 | |
 The Big Y store inPalmer, Massachusetts. | |
| Formerly | Y Cash Market (1936–1952) |
|---|---|
| Company type |
|
| Industry | Retail (Grocery) |
| Founded | 1936 (89 years ago) (1936) inChicopee,Massachusetts,U.S. |
| Founder |
|
| Headquarters | , U.S. |
Number of locations | 75 (2024) |
Area served | |
Key people | Charles D'Amour,President/Chairman Donald D'Amour,Chairman emeritus |
| Products | Bakery, delicatessen, dairy, grocery, frozen foods, organic foods, bulk foods, meat, produce, seafood, wine, beer, spirits, floral products, pet supplies, general merchandise |
| Revenue |  $2.4 billion (2021)[1] |
| Owner | D'Amour family (100%) |
Number of employees | 12,000[2] (2021) |
| Website | www |
| Footnotes / references [3] | |
Big Y Foods, Inc. (orBig Y) is an American, family-owned supermarket chain located inMassachusetts andConnecticut. It operates under the trade namesBig Y World Class Market orBig Y Supermarket. The company is headquartered inSpringfield, Massachusetts, and is currently run by cousins Charles and Michael D'Amour.
Big Y is one of the largest independently owned supermarket chains inNew England, and it employs over 12,000 people. In 2021 Big Y was the 210th-largest private company in theUnited States, according to that year'sForbes magazine "Largest Private Companies" list.[4] Big Y is the fifth largest supermarket chain in New England afterQuincy-basedStop & Shop,Scarborough-basedHannaford,West Bridgewater–basedShaw's Supermarkets, andTewksbury-basedMarket Basket. Big Y is the second largest in Southern New England after the aforementioned Stop & Shop.
In 1936, a young entrepreneur, Paul D'Amour, aided by his brother, Gerald, and sisters, Ann Marie, Yvette, and Gertrude, purchased the Y Cash Market in theWillimansett section ofChicopee, Massachusetts, at the"Y" intersection of Chicopee and Meadow Streets. According to Paul D’Amour on the 50th anniversary, it was in the fall of 1936 that the brothers beganY Cash Market, the forerunner of Big Y.
In July 2016, it was announced that Big Y had entered into a purchase agreement withAhold andDelhaize Group for eightHannaford Brothers locations in Massachusetts as part of the divestiture of stores to gain clearance from theFederal Trade Commission for the impending Ahold/Delhaize merger.[5] The new stores, all converted from Hannaford, are located inKingston,Quincy,Norwell,Milford,Norwood,West Peabody,Saugus, andEaston.[3] The addition of the eight new stores brought Big Y's store count in Massachusetts to 37, and increased its footprint in the state to extend from the Berkshires all the way to Greater Boston.
As of September 2023, Big Y operates 73 supermarkets in Massachusetts and Connecticut;[3] many of which are located in the metropolitan areas ofSpringfield,Worcester,Greater Boston, andHartford. In addition to its traditional supermarkets, Big Y owns and operates two specialty markets:Table & Vine, a large specialty liquor and wine store inWest Springfield; and theBig Y Express Fresh Market, a smaller, urban market in Downtown Springfield. Big Y also operated two standalone pharmacies in Springfield and Wilbraham before eventually folding them into the pharmacies located in its nearby stores. Between 2013 and 2023, Big Y opened 16 gas stations and convenience stores in Western Massachusetts and Connecticut, under the nameBig Y Express. Most Big Y Express stores are located adjacent to, or nearby, a full-size Big Y supermarket.
Big Y focuses primarily on opening stores to strengthen its existing footprint, though that footprint is expanding slowly. Most Big Y stores are within a 75-mile (121-kilometer) radius of their Springfield headquarters. In 2010, Big Y announced that its new store plans includedLee,Franklin, andMilford, Massachusetts; according to its website, each town would have a store by 2012. The Lee store opened in November 2011, adding to Big Y's presence in the Berkshires; while the Franklin store opened in August 2012. The Franklin store is a sister location to Big Y's store inWalpole; those two had been Big Y's only stores inGreater Boston until 2016. Big Y also announced new stores inFoxborough andHolyoke, but plans for those locations were ultimately withdrawn. The original Milford plans also never came to fruition, but after the previously mentioned buyout of eight Hannaford stores, Big Y now operates the former Hannaford stores in Milford,Norwell,Kingston,Easton, andNorwood.
In 2016, Big Y opened a Connecticut store in Shelton, bringing their store count in that state to 33. Big Y has also occasionally grown through acquisitions. In addition to the previously mentioned acquisition of eight former Hannaford stores, in late 2010 Big Y purchased seven stores fromA&P, which was leaving central Connecticut. Four of these stores (Branford, Mystic, Old Lyme, andWest Hartford) were renovated and re-opened as Big Y World Class Markets within a short period of time.
As of June 2017, the company operated 77 locations.[6]
On November 7, 2019, Big Y opened two new store locations in Milford, Connecticut and Derby, Connecticut.[7]
On March 7, 2022, Big Y announced plans to open locations inUxbridge andPembroke.[8]
Big Y's largest competitor throughout its trade area isStop & Shop, based out ofQuincy, and to a lesser extent Big Y also competes with Boston-basedShaw's andSchenectady, New York'sPrice Chopper supermarkets. In Connecticut, Big Y is now the second-largest supermarket chain by number of locations, with only Stop & Shop operating more Connecticut stores.
| Business | Service | Locations | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Y | Supermarket | 73 | 1936–present | Founded in 1936 as Y Cash Market |
| Table & Vine | Large specialty liquor and wine store | 1 | 2002–present | Also in select Big Y Supermarkets |
| Fresh Acres Market | Supermarket | 1 | 2006–2021 | Formerly a Big Y Supermarket, converted to Fresh Acres until 2021, and now a Big Y Supermarket again known as "Big Y at Fresh Acres".[9] |
| Big Y Express | Gas station | 16 | 2013–present |
