UNFI Makes Deals for 13 Shoppers Stores; 4 More to Close

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Re: UNFI Makes Deals for 13 Shoppers Stores; 4 More to Close

Post by Knight »

storewanderer wrote: December 7th, 2019, 11:12 pm But consider that they already closed pharmacy a long time ago. Most full service type operators typically want a pharmacy in the store, especially when you are taking 50,000+ square foot stores which is what most of these Shoppers things are.
Shoppers' stores remain attractive to supermarkets with pharmacy operations if pharmacy departments were closed and the space remains.
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Re: UNFI Makes Deals for 13 Shoppers Stores; 4 More to Close

Post by storewanderer »

Knight wrote: December 8th, 2019, 12:04 am
storewanderer wrote: December 7th, 2019, 11:12 pm But consider that they already closed pharmacy a long time ago. Most full service type operators typically want a pharmacy in the store, especially when you are taking 50,000+ square foot stores which is what most of these Shoppers things are.
Shoppers' stores remain attractive to supermarkets with pharmacy operations if pharmacy departments were closed and the space remains.
I am not sure if there may be some kind of restriction on operating a pharmacy in the store once the pharmacy was sold to CVS or Walgreens or whoever it was they sold the pharmacies off to...

Maybe if they sold the store a new owner could open a pharmacy back up inside?
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Re: UNFI Makes Deals for 13 Shoppers Stores; 4 More to Close

Post by pseudo3d »

Knight wrote: December 8th, 2019, 12:01 am
mjhale wrote: December 7th, 2019, 10:03 pm I'm still trying to figure out who would want the remaining stores. ShopRite? Publix? Piece meal between existing grocers already in DC and Baltimore? Maybe Walmart or Target for small scale store or Neighborhood Markets in Walmart's case?
If Publix wants to enter the Washington area sooner than later, acquiring a quantity of Shoppers stores would get it in.
I doubt that the remaining Shoppers stores are in good areas that Publix would do well in.
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Re: UNFI Makes Deals for 13 Shoppers Stores; 4 More to Close

Post by buckguy »

The locations, esp. in the DC area are a very poor fit for Publix. Other than the store near White Flint, they really have no locations in areas that would work for Publix and even that location is away from the areas where Publix's demographic lives.. Pharmacies are no longer the profit centers they once were with competition from mail order and the rise of generics. I think they're pretty irrelevant to who buys the remaining stores.

Giant's unwillingness to assume debt is interesting because it means that the remaining stores will probably go in small clusters or perhaps as individual sales. At least one of the stores being sold has been downsized and that combined with the reported talks with Lidl make me think that Lidl will pick up several locations if they are relatively small or easily subdivided. The large number of Baltimore area stores make me think Shop-Rite or one of their operators might be in the mix as they have been expanding there. There might be a few places that go to ethnic operators, most likely in northern Virginia or in the Catonsville area.

Safeway has been investing lately in DC, not in a big way but with a variety of locations both new (Rockville) and existing Rosslyn. I doubt they would be willing to assume debt and, like Giant, would be candidate for a small number of stores.
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Re: UNFI Makes Deals for 13 Shoppers Stores; 4 More to Close

Post by cw06 »

buckguy wrote: December 8th, 2019, 8:19 am The locations, esp. in the DC area are a very poor fit for Publix. Other than the store near White Flint, they really have no locations in areas that would work for Publix and even that location is away from the areas where Publix's demographic lives.. Pharmacies are no longer the profit centers they once were with competition from mail order and the rise of generics. I think they're pretty irrelevant to who buys the remaining stores.
The Shoppers location on US 1 in Arlington seems to be that kind of high traffic/high profile spot that an operator looking to make a debut would jump at. With Amazon HQ2 being developed right there, the number of customers with disposable income will only increase. Having spent a few years working for Harris Teeter in the DC area, I can tell you that Arlington stores make obscene amounts of money. It wouldn't surprise me if a high-end operator has already quietly inked a deal to take over the lease.

The other attractive Shoppers location is the Pollege park one. I shop there every so often, and it's always slammed. Like Arlington, you'll probably see a non-discount operator take over that spot.
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Re: UNFI Makes Deals for 13 Shoppers Stores; 4 More to Close

Post by buckguy »

I think you mean Alexandria--by some reports, the property will we incorporated into Amazon's HQ2.

The buyers are a curious collection--in addition to Lidl, which bout 6 stores ringing DC, there's a small chain, McKay's which is in the Eastern Shore and a southern B'more suburb buying the Waldorf store and Compare Foods, which is a banner of the Associated Supers Group co-op in NYC, which has other stores in East Coast states is buying Landover and Capitol Heights. Compare has been characterized as Hispanic-oriented.
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Re: UNFI Makes Deals for 13 Shoppers Stores; 4 More to Close

Post by Knight »

storewanderer wrote: December 8th, 2019, 12:25 am
Knight wrote: December 8th, 2019, 12:04 am
storewanderer wrote: December 7th, 2019, 11:12 pm But consider that they already closed pharmacy a long time ago. Most full service type operators typically want a pharmacy in the store, especially when you are taking 50,000+ square foot stores which is what most of these Shoppers things are.
Shoppers' stores remain attractive to supermarkets with pharmacy operations if pharmacy departments were closed and the space remains.
I am not sure if there may be some kind of restriction on operating a pharmacy in the store once the pharmacy was sold to CVS or Walgreens or whoever it was they sold the pharmacies off to...

Maybe if they sold the store a new owner could open a pharmacy back up inside?
If a Shoppers pharmacy was to reopen, it would need to apply for a new pharmacy license.

State boards of pharmacy require new licenses if there is a change in ownership, a change in name, or a change in location.
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Re: UNFI Makes Deals for 13 Shoppers Stores; 4 More to Close

Post by Knight »

cw06 wrote: December 8th, 2019, 3:26 pm
buckguy wrote: December 8th, 2019, 8:19 am The locations, esp. in the DC area are a very poor fit for Publix. Other than the store near White Flint, they really have no locations in areas that would work for Publix and even that location is away from the areas where Publix's demographic lives.. Pharmacies are no longer the profit centers they once were with competition from mail order and the rise of generics. I think they're pretty irrelevant to who buys the remaining stores.
The Shoppers location on US 1 in Arlington seems to be that kind of high traffic/high profile spot that an operator looking to make a debut would jump at. With Amazon HQ2 being developed right there, the number of customers with disposable income will only increase. Having spent a few years working for Harris Teeter in the DC area, I can tell you that Arlington stores make obscene amounts of money. It wouldn't surprise me if a high-end operator has already quietly inked a deal to take over the lease.

The other attractive Shoppers location is the Pollege park one. I shop there every so often, and it's always slammed. Like Arlington, you'll probably see a non-discount operator take over that spot.
Publix could make moves through new and existing stores across northern Virginia.
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Re: UNFI Makes Deals for 13 Shoppers Stores; 4 More to Close

Post by Knight »

buckguy wrote: December 9th, 2019, 8:16 am I think you mean Alexandria--by some reports, the property will we incorporated into Amazon's HQ2.

The buyers are a curious collection--in addition to Lidl, which bout 6 stores ringing DC, there's a small chain, McKay's which is in the Eastern Shore and a southern B'more suburb buying the Waldorf store and Compare Foods, which is a banner of the Associated Supers Group co-op in NYC, which has other stores in East Coast states is buying Landover and Capitol Heights. Compare has been characterized as Hispanic-oriented.
The potential buyers mentioned are interesting. Is Lidl, a limited assortment/discount grocer, seeking to invest and expand interest in supermarkets?
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Re: UNFI Makes Deals for 13 Shoppers Stores; 4 More to Close

Post by buckguy »

Lidl is a limited assortment chain, but with stores larger than ALDI. they already have several store in the DC area.
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