Originally Posted by MrFatbooty
Anyone else notice that even in this age of nationwide chains, grocery stores are so regional? Back home in the DC area there's Giant, Safeway, Food Lion and Shopper's Food Warehouse. But go not really that far to say, Baltimore, and you have stuff like Stop & Shop or Save A-Lot which ain't nobody in the DC area ever seen; and there's no Giant there whatsoever. Why is that?
Actually, there's a lot of cross-ownership. People feel more comfortable buying from their local grocery stores, so huge corporations may own several different complete companies, keep the names and the local managament intact, and run them like franchises. Subtile marketing trick that works well.