Acme Markets - Current Operations

Current Operations

The company is the second-largest food and drug retailer in its competitive market, where it competes with such chains as Ahold's Giant-Carlisle, Giant-Landover, and Stop & Shop; A&P's Pathmark, Super Fresh, A&P, and Food Basics; Wakefern Food Corporation's ShopRite; Walmart and its warehouse club subsidiary Sam's Club, and warehouse club competitor Costco, natural and organic products retailer Whole Foods Market, Wegmans Food Markets, Trader Joe's and its discount sister Aldi, North Carolina-based Food Lion and Bottom Dollar Food, as well as other smaller chains in various markets. Acme was market leader for decades before losing market share, as well as the top sales position in its dominant Philadelphia market, to ShopRite in 2011.

Acme offers online grocery shopping for orders that can be picked up at the store. Prior to 2009, Acme also delivered to customers through online orders. In 2004, Acme introduced self-checkout stands, where shoppers could scan and bag their own groceries. In 2008, many Acme locations began adding hot foods bars to the deli section.

In addition to its stores in 5 Pennsylvania counties (Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia) the company also operates stores in 2 counties in the state of Delaware (Kent and New Castle), 5 counties in the state of Maryland (Cecil, Harford, Kent, Queen Anne's, and Talbot), and 16 counties in the state of New Jersey (Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Hudson, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Salem, Sussex, and Union). Acme withdrew from Sussex County, Delaware and Wicomico County, Maryland in the early 2000s, citing rising costs and increased competition.

In addition, the last Acme store in Harford County, Maryland, located in Fallston, Maryland closed in February of 2011 due to being an underperforming Acme store. This was mainly because of the Walmart that was built not very far from the Acme store. Also, in recent years, most of the Harford County, Maryland stores had closed, those that were in Havre De Grace, Maryland and Aberdeen, Maryland also closed for the same reason as the Fallston, Maryland store.