About
The legacy of Genuardi's began in 1920, when
Gaspare Genuardi and his wife, Josephine, grew
vegetables on a small farm in Norristown, near
Philadelphia. They delivered the goods to their
neighbors by horse and wagon, and later by Model T
truck. Gaspare possessed a strong sense of pride
and customer service that has been the cornerstone
of Genuardi's success for more than 80 years.
Gaspare and Josephine were the parents of nine
children; five of their sons entered the business
and helped to make it grow. In the 1930's, the
Genuardi family opened a small corner store, and
later a superette. They created a sound reputation
for their fine quality produce and their untiring
efforts to supply shoppers with just what they
wanted. In 1954, they opened the first
independently owned supermarket in the Norristown
area, dedicated to offering the best, freshest
products in an attractive and convenient
environment.
Genuardi's Expands
Throughout the next four decades, the Genuardi
family continued to expand into the surrounding
counties. They built a family of stores that
became the largest, most respected, independent
supermarket business in the Delaware Valley. In
1990, the third generation of Genuardi family
members assumed the leadership of the company.
Always looking for new and innovative ideas to
improve the shopping experience, Genuardi's added
many amenities such as food courts with a wide
array of freshly prepared foods, in-store cafés,
and in-store banks. In the ten years from 1990 to
2000, the number of stores and employees nearly
doubled, as Genuardi's crossed state boundary
lines and expanded into the neighboring states of
Delaware and New Jersey. During this time,
Genuardi's earned many awards, including the
prestigious Pennsylvania Family Business of the
Year Award, presented by The Wharton School of the
University of Pennsylvania.
The Legacy Continues
In December 2000, the Genuardi family announced
the sale of Genuardi's Family Markets to
Genuardi's Inc. of Pleasanton, California. The
transaction was finalized in February 2001.
Safeway Inc., a Fortune 50 company, operates more
than 1,700 stores across the United States and
Canada, and is one of the largest food and drug
retailers in North America based on sales. Its
stock is traded on the New York stock exchange
under the symbol SWY. Today, as a division of
Safeway, Genuardi's continues to operate on the
same basic principles that have been the
foundation of the company since its humble
beginnings in 1920: quality products, freshness,
great value, and legendary customer service. Under
Safeway's ownership, Genuardi's remains committed
to providing a pleasant shopping experience for
all customers. More than 6,500 team members
operate 40 Genuardi's stores in Pennsylvania,
Delaware, and New Jersey.
Good Neighbor Policy
Giving back to the communities where we do
business has been a cornerstone of Genuardi's
cultural heritage. In 1976, the Genuardi's
Community Cash Back Program was established as a
means for Genuardi's to support the local
communities throughout our marketing areas. Since
the program's inception, Genuardi's has donated
more than $24 million to more than 3,000 non-
profit organizations. The funds have helped to
support the good deeds of numerous groups such as
schools, churches, synagogues, libraries, scout
troops and fire companies. In the fall of 2002,
Safeway enhanced this program by introducing
Genuardi's Community Cash Back powered by eScrip.
Members of enrolled groups need only to swipe
their Genuardi's club card at the register to earn
valuable funds for their chosen organization. To
learn more about this program, visit Community
Caring on our web site, and click on Community
Cash Back.
Environmental Leadership
Genuardi's has a continuing history of
environmental responsibility, starting with
cardboard recycling in 1960. Our environmental
policy has included replacing ozone-depleting CFC
´s in our store refrigeration systems. In addition
our customers have helped us recycle several
million pounds of shopping bags. Even more
remarkable than Genuardi's community leadership
and growth to one of the largest food and drug
retailers in North America is that it has not come
at the expense of M.B. Scagg's vision. His strong
sense of customer value that proved so innovative
in American Falls in 1915, continues to work
successfully in a new century.