The supercenter channel, Wal-Mart Supercenter, SuperTarget, Kmart/Sears, Fred Meyer and Meijer, is the fastest growing sector in the retail industry with 2006 calendar year sales of $231.9 billion and projected 2011 calendar year sales of $359.5 billion.

A supercenter houses both a discount store, that contains a full complement of general merchandise categories, and a full grocery store, that includes perishable food products. Supercenters generally range in size from 140,000 to 250,000 square feet and stock over 100,000 items. There is a common checkout area for both the general merchandise and food categories.

Wal-Mart Supercenters - Wal-Mart opened its first supercenter in 1988 in Washington, Missouri. It was 126,000 square feet, with approximately 40% of its space dedicated to food products. By 1994, Wal-Mart operated 123 supercenter locations. Since then, the company has greatly increased the number of supercenter locations. Primarily through the conversion of existing discount stores to supercenters, Wal-Mart currently (as of January, 2007) operates 2,195 supercenters. At the end of the 2006 calendar year, Wal-Mart’s supercenter division generated annual sales of $199.9 billion with average annual per-store sales of $96 million.

SuperTarget - Target opened its first SuperTarget in Omaha, Nebraska in 1995. SuperTarget follows its parent company’s philosophy of providing a high-end shopping experience for its customers. The company’s grocery store operation is called Archer Farms Market. This brand acts as a private label for the merchandise and as an identity for the grocery store as the Archer Farms Market is the name that customers see when they enter the food side of the SuperTarget. Target plans to open 200 more SuperTarget locations over the next ten years. As of January, 2007, Target operated 177 SuperTarget locations. At the end of the 2006 calendar year, SuperTarget generated annual sales of $10.2 billion with average annual per-store sales of $61 million.

Kmart Supercenters - Kmart opened its first Kmart Supercenter in Medina, Ohio in 1991. Kmart’s supercenter operation combines full-service grocery and general merchandise departments and are approximately 140,000 to 190,000 square feet. They feature in-house bakeries, USDA fresh meat and seafood, a full deli and a variety of specialty food kiosks. The average location stocks between 100,000 and 150,000 SKUs. Kmart currently (January, 2007) operates 55 locations. At the end of the 2006 calendar year, Kmart Supercenters generated annual sales of $2.2 billion with average annual per-store sales of $40 million.

Fred Meyer – Fred Meyer, a subsidiary of The Kroger Company, opened its first supercenter location in 1922 in Portland, Oregon and became one of the first retailers to offer food and non-food products under the same roof. The company operates primarily in the Western United States. Its locations stock a broad selection of 225,000 food and general merchandise SKUs in 130,000 to 200,000 square foot locations. At the end of the 2006 calendar year, Fred Meyer operated 128 locations generating annual sales of $5.8 billion with average annual per-store sales of $45 million.

Meijer – Meijer, a privately held company, opened its first location, a supermarket, in 1934. It continued to operate grocery stores until 1961, when it opened its first supercenter location. Meijer operates some of the largest supercenter locations in the country, with some stores reaching 250,000 square feet including 40 departments. The company operates primarily in the Midwestern part of the United States. As of January, 2007, Meijer operated 176 supercenter locations. At the end of the 2006 calendar year, Meijer generated annual sales of $13.8 billion with average annual per-store sales of $79 million.