It is notable for its title of "America's First Supermarket" as recognized by the Smithsonian Institution.
(meta data) TITLE: Nation's First Supermarket Attempts to Stay Competitive - The New York Times (meta data) AUTHOR: https://www.nytimes.com/by/florence-fabricant (meta data) PUBLISHED DATETIME: 1997-09-28 Skip to contentSkip to site indexNew YorkLog InToday's PaperNew York|Nation's First Supermarket Attempts to Stay Competitive Supported by # Nation's First Supermarket Attempts to Stay Competitive By Florence Fabricant THE sushi counter in my local King Kullen supermarket was doing a brisk business over Labor Day weekend. As a couple of Japanese chefs fashioned spicy inside-out tuna rolls for one customer, Bill Strain, who lives in Vancouver, Canada, and was visiting friends, was waiting his turn to buy several California rolls. ''It's convenient and it's fresh,'' he said, ''so why not buy sushi in a supermarket?'' Finding sushi in a supermarket came as no surprise to Mr. Strain. Though supermarkets with sushi are the exception, not the rule, on the Island, Mr. Strain said that where he came from, supermarkets often had sushi counters. King Kullen, which is acknowledged by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington to have been the country's first supermarket, may no longer be ahead of the pack when it comes to services like sushi. But by constantly responding to consumer demands, the chain, based in Westbury, has no trouble maintaining its reputation where it counts, on the Island. Supermarkets have evolved in the 67 years since Michael Cullen opened the first King Kullen Grocery Company store in Jamaica, Queens. To have several food departments under one roof and self-service shopping were innovations in the era of mom-and-pop grocery stores, butcher shops, greengrocers and fish markets. Mr. Cullen had tried to convince Kroger, his employer at the time, to open such a store. He envisioned markets on the fringes of a town's central business district so there would be parking for the rapidly growing numbers of cars on the road. It would also benefit customers, he reasoned, because the volume buying dictated by the size of the stores would allow for lower prices. Kroger was not interested so Mr. Cullen left the Midwest, returned to the Island and became a pioneer. Today his concept has evolved to offer a wider range of food products than he might ever have imagined, including live lobsters in tanks, condiments from around the world and exotic fresh mushrooms, but supermarkets also provide film processing and sell housewares, books, T-shirts and toys, among the goods and services that are now taken for granted in what once were just food markets. ''In the 1970's and '80's,'' said Thomas K. Cullen, the chain's vice president for government and industry relations, ''we started adding bakeries, fresh fish, barbecued chickens and began to expand the deli counters. Our customers wanted those things. Now, because of new competitors like Wal-Mart stores and even drugstore chains like Genovese and CVS that have started selling food, we are expanding our lines of merchandise and the services we can offer.'' Mr. Cullen said that he would have been surprised if the original store stocked 1,000 different products. ''Now we easily carry 38,000 products and the number keeps growing,'' he said. What has not changed since 1930, however, is the technique of buying goods in volume and, using that leverage to get a good price, selling them at a discount. From the beginning supermarkets operated on razor-thin profit margins. It is a business in which making more than 1.5 percent of gross sales is considered a windfall. But the new non-food items can be sold at a higher markup than food, so the more of them that are in the mix of products, the healthier the bottom line. Mr. Cullen said that in a week or so, when the chain's largest store opened in Commack, its 60,000 square feet of space will house a bank and a dry cleaner. Another store, a more typical 43,000 square feet with about 20 shopping aisles and 15 checkout counters, is also opening on Jericho Turnpike, in Syosset. King Kullen's 45 stores on the Island and one on Staten Island grossed more than $720 million last year. Because the company is still family-owned and operated, and has not diversified beyond the core business, it is not burdened with excessive debt from financing mergers and acquisitions. The profits are used to upgrade existing stores and build new ones. John B. Cullen, a son of Michael Cullen, is chairman of King Kullen and Bernard D. Kennedy, a cousin, is president. Third generation Cullens and Kennedys hold other administrative positions and the fourth generation has started working for the company. Many of the chain's competitors, like A & P, which also owns Waldbaums and Food Emporium, and Food Town, are owned by giant conglomerates based in Europe, and can rely on international marketing and merchandising techniques. Mr. Cullen said his company takes its responsibililty to the community very seriously. ''We have a customer relations manager and a toll-free number,'' he said. ''We have hired a nutritionist and publish a newsletter with recipes and nutritional advice.'' King Kullen conducts annual telephone surveys to determine what its customers want. As a result, it recently began alphabetizing the items in its circulars and added full-service pharmacies to some of the stores. Though the company was reluctant to begin accepting credit cards because the percentages the banks took cut the profit-margins even closer to the bone, it recognized the consumer demand and now takes plastic. ''Our chain grew as the suburbs in Nassau and Suffolk grew,'' said Thomas K. Cullen. ''Space is now at a premium in Nassau but there is room for expansion in Suffolk. We are now making an effort to customize the merchandise in each store to reflect the needs of the people who shop regularly.'' A regular shopper lives within a three-mile radius of the store. The King Kullen in Bridgehampton sells beach chairs and tennis balls. Stores in Bay Shore, Blue Point, Bohemia and Patchogue deliver grocery orders to the Fire Island ferries. In towns like Hewlett and Rockville Centre, where there are Jewish neighborhoods, the stores have larger kosher food departments. Plans are under way to add kosher bakeries. Bunches of cut flowers sell extremely well, so the stores also sell simple glass vases to hold them. Though non-food items and services are the talk of the industry -- some supermarkets across the country have nurseries and children's play areas, health and fitness clubs and beauty salons -- public tastes have driven supermarkets to expand some of the food departments. King Kullen is stocking an increased assortment of imported and domestic cheeses. The deli department sells fresh mozzarella along with crab cakes and poached salmon. Like every supermarket, there is a choice of frozen pizzas but King Kullen also has fresh refrigerated pizzas, focaccias and quiches in an array of flavors, including spinach, sun-dried tomatoes and roasted garlic. Items like fresh cilantro, golden zucchini and oddly mottled dinosaur plums are just a few of the newly popular vegetables and fruits in the produce bins. A wall of imported and microbrewed beers and soft drinks competes with Budweiser and Coca-Cola by the case. Health foods have been given expanded shelf space. And increasingly, the meat cases have marinated kebabs ready to go onto the grill. With sales of organic foods having increased by 25 percent nationwide in the last three years, King Kullen has added showcases for organic dairy products, organic frozen foods and organic groceries. Its aisles of organic produce are four times as long as they were a year ago. ''Our Bridgehampton store has one of the largest organic produce departments of any major supermarket chain,'' Mr. Cullen said. He also said that the chain tried to buy from local producers as much as possible, admitting that is is difficult to do. '''Sometimes the local farms don't have enough volume for us or can't keep the produce cool enough until it's ready to be shipped and it may not come to us in the best condition,'' he said. Individual store managers cannot purchase goods from local suppliers; everything comes from the company's central warehouse in Westbury. But starting Tuesday the central warehouse will no longer handle groceries. Bozzuto's, a wholesaler in Cheshire, Conn., now has a contract to order the groceries for King Kullen and deliver them directly to the stores. Though fresh produce, meats and fish will continue to be distributed from the Westbury warehouse, as a money-saving move the company will no longer purchase its own groceries directly. ''Bozzuto's can buy in greater volume than we can,'' Mr. Cullen said. They buy for a number of chains, for more than 250 stores, not 46, and can offer more variety and a better price than we can on our own. We had to do it to remain competitive.'' Closing down the grocery warehouse will also cost the jobs of 115 of the company's 4,400 employees. The employees who are laid off are being offered work with the wholesaler and in the new stores. Mr. Cullen said they hoped the net result would eventually be more jobs, not fewer of them, if the company becomes more profitable. The lower prices that the outsourcing of groceries is expected to bring may also attract more customers. More services are likely to do the same. Eventually, customers may be able to click on to the company's Website and place their orders on the Internet. Despite the proliferation of non-food items, services and departments, one of the newest opportunities for growth is in prepared foods. It is no longer just a matter of picking up a barbecued chicken, some cooked shrimp or even a plastic container filled with tuna sushi. Entire freshly made meals for one, two or more are becoming available in some of the supermarkets. A wedding? The bakery will even bake and decorate a multitiered wedding cake. And then, in the same King Kullen market that prepared the canapes, roasted the whole filet of beef, made the potatoes, tossed the salad and supplied the floral centerpieces for the event, you can also buy the little bride and groom figurines to go on top of the cake. We are continually improving the quality of our text archives. Please send feedback, error reports, and suggestions to archive_feedback@nytimes.com. A version of this article appears in print on , Section LI, Page 13 of the National edition with the headline: Nation's First Supermarket Attempts to Stay Competitive. Order Reprints | Today's Paper | Subscribe ## Site Index ### news ### opinion ### arts ### living ### more ### Subscribe
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King Kullen
Abstract.

King Kullen Grocery Co., Inc. is an American supermarket chain based on Long Island. The company is headquartered in Bethpage, New York and was founded by Michael J. Cullen on August 4, 1930. 
 As of 2018, the chain operates 32 locations.