Beginnings , New York. This location was formerly a
Grand Union ,
ME Hannaford Hannaford was founded in 1883 by Arthur Hannaford as a small produce store along the
Portland,
Maine waterfront. In 1915, its location was 164–168
Commercial Street, a site now occupied by a Gorham Savings Bank. The company's warehouse was at today's 25 Market Street. Arthur was joined in 1902 by his brothers, Howard and Edward, and they incorporated Hannaford Bros. Co. By 1920, the company became a leading produce wholesaler in northern
New England. Hannaford then relocated to a new five-story warehouse on Cross Street. In 1939, with the purchase of Tondreau Supermarkets Inc., sponsor of Red & White stores in Maine, Hannaford expanded into the wholesale grocery business. Late in 1944, Hannaford Co. opened its first retail outlet under an equity partnership arrangement with Adjutor Tondreau.
Acquisition by Delhaize In 2000,
Delhaize America bought Hannaford; the purchase both eliminated an emerging competitor to its
Food Lion chain in the Southeast and expanded Delhaize operations into the Northeast. Hannaford sold 12 North Carolina stores to
Lowes Foods and five to Sylvester/Floyd Group, an operator of
Piggly Wiggly stores. The Hannaford name first took over from Shop 'N' Save on private labels in 1996. Five years later, stores in most of
Maine,
New Hampshire,
Massachusetts, and
Vermont assumed the name. As of 2006, only a small number of locations continue to use the Shop ’n’ Save banner. Independently owned and operated franchises receiving merchandise through Hannaford's wholesale distribution continue to use the Shop ’n’ Save name, mainly in smaller communities. In 2001, five
Grand Union stores in New York were purchased and converted into Hannaford stores. In 2004, 19
Victory Supermarkets in Massachusetts and New Hampshire also were purchased and converted to Hannaford stores. In 2007, 4.2 million Hannaford customer credit card numbers were exposed as a result of a
data breach perpetrated by a Russian/Ukrainian hacker group. On March 17, 2008,
The Boston Globe reported that the company's credit-card processing servers had been compromised for three months. Some 4.2 million credit card numbers were stolen, at least 1,800 of which had been used fraudulently. In August 2009, criminal computer hacker
Albert Gonzalez was indicted for the crime. Delhaize America previously operated 104
Sweetbay Supermarket locations in
Florida, which were modeled after Hannaford and sold Hannaford brand products. These stores were sold by the parent company in 2013 to
Southeastern Grocers and were converted to
Winn-Dixie locations. In 2016, Hannaford’s parent company Delhaize merged with
Ahold to create a new company,
Ahold Delhaize. Ahold was the owner of the competing New England–based
Stop & Shop supermarkets, which become a sister company and brand to Hannaford as a result of the merger with Delhaize. Hannaford now sells
Nature’s Promise private-label products which were originally only available at Stop & Shop. Through the process of the merger, the
Federal Trade Commission required 10 Hannaford stores to be divested to other retailers. Eight stores in eastern Massachusetts were sold to
Big Y and two stores in the
lower Hudson Valley in New York were sold to
Tops Friendly Markets. Hannaford has faced criticism regarding its commitment to sourcing 100% cage-free eggs. In March 2016, Hannaford Supermarkets publicly pledged to transition its entire shell egg assortment to cage-free by 2025, emphasizing its commitment to sustainability and animal welfare. However, the company later deferred this deadline to 2032, a seven-year extension. This decision has drawn public criticism from animal advocacy organizations, including Mercy For Animals, which launched campaigns directly calling on Hannaford to take urgent action on its nearly decade-old cage-free commitment. Local residents and news outlets in Portland, Maine, Hannaford’s primary market, have highlighted the company’s backtracking, expressing concern over the prolonged confinement of hens and the perceived broken promise to customers. == Locations ==