A.p.fashions Pt.

Once one of the biggest baggers of groceries in the US, The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (A&P) has been reduced to a shrinking handful of regional grocery chains. It now runs some 300 supermarkets in seven eastern states and the District of Columbia. In addition to its mainstay 90-store A&P chain, the grocer operates several others, including the The Food Emporium, Waldbaum, and Food Basics chains in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. A&P acquired its longtime rival in the Northeast, Pathmark Stores, for about $1.4 billion in 2007, but the purchase failed to reverse A&P's lagging fortunes. Indeed, A&P filed for bankruptcy in late 2010, is closing stores, and has shut down its Super Freshchain.