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FIRSTS
How the market got hyper
RPBUREAU
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How did the concept of the hypermarket begin? A look at the ‘first’ hypermarket in history…
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What is a hypermarket?
It is a huge superstore that is a combination of a supermarket and a departmental store, stocking groceries and gereral merchandise. The bottomline in hypermarkets is the purchase of quantities at good prices. Since a hypermarket usually requires huge spaces, it is generally located in suburban areas or on the outskirts of a city.
Wal-Mart and Carrefour are well-known global hypermarkets and each store covers about 150,000 square feet upwards.
The first hypermarket
The first hypermarket was opened in Portland, Oregon by Fred Meyer and comprised of a grocery store along with a drug store, a gas station as well as general merchandise. Later on, he added on clothing to his range of goods.
The concept perhaps began there and expanded to what became a larger concept. The idea was taken up by one Hendrik Meijer who started what he called the Meijer Thrifty Acres in 1962, at Michigan. (This later became the Meijer Stores.)
The format was replicated by Carrefour in Europe the very next year and by the Oshawa group in Canada soon after.
By the 80s and 90s, the concept had come into its own, with Wal-Mart, Kmart and Target developing discount stores in this format.
Hypermarkets are still a nascent concept in India, but their pricing would certainly make them popular.
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