Publix expanding to Virginia

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pseudo3d
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Re: Publix expanding to Virginia

Post by pseudo3d »

Knight wrote:
BatteryMill wrote: Wait, are any one of these the recent store that opened in November 2014? Sounds short-lived to me, as if Food Lion had the upper hand in that market.

All this merger news is going too fast... soon enough, with all these changes, Publix will be in NJ and Weis down in Georgia, it seems.
I do not have any knowledge of when specifically Martin's stores in the Richmond area opened.

I see Weis being in a same position as Ingle's limited itself to a specific geographic area and adding store count within its limited footprint.

I do not see Publix being in New Jersey for decades. It could be doable as Publix opens quantities of quality stores in varying sizes in existing and new markets. I think Publix is in excellent position to exceed 2,000 stores.
The store you're referring to, at 200 Charter Colony Parkway, was the first new Martin's store in Richmond, and wasn't divested. The rest (former Ukrops) were. Frankly, I'm not sure about Food Lion having the "upper hand" in that market. Every single market where Royal Ahold and Food Lion co-existed, the Ahold store "won". The Martin's stores probably made more sense to sell, because given that a huge number of Food Lion went to SuperValu with no real clear idea on what they wanted to do with them, that seems to make sense. The Salisbury MD market probably had the same thing going on, as Giant-MD has closed its other stores in town in recent years. The Food Lion stores in Richmond, VA are likely not going to stick around for the long term.

I also suspect that Albertsons bid on these stores as well, but Publix ended up winning, so Albertsons only got the Salisbury store.
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Re: Publix expanding to Virginia

Post by mjhale »

I'm very curious to see what will happen to the Richmond Martins stores that were not sold to Publix. In the articles I saw about the divestitures Ahold said that they would continue to operate the stores pending a sale to other operators. Thus far I haven't seen any word of who these stores would go to. I suspect that Ahold may just end up closing the stores to focus on Food Lion since that is the banner they kept in Richmond.

On another note, does Albertsons operate any non-union stores? Ukrops wasn't a union operation which is why I thought the stores ended up in the Martins/Giant-PA arm of Ahold. The Giant-MD store in Salisbury, MD that Albertsons converted to Acme is a union operation.
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Re: Publix expanding to Virginia

Post by pseudo3d »

mjhale wrote: On another note, does Albertsons operate any non-union stores? Ukrops wasn't a union operation which is why I thought the stores ended up in the Martins/Giant-PA arm of Ahold. The Giant-MD store in Salisbury, MD that Albertsons converted to Acme is a union operation.
Not sure on the ACME division, but the Albertsons in Arizona aren't, the Texas stores aren't...it's a mix.
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Re: Publix expanding to Virginia

Post by Knight »

pseudo3d wrote: The store you're referring to, at 200 Charter Colony Parkway, was the first new Martin's store in Richmond, and wasn't divested. The rest (former Ukrops) were. Frankly, I'm not sure about Food Lion having the "upper hand" in that market. Every single market where Royal Ahold and Food Lion co-existed, the Ahold store "won". The Martin's stores probably made more sense to sell, because given that a huge number of Food Lion went to SuperValu with no real clear idea on what they wanted to do with them, that seems to make sense. The Salisbury MD market probably had the same thing going on, as Giant-MD has closed its other stores in town in recent years. The Food Lion stores in Richmond, VA are likely not going to stick around for the long term.

I also suspect that Albertsons bid on these stores as well, but Publix ended up winning, so Albertsons only got the Salisbury store.
I will also disagree of Food Lion having an upper hand in the Richmond area. It has reasons to send customers to Martin's. I am not optimistic of both Food Lion and Martin's remaining in the Richmond area after Publix and Lidl are open.

I wonder if Publix had interest in acquiring other Virginia stores outside the Richmond area.
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Re: Publix expanding to Virginia

Post by Knight »

mjhale wrote:I'm very curious to see what will happen to the Richmond Martins stores that were not sold to Publix. In the articles I saw about the divestitures Ahold said that they would continue to operate the stores pending a sale to other operators. Thus far I haven't seen any word of who these stores would go to. I suspect that Ahold may just end up closing the stores to focus on Food Lion since that is the banner they kept in Richmond.

On another note, does Albertsons operate any non-union stores? Ukrops wasn't a union operation which is why I thought the stores ended up in the Martins/Giant-PA arm of Ahold. The Giant-MD store in Salisbury, MD that Albertsons converted to Acme is a union operation.
I wonder if Publix has interest in acquiring the nine remaining Richmond area Martin's after it begins opening the first of the ten stores that have been acquired.
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Re: Publix expanding to Virginia

Post by mjhale »

Knight wrote:
mjhale wrote:I'm very curious to see what will happen to the Richmond Martins stores that were not sold to Publix. In the articles I saw about the divestitures Ahold said that they would continue to operate the stores pending a sale to other operators. Thus far I haven't seen any word of who these stores would go to. I suspect that Ahold may just end up closing the stores to focus on Food Lion since that is the banner they kept in Richmond.

On another note, does Albertsons operate any non-union stores? Ukrops wasn't a union operation which is why I thought the stores ended up in the Martins/Giant-PA arm of Ahold. The Giant-MD store in Salisbury, MD that Albertsons converted to Acme is a union operation.
I wonder if Publix has interest in acquiring the nine remaining Richmond area Martin's after it begins opening the first of the ten stores that have been acquired.
It will all depend on how the initial group of 11 stores perform - 10 acquired plus the one Publix is building from scratch. Based on my small knowledge of the Richmond market the remaining nine stores seem to be either in areas that Publix hasn't been targeting in their expansions (ie- low income) or are poor performing stores. Publix is very heavy on the north and northwest areas of Richmond leaving the area between Richmond and Petersburg and the east side of Richmond bare.

Another interesting facet in this is that Wegmans and Publix will compete in the Richmond market. Wegmans currently has two of their most recent model stores in Richmond both on the west side of town. Certainly Wegmans is a grocery mecca but they are heavily focused on perimeter areas as well as specialty products. I find Wegmans center store selection to be pretty thin in a lot of areas. I think Wegmans streamlines center store to focus on their brand as well as one or two national brands to make up efficiencies they don't have in the fresh and prepared foods areas. Wegmans has excellent service as well. But what I can't deal with are the crowds at Wegmans. I don't want to grocery shop early in the morning or late at night so Wegmans just isn't worth it to me. The Publix stores I have been in seem to be much more balanced with good quality perimeter items including prepared foods and produce along with a better selection in the center store aisles. Publix stores are much more manageable in size and don't require blocking about multiple hours of your life to visit - though many people love to wander in Wegmans. I find service in the Publix stores I've been in to be equal to that of Wegmans. It will be interesting to see if a rivalry really does develop between Publix and Wegmans since the further south Wegmans goes the more frequently they will compete with Publix.
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Re: Publix expanding to Virginia

Post by pseudo3d »

mjhale wrote:
Knight wrote:
mjhale wrote:I'm very curious to see what will happen to the Richmond Martins stores that were not sold to Publix. In the articles I saw about the divestitures Ahold said that they would continue to operate the stores pending a sale to other operators. Thus far I haven't seen any word of who these stores would go to. I suspect that Ahold may just end up closing the stores to focus on Food Lion since that is the banner they kept in Richmond.

On another note, does Albertsons operate any non-union stores? Ukrops wasn't a union operation which is why I thought the stores ended up in the Martins/Giant-PA arm of Ahold. The Giant-MD store in Salisbury, MD that Albertsons converted to Acme is a union operation.
I wonder if Publix has interest in acquiring the nine remaining Richmond area Martin's after it begins opening the first of the ten stores that have been acquired.
It will all depend on how the initial group of 11 stores perform - 10 acquired plus the one Publix is building from scratch. Based on my small knowledge of the Richmond market the remaining nine stores seem to be either in areas that Publix hasn't been targeting in their expansions (ie- low income) or are poor performing stores. Publix is very heavy on the north and northwest areas of Richmond leaving the area between Richmond and Petersburg and the east side of Richmond bare.

Another interesting facet in this is that Wegmans and Publix will compete in the Richmond market. Wegmans currently has two of their most recent model stores in Richmond both on the west side of town. Certainly Wegmans is a grocery mecca but they are heavily focused on perimeter areas as well as specialty products. I find Wegmans center store selection to be pretty thin in a lot of areas. I think Wegmans streamlines center store to focus on their brand as well as one or two national brands to make up efficiencies they don't have in the fresh and prepared foods areas. Wegmans has excellent service as well. But what I can't deal with are the crowds at Wegmans. I don't want to grocery shop early in the morning or late at night so Wegmans just isn't worth it to me. The Publix stores I have been in seem to be much more balanced with good quality perimeter items including prepared foods and produce along with a better selection in the center store aisles. Publix stores are much more manageable in size and don't require blocking about multiple hours of your life to visit - though many people love to wander in Wegmans. I find service in the Publix stores I've been in to be equal to that of Wegmans. It will be interesting to see if a rivalry really does develop between Publix and Wegmans since the further south Wegmans goes the more frequently they will compete with Publix.
If I recall correctly, one of those "other" Martin's stores includes one built a few years ago, so I have to assume the stores are making money and won't be closed down, changed to the Food Lion, or just letting their leases run out. Maybe the stores weren't divested firstly because they weren't in competition to Food Lion stores.
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Re: Publix expanding to Virginia

Post by mjhale »

pseudo3d wrote:
If I recall correctly, one of those "other" Martin's stores includes one built a few years ago, so I have to assume the stores are making money and won't be closed down, changed to the Food Lion, or just letting their leases run out. Maybe the stores weren't divested firstly because they weren't in competition to Food Lion stores.
You're thinking of the Martins at US 60 and Charter Colony Parkway. That store was built to replace the store in Sycamore Square Shopping Center that started as a Ukrops in I believe in the 1970s. The new Martins is the only one in the Richmond area that has the standard Giant-PA/Martins interior design from Ahold. I'm really surprised this store was not sold to Publix. It is a new, modern store as you said and the area is right for Publix. Perhaps the store isn't doing well or the terms weren't right.

Ahold has said that they hope to sell the remaining stores to independents or other grocers but no one has come forward as of yet. Maybe Ahold will convert them to Food Lion or just let them close when leases are up. Every grocer on the east coast I can think of except Albertsons is in Richmond. Richmond is very competitive and there is no reason for someone who isn't fully committed to attempt to enter the market. I don't recall hearing if Lidl is planning stores in Rochmond but it would surprise me if they are in the long run.
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Is Publix Expanding into Spotsylvania County, Virginia?

Post by Knight »

Publix could be expanding into Spotsylvania County, Virginia. It is speculated to be a 49,533-square-foot grocery store at Cosner's Coner in the southeast quadrant of United States Route 1 and Spotsylvania Parkway.

Further reading
Branscombe, Jeff. "Is Publix next grocery sore coming to Spotsylvania?" The Free Lance-Star. 11 January 2017.
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Re: Publix expanding to Virginia

Post by Knight »

mjhale wrote:It will all depend on how the initial group of 11 stores perform - 10 acquired plus the one Publix is building from scratch. Based on my small knowledge of the Richmond market the remaining nine stores seem to be either in areas that Publix hasn't been targeting in their expansions (ie- low income) or are poor performing stores. Publix is very heavy on the north and northwest areas of Richmond leaving the area between Richmond and Petersburg and the east side of Richmond bare.

Another interesting facet in this is that Wegmans and Publix will compete in the Richmond market. Wegmans currently has two of their most recent model stores in Richmond both on the west side of town. Certainly Wegmans is a grocery mecca but they are heavily focused on perimeter areas as well as specialty products. I find Wegmans center store selection to be pretty thin in a lot of areas. I think Wegmans streamlines center store to focus on their brand as well as one or two national brands to make up efficiencies they don't have in the fresh and prepared foods areas. Wegmans has excellent service as well. But what I can't deal with are the crowds at Wegmans. I don't want to grocery shop early in the morning or late at night so Wegmans just isn't worth it to me. The Publix stores I have been in seem to be much more balanced with good quality perimeter items including prepared foods and produce along with a better selection in the center store aisles. Publix stores are much more manageable in size and don't require blocking about multiple hours of your life to visit - though many people love to wander in Wegmans. I find service in the Publix stores I've been in to be equal to that of Wegmans. It will be interesting to see if a rivalry really does develop between Publix and Wegmans since the further south Wegmans goes the more frequently they will compete with Publix.
I think Publix's 11 initial stores will do well. I would not worry about stores and pharmacy. Stores with pharmacies will continue to open.

Publix will need to address distribution. The Dacula, Georgia, distribution center will support stores in Virginia short-term. Additional distribution centers will be necessary between Dacula, Georgia, and Richmond, Virginia.

Wegman's and Publix competing may extend into North Carolina. Wegman's appears to have four sites lined up in Wake and Orange counties.
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