The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, Inc. is engaged in the retail food business. The Company operated 1,014 stores averaging 34,200 square feet per store as of February 24, 1996. In addition, the Company began franchising its Canadian Food Basics stores in fiscal 1995. As of February 24, 1996, the Company had 7 Food Basics Franchisee stores in Canada averaging 25,400 square feet per store. The Company is one of the ten largest retail food chains in the United States and that it had the largest market share in metropolitan New York and Detroit.