Big Bear Stores was a regional supermarket chain operating in Ohio and West Virginia. The company was founded in Columbus, Ohio, and was headquartered there until its acquisition by Syracuse, New York-based Penn Traffic in 1989. For nearly 75 years, the chain was a Central Ohio institution.
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History
Big Bear Stores was founded in November 1933 by Wayne E. Brown. The first Big Bear Store opened on February 15, 1934 on West Lane Avenue in Columbus, Ohio, in what was once a dance hall, a roller skating rink and finally a tan bark ring for horse shows. This opening marked the beginning of self-service supermarketing in the Midwest. This first store was adjacent to the campus of The Ohio State University (now the site of the Riverwatch Tower apartments); within a year, a second store opened in Columbus. By the end of the second year, two more stores had opened, followed by stores in Lancaster, Marion, Newark and Toledo, Ohio.
It was the first self-serve supermarket in the Midwest, and was the first supermarket in the country to use cashier-operated motorized conveyor belts, and claimed several innovative services, including its own trolley line. Big Bear introduced shopping carts to their stores in 1937. Big Bear operated a farm north of Columbus (later the site of store #272), as well as the Big Bear Bakery, located near the OSU campus. In 1948, Brown, along with other supermarket operators, founded Topco Associates, and Big Bear distributed their products (i.e. Food Club, Valu Time) as their "house brand", as well as their own private brand "Betty Brown", named after the founder's wife. Like many other stores, Big Bear had a trading stamp program. For many years their orange and blue "Buckeye" stamps were a familiar sight for shoppers.
From its inception until its closing, Big Bear Stores, Inc., resisted the unionization of its employees, despite the fact that most of its competitors' workers were members of various unions. In exchange for a marginally lower per-hour salary rate, according to Big Bear executives in the 1960s, the company's employees at all levels had routine, confidential access to corporate representatives who would investigate any complaint on the part of any employee about working conditions at any Big Bear store.
In the 1950s, Big Bear became the first supermarket in the nation to use new IBM 305 RAMAC mainframe computer. In 1954, a new prototype store was opened in north Columbus' Graceland Shopping Center. With an interior store layout that became an industry standard, the store featured perishable items in the center of the stores and lower displays to highlight products. In the same year, Big Bear Stores Co. purchased Harts Stores, a department store that was operating at the time in the basements of two Big Bears. Harts experienced rapid growth, as Big Bear often opened grocery stores along with a Harts Department Store in an adjacent space.
For a period of several years in the early- to mid-1980s, some of the grocery stores were converted to a warehouse concept, and operated under "The Grocery Warehouse" name, although still owned and operated by Big Bear. The store in Portsmouth, Ohio (adjacent to a Harts Department Store) was one such example.
Over time, Big Bear became a major supermarket chain in Ohio and West Virginia. In July 1988, the company started its hyperstore Big Bear Plus concept in Wintersville, Ohio (140,000 sq ft (13,000 m2)) and Bridgeport, Ohio (100,000 sq ft (10,000 m2)) the stores featured 40 percent food and 60 percent general merchandise. The hyperstore concept was a combination of its Harts Stores (29 stores in 1991) and the Big Bear Grocery format.
Towards the end of 1990, the company decided to favor the Big Bear Plus store format over the Harts general merchandise format and started to slowly shutter or convert all remaining Harts locations. In 1991, ten side-by-side Big Bear and Harts locations were converted to the Big Bear Plus format. Before the demise of the company there were 21 Big Bear Plus stores.
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Savings card
Big Bear Stores introduced a savings card at all stores on September 14, 2000 in response to the Kroger card which was introduced a year earlier. It was known as the "Big Bear Wild Card". After Penn Traffic announced that Big Bear was ceasing operations, Kroger announced that it would now honor the Big Bear Wild Cards at their stores.
Slogans
- You'll Be Surprised By A Big Bear (late 1970s-1981)
- Get The Bear Minimum Price! (1981-1986)
- That's My Bear (1986-1987)
- Give 'Em A Big Bear Hug! (1987-2004)
- All we did was listen (1997)
Big Bear Credit Union
The credit union was founded in June, 1957 as Big Bear Employees Credit Union by a group of employees that worked for the former Big Bear Stores Company. The credit union's office was located within the headquarters of the Big Bear Stores Company, located at 770 W. Goodale Blvd. in Columbus, Ohio. In 1983, the credit union moved its office to a Big Bear Stores satellite office, located at 1184 Dublin Road in Columbus. The new location allowed the credit union to double its space, and provided enough room for six employees. In 1990, the credit union moved into its first office with its own public entrance, located in converted warehouse space at 851 W. 3rd Avenue in Columbus. In March 2003, noting that only fifteen percent of the credit union's members were employed by Big Bear Stores Company, the credit union's membership voted to change the name of the credit union to Members First Credit Union, providing the credit union with a brand new identity. By the end of 2003, Big Bear Stores announced that their company would cease operations by the beginning of 2004. In March 2004, the credit union moved into a newly built facility, located at 1445 W. Goodale Blvd. in the heart of the Grandview / Marble Cliff area.
Former Locations
Ohio
Athens
Big Bear - 1008 E. State St., Athens, OH 45701 (Converted to Athena Grand Movie Theater)
Bellefontaine
Big Bear - 2250 US 68 South, Bellefontaine, OH 43311 (Divided/converted to a Staples and Goody's. Staples closed 2012, Goody's closed 2010, later re-opened in a former Peebles location nearby. Both spaces currently vacant, though Halloween USA has opened in the former Goody's space every fall since 2013.)
Bridgeport
Big Bear Plus - 55707 Industrial Drive, Bridgeport, OH 43912 (now a pre-K through 12 school)
Chillicothe
Big Bear - 660 Central Center, Chillicothe, OH 45601 (Converted to Community Market, now closed)
Columbus
Big Bear - 100 Dillmont Drive, Columbus, OH
Big Bear - 1220 S James Rd, Columbus, OH 43227
Big Bear - 1501 E Dublin Granville Rd, Columbus, OH, 43229 (Converted to Rose's Discount Store)
Big Bear - Carriage Place - 2700 Bethel Rd, Columbus, OH 43220 (Converted to Walmart Supercenter)
Big Bear - 2801 N High St Columbus, OH, 43202 (Converted to Giant Eagle)
Big Bear - 2865 W Broad St, Columbus, OH 43204 (Converted to The Buckeye Ranch)
Big Bear - 3435 Sullivant Ave, Columbus, OH 43204
Big Bear - Northern Lights - 3515 Cleveland Ave, Columbus, OH 43224
Big Bear - 3670 W Dublin Granville Rd, Columbus, OH 43235 (Converted to Whole Foods)
Big Bear - 3811 S High St, Columbus, OH 43207 (Converted to Ollie's Bargain Outlet)
Big Bear - 4280 Eastland Square Drive, Columbus, OH 43232
Big Bear Plus - 4632 E Main St, Columbus, OH 43213
Big Bear - 4780 W Broad St, Columbus, OH 43228 (Converted to Giant Eagle)
Big Bear - 660 Harrisburg Pike, Columbus, OH 43223
Big Bear - 6867 E Broad St, Columbus, OH 43213 (Converted to Giant Eagle)
Big Bear - Olentangy Plaza - 889 Bethel Rd, Columbus, OH 43235
Big Bear - Morse Centre - 4661 Morse Centre Rd, Columbus, OH 43229 (Converted to Guitar Center)
Coshocton
Big Bear - 793 South 2nd St, Coshocton, OH 43812 (Converted to Woodbury Outfitters)
Dublin
Big Bear - Dublin Center - 6700 Perimeter Loop Rd, Dublin, OH 43017 (Converted to Giant Eagle)
Gahanna
Big Bear - 459 Agler Rd, Columbus, OH 43230 (Converted to Family Dollar)
Big Bear - Rocky Point Plaza - 920 N Hamilton Rd, Columbus, OH 43230 (Converted to OSU Physicians)
German Village (Columbus)
Big Bear - 280 E Whittier St, Columbus, OH 43206 (Converted to Giant Eagle)
Grandview Heights
Big Bear - 1451 W 5th Ave, Columbus, OH 43212 (Converted to Giant Eagle, now vacant with Giant Eagle move to Grandview Yard)
Big Bear - 770 W. Goodale Blvd. Corporate Headquarters; Cold, Frozen Food and Dry Storage Warehouses, buildings demolished and now included in the Grandview Yard development of offices, retail, restaurants and housing.
Grove City
Big Bear - 2173 Stringtown Rd, Grove City, OH 43123 (Converted to Giant Eagle)
Hilliard
Big Bear - 5419 Roberts Rd, Hilliard, OH 43026 (Converted to Big Lots/Planet Fitness)
Big Bear Plus - Mill Run - 3700 Fishinger Boulevard, Hilliard, OH, 43026 (Purchase by Kroger for a planned Kroger Marketplace store, sold in 2014 to ContactUS, Inc. as a call center location.)
Lancaster
Big Bear - 1710 E Main St, Lancaster, OH 43130 (Former Manager Timothy Uhl)
Big Bear - 1277 Memorial Dr, Lancaster, OH 43130 (Moved to 1428 River Valley Blvd) (Converted to Big Lots)(Former Manager Timothy Uhl)
Big Bear - 1428 River Valley Blvd, Lancaster OH (Converted to Hobby Lobby)
Lebanon
Big Bear - 922 Columbus Ave, Lebanon, OH 45036 (converted to Peddlers Mall)
Marion
Big Bear - North Main Street (Closed 1959)
Big Bear - Plaza Shopping Center, 1296 Marion Mt. Gilead Road (1959-1980's)
Big Bear - 1688 Marion Mt. Gilead Road (formerly Clyde Evans Market, now Kroger)
Marysville
Big Bear - 15713 US-36 Marysville, OH 43040 (Converted to Dunham's Sports)
New Philadelphia
Big Bear - E. High Avenue (was in same building as a Harts store - converted to RV superstore, now a manufacturing plant)
Newark
Big Bear - #11 downtown Newark south of Square now Lil Bear IGA.
Big Bear - #35 Route 79 Heath, Now Giant Eagle.
Big Bear - Combined with Harts store N. 21st Street.
Pickerington
Big Bear - # 208 1171 Hill Rd N, Pickerington, OH 43147 (Converted to Big Lots and Planet Fitness)
The Plains
Big Bear - 70 N Plains Rd Ste F, The Plains, OH 45780 (Converted to Foodland)
Portsmouth
Big Bear Plus - (exact address unknown) US Hwy 23N, Portsmouth, OH 45662 (Location actually outside Portsmouth city limits, in residential area of Clay Twp. known as 'Rosemount') (Was a former Big Bear/Harts side-by-side location) (Currently 'Lute Supply')
Powell
Big Bear - #272 4000 Powell Rd, Powell, OH 43065 (Former location of Big Bear Farms, Converted to Giant Eagle)
Short North (Columbus)
Big Bear - 777 Neil Ave, Columbus, OH 43215 (Converted to Giant Eagle)
Upper Arlington
Big Bear - 1775 Kingsdale Center, Upper Arlington, OH 43221
Westerville
Big Bear - 1220 County Line Rd, Westerville, OH 43081
Big Bear - 2551 W Schrock Rd, Columbus, OH 43081 (Converted to Calvary Church)
Whitehall
Big Bear - 3680 E Broad St, Columbus, OH 43213
Worthington
Big Bear Plus - 199 Graceland Blvd, Columbus, OH 43214 (Converted to Kroger)
Zanesville
Big Bear - Maple Avenue, Zanesville, OH 43701 (Now Genesis Healthplex) Big Bear- Maysville Pike, Zanesville, OH 43701 (Torn down and Huntington Bank and Sheetz Gas Station now reside on the former store's parking lot and store itself) Big Bear- Maysville Pike, Zanesville, OH 43701 (Houses a doctor's office)
West Virginia
Big Bear Plus - 1 Ceredo Plaza, Ceredo, WV 25507 (Converted to Harbor Freight Tools and FoodFair, a local grocery chain)
Big Bear - 115 6th Ave, Huntington, WV 25701 (Converted to FoodFair, a local grocery chain)
Big Bear Plus - 2825 5th Ave, Huntington, WV 25702 (Converted to St. Mary's Nursing School)
Big Bear Plus - 180 Park Center Dr, Parkersburg, WV 26101 (Converted to Rural King - America's Farm and Home Store)
Big Bear #213 - Liberty Square Plaza, Teays Valley, WV (converted to Petco/Aldi)
Big Bear - Patrick Street Plaza, Charleston, WV (Currently a Big Lots s
Decline and closure
In 1976, the company went private in a leveraged buyout, by six company executives. Big Bear again went public in 1983. The company's success began to falter in the late-1980s with new competition from alternative formats like Cub Foods and Meijer entering its market area. Due to the increased competitive situation, the chain made the hard decision to put itself on the auction block in late 1988 after 54 years as an independent company, including periods of both public and private ownership.
Big Bear was bought out in April 1989 for $35 per share, or $352 million, for all outstanding common stock by a large supermarket holding company Penn Traffic, which owns several regional chains. Penn Traffic borrowed heavily to leverage the buyout, and foisted debt on the company. In 1993, Big Bear Stores became a division of the Penn Traffic Company, and went through a series of changes in business and marketing strategies, such as moving down-market, to aim at a broader segment, but alienating their wealthier clientele. One of the changes including the removal of longtime Big Bear President Steven Breech and his leadership team. Breech's replacement, Phillip Hawkins, a former Vons Supermarket CEO was promoted as a turn around specialist.
One of his first tasks was responding to reduced sales volumes at most store locations by lowering overhead costs as much as possible. As long-time Columbus area shoppers complained about declining conditions in the Columbus area stores, Hawkins and company launched its infamous "All We Did Was Listen" advertising campaign in June 1997, which featured Hawkins speaking in front of Big Bear employees in a reassuring tone of voice. Hawkins' plan was to take Big Bear from its role as an upper market chain to a more "competitive" level by reducing overhead in store operations. As sales volumes continued to drop due to increased competition, it resulted in lower payroll costs which caused conditions in the stores to decline.
As the Big Bear division began to have cash flow issues in 2003, product suppliers pulled their items from store shelves as most accounts went past due. Employees within Big Bear made a joke of Hawkins and his "All we did was listen" as hollow proof that management "listened" to employee and shopper concerns, but it seemed that was all they were prepared to do. By the end of Hawkins' brief tenure, Big Bear was hemorrhaging red ink and closing stores.
The chain's demise was finalized in 2004 when the last Big Bear store closed its doors, following Penn Traffic's second Chapter 11 bankruptcy in a decade. Better store locations were acquired and reopened as Giant Eagle or Kroger stores; as of May 2014 many former Big Bear stores (especially in Ohio and West Virginia) remain empty.
California
From the 1950s, until its merger with Albertsons, shortly after a sale to Fleming Foods in the mid-1990s, supermarkets with the Big Bear name operated in San Diego County, California. Coincidentally, its demise occurred around the same time as that of the Ohio company. Ownership and operations were completely independent under CEO and principal stockholder John C. Mabee. It is not known if the name was licensed from the Ohio company.
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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