Company type | Federal agency |
---|---|
Industry | Retail |
Founded | Brooklyn, New York (1946) |
Headquarters | Virginia Beach, Virginia |
Number of locations | 300+ |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | R. Adm. (Ret.) Robert J. Bianchi (CEO) |
Products | Discount department store, superstore |
Revenue | $3.2 billion (2014) |
Number of employees | 14,000 |
Parent | Naval Supply Systems Command |
Website | mynavyexchange |
Navy Exchange is a retail store chain owned and operated by the United States Navy under the Navy Exchange Service Command (NEXCOM), part of the Naval Supply Systems Command. The Navy Exchange offers goods and services to active military, retirees, and certain civilians on Navy installations in the United States, overseas Navy bases, and aboard Navy ships. The Navy Exchange is a type of base exchange, but is separate from the others (Army & Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES), Marine Corps Exchange, and Coast Guard Exchange). [1]
The beginnings of the Navy Exchange, referred to by Sailors as the "NEX," started in the 1800s, when enterprising citizens would greet a Navy ship coming into port by sailing out to meet it in what were called "bumboats." These merchants would sell goods to Sailors, often at inflated prices and reportedly shoddy quality.
In 1896, a "Canteen" was opened on the USS Indiana, purportedly to help keep the Sailors' money on the ship, and to ensure that they were receiving a fair deal. The Naval Appropriations Act of March 3, 1909 established the first official stores and Commissaries on ships. This pressure on bumboat operators caused some to change tactics, and begin offering services, such as haircuts and shoe repair, to sailors. This led to a separate type of retail operation, a "ship services store," to be created aboard naval vessels. The two types of retail outlets were later combined to increase efficiency and save space.
As retail options on ships grew, so did their shore-side counterparts. In 1946, a committee, headed by Captain Wheelock H. Bingham, recommended that the shore-side retail operations be rolled into the same bureau as the ship-based retail locations. In 1946, these recommendations led to the creation of the Navy Ship's Store Office, the precursor to the modern Navy Exchange. [2]
Today, the Navy Exchange operates much like many other major retailers, selling goods and clothing, as well as providing services such as barbering, floral arrangement, and laundry (depending on location). Most Navy Exchanges are located on military bases, though some lease private buildings, while others, called "Ship's Stores," operate on Navy vessels such as Aircraft Carriers.
NEXCOM, the Navy Exchange Service Command, operates multiple business lines, including Navy Exchange Retail Stores, Navy Lodge Hotels, the Navy Uniform Project Management Office (UPMO), Navy Clothing Textile and Research Facility (NCTRF), the Ship's Stores Program, and the Telecommunications Program Office (TPO).
On January 13 2017, the Department of Defense announced that all honorably discharged Veterans would be eligible to shop tax-free online Military Exchanges starting November 11, 2017. [3] The expanded benefit is expected to make online Exchange privileges available to as many as 13 million Veterans. [4] Six-months later, the Military Exchanges launched VetVerify.org, an online service where Veterans can verify their eligibility to shop online Exchanges, on June 5, 2017. It was concurrently announced that some Veterans who register would be selected to shop ahead of the November 11 launch as beta testers. [5]
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force and a component of His Majesty's Naval Service. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against France. The modern Royal Navy traces its origins to the early 16th century; the oldest of the UK's armed services, it is consequently known as the Senior Service.
Shopping is an activity in which a customer browses the available goods or services presented by one or more retailers with the potential intent to purchase a suitable selection of them. A typology of shopper types has been developed by scholars which identifies one group of shoppers as recreational shoppers, that is, those who enjoy shopping and view it as a leisure activity.
The Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes is a company created by the British government on 9 December 1920 to run recreational establishments needed by the British Armed Forces, and to sell goods to servicemen and their families. It runs clubhouses, bars, shops, supermarkets, launderettes, restaurants, cafés and other facilities on most British military bases and also canteens on board Royal Navy ships. Commissioned officers are not usually supposed to use the NAAFI clubs and bars, since their messes provide these facilities and their entry, except on official business, is considered to be an intrusion into junior ranks' private lives.
A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. A military base always provides accommodations for one or more units, but it may also be used as a command center, training ground or proving ground. In most cases, military bases rely on outside help to operate. However, certain complex bases are able to endure on their own for long periods because they are able to provide food, water, and other necessities for their inhabitants while under siege. Bases for military aviation are called military air bases, or simply "air bases". Bases for military ships are called naval bases.
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The Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA), headquartered at Fort Gregg-Adams, Virginia, is an agency of the United States Department of Defense (DoD) that operates nearly 240 commissaries worldwide. American military commissaries sell groceries and household goods to active-duty, Guard, Reserve, and retired members of all eight uniformed services of the United States and eligible members of their families at cost plus surcharge, saving authorized patrons thousands of dollars compared to civilian supermarkets.
The Army & Air Force Exchange Service provides goods and services at U.S. Army and Air Force installations worldwide, operating department stores, convenience stores, restaurants, military clothing stores, theaters and more across 50 U.S. states and more than 30 countries. The Exchange is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and its director/chief executive officer is Tom Shull. The largest of the Department of Defense's exchange services, it is No. 54 on the National Retail Federation's Top 100 Retailers list.
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HMAS Matafele was a small cargo and passenger vessel which was operated by Burns Philp from 1938 to 1942 and the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) from 1943 until she was lost with all of her crew as a result of an accident in June 1944.
The Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP) serves as the supply command for the United States Navy for providing supplies, services, and support to both the Navy and the United States Marine Corps.
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