Delchamps
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Delchamps was a chain of
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. Strictly speaking, a supermarket is larger and has a wider selecti ...
s along the central
Gulf Coast of the United States The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South or the South Coast, is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The list of U.S. states and territories by coastline, coastal states th ...
, headquartered in
Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. After a successful vote to annex areas west of the city limits in July 2023, Mobil ...
. At the time of its acquisition in 1997, the company had 118 supermarkets in
Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...
,
Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
,
Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...
, and
Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
and its stock was public traded on
NASDAQ The Nasdaq Stock Market (; National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the U.S. by volume, and ranked second on the list ...
under DLCH.


History

The chain was founded by Alfred Frederick Delchamps in November 1921 at the corner of Lawrence and Canal streets in Mobile, which he operated along with his brother, Oliver. In 1927, Delchamps opened its first warehouse at the intersection of Commerce and St. Anthony Streets in order for the company to carry higher quality merchandise and a larger variety of foods. The warehouse was moved to a larger facility at the foot of Dauphin Street four years later, and a larger, more modern warehouse was built at the intersection of Water and Adams Streets. Additional warehouse space was utilized in the Happy Hills community north of Downtown Mobile and at the Alabama State Docks. Delchamps opened its first supermarket at the intersection of St. Louis Street and Washington Avenue in 1928. This was the largest grocery store in Mobile and, moreover, the largest food store in Alabama. Three years later, in 1931, Delchamps opened its first out of state location in
Pensacola, Florida Pensacola ( ) is a city in the Florida panhandle in the United States. It is the county seat and only incorporated city, city in Escambia County, Florida, Escambia County. The population was 54,312 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...
. A rival grocery chain, the Coleman Grocery Company, was acquired in 1937, making Delchamps the largest grocery chain in the city, with ten stores. In 1941, Delchamps opened its first store in Montgomery. In order to make future expansions possible, Delchamps incorporated in 1946. This incorporation allowed employees to own stock in the company as well. In 1964, Delchamps joined
Topco Topco Associates LLC is the largest American retail food Group purchasing organization, GPO (Group Purchasing Organization) and the sixth largest private company in Illinois. History On September 28, 1944, to deal with wartime shortages, a smal ...
, a national, cooperatively owned purchasing association that wielded as much purchasing power as the largest supermarket chains. The move made it possible for Delchamps to purchase grade-A foodstuffs and related merchandise at competitive prices. On the occasion of Delchamps' 50th anniversary in November 1971, brand strategy firm Lippincot & Marguiles designed a new logotype and corporate identity program for the chain. A "warm" and "friendly" typeface influenced by the Bauhaus GeoSet font was selected after corporate executives previewed a handful of candidate designs. Store Number Six, located at the intersection of Old Shell Road and Upham Street in midtown Mobile, was the first unit to receive the updated logo and graphics package. This logo, with slight modifications, was used by Delchamps until its eventual closure in the early 2000s. In 1985, Delchamps unveiled its Super Store supermarket concept. This format featured a bakery, delicatessen and salad bar in addition to conventional grocery store amenities. The Delchamps Super Stores operated on a 24-hour basis. The first Delchamps Super Store opened at the North Gate Shopping Center, now known as Dauphin Square, on Dauphin Street in west Mobile. Over the next decade, Delchamps Super Store supermarkets were constructed, replacing outmoded Delchamps grocery stores in markets along the Gulf Coast. In 1997, the chain was purchased by
Jackson, Mississippi Jackson is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city sits on the Pearl River (Mississippi–Louisiana), Pearl River and is locate ...
-based Jitney Jungle, itself a well-known brand name in its home state and neighboring Louisiana, for $213.6 million (~$ in ) in cash. At the time of the acquisition, Delchamps had 118 supermarkets and 10 liquor stores in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. A total of 114 Delchamps stores were purchased, with a handful being closed and another small group being re-branded as Jitney Jungle. However, the purchase and Jitney's takeover by an investment firm proved to be ill-advised, and by 1999 the combined chains went into
bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...
. The next year some stores were sold off to competitor
Winn-Dixie Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc., is an American supermarket chain store, chain headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. Founded in 1925, Winn-Dixie grocery stores and liquor stores serve communities throughout five southeastern states – Alabama, ...
; most of those locations have since closed in the wake of that chain's own troubles and retrenchment toward its northern Florida base. Nineteen other locations were sold to Bruno's Supermarkets and converted to their brands. At least one location in
Hoover, Alabama Hoover is a city in the Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson and Shelby County, Alabama, Shelby counties in north central Alabama, United States. Hoover is the largest suburban city in Alabama and the sixth largest city in Alabama. The populati ...
reopened as a Publix Super Markets. This was after the location sat vacant for several years. Among the last known to close was the Delchamps in
Milton, Florida Milton is a city and county seat of Santa Rosa County, Florida, Santa Rosa County, Florida, United States. It is located within the Pensacola metropolitan area. The city was first Incorporated in 1844, however certain areas such as East Milton, ...
, whose liquidation lasted into January 2001.


References


External links


Alfred F. Delchamps biography, State of Alabama Archives

Delchamps Television Commercial from 1986

Delchamps Television Commercial from 1990

Delchamps Television Commercial from 1992
{{Supermarkets of the United States Defunct supermarkets of the United States Companies based in Mobile, Alabama American companies established in 1921 Retail companies established in 1921 Retail companies disestablished in 2001 Defunct companies based in Alabama 1921 establishments in Alabama 2001 disestablishments in Alabama