses include distributing food to independent grocers, military co ...
—which was led by several former Farmer Jack executives, including its CEO Dennis Edison who led Farmer Jack until his dismissal in 2002, but the deal fell through. Workers then approved a similar package of cuts in exchange for A&P guaranteeing to keep the stores open through May 2007. A&P, which was unable to find a buyer for Farmer Jack, said the chain would break even for the year and therefore A&P—which had just received a cash injection from the sale of its Canadian division—was in no hurry to sell it. A&P also admitted that because it had anticipated a quick sale, Farmer Jack had been poorly managed for over a year; therefore, the company was returning to loyalty cards and "It's Savings Time" marketing. By April 2006, Farmer Jack was once again profitable. In August 2006, Farmer Jack announced it would convert three stores into a prototype mixed discount-upscale market featuring warehouse-type shelving, fewer product offerings and higher stacking in the produce department while featuring lower prices. Plans were scrapped by October, with then A&P CEO Eric Claus saying "we're not pleased with our lack of sales momentum in Michigan". In March 2007, A&P announced plans to sell or close Farmer Jack by July. In May, its distribution warehouses closed. The remaining Farmer Jacks closed on July 7. "For all practical purposes, those stores were closed anyway," supermarket analyst David Livingston told the ''Detroit News''. "Farmer Jack was doing such a low volume. The existing stores were barely even doing that -- existing." "Farmer Jack was stuck in the past in terms of quality, merchandising and pricing," said Ken Dalto, a
Farmington Hills Farmington Hills is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Part of the affluent suburbs northwest of Metro Detroit, Detroit, Farmington Hills is the second most-populated city in Oakland County, after Tro ...
-based retail consultant. "A&P never gave its Michigan stores the type of attention they needed to do well. Customers noticed they didn't move beyond 20 years ago." While Kroger was aggressively remodeling or rebuilding its stores with designer interiors, full service meat & seafood counters, sushi and extensive prepared food bars, most Farmer Jacks retained A&P's late 1980s/early 1990s interior design package. Of the remaining 66 Farmer Jacks, the company announced that it sold 20 to Kroger, 10 to smaller local chains and 15 to independent grocers. However, some of the deals with the independent grocers collapsed. In an October 2007 SEC filing A&P revealed that it received approximately $110 million for 41 former Farmer Jack sites, and that 2 warehouses and 25 stores remained for sale. In June 2010, A&P ended lease payments at vacant Farmer Jack stores; affected property owners responded with 24 lawsuits against A&P. In December 2010, A&P filed for bankruptcy citing dark leases from discontinued operations like Farmer Jack as a factor in its decision.


Marketing

Farmer Jack is remembered in metro Detroit for its ''It's Always Savings Time'' jingle, which was used in the 1990s and again in the mid-2000s. Its most famous advertising mode was the 10-second "Farmer Jack savings time" plugs where the radio personality would give a quick special while in the background would play a sound similar to a teletype that began and ended with a low "boinnng" sound. Another famous slogan was ''Made in Michigan, Sold at Farmer Jack'', which was used to promote Michigan brands and agriculture products.


References


External links


Official website
(Archive)
1969 CKLW radio aircheck with Farmer Jack commercial
{{Supermarkets of the United States 1924 establishments in Michigan 2007 disestablishments in Michigan Companies based in Detroit Retail companies established in 1924 Retail companies disestablished in 2007 Defunct companies based in Michigan Defunct supermarkets of the United States The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company