Stop & Shop closures

[buckguy]

The characterization of the northern NJ market sounds an awful lot like Southern California in the sense that there's a lot of specialty competition. If Kroger can't win with Ralphs in Southern California, they're not going to do it in Northern NJ. Their usual level of mediocrity and defensive play would perpetuate rather than improve Stop & Shop, even if they did spruce up the stores.

The perception of Wegman's is not unusual---stores that sell expensive items anywhere often get tagged as expensive even when their center store stuff isn't. If anything Wegman's is a little cheaper than their DC competition for teh center store and not all of the perimeter stuff is grossly out of line.

[ClownLoach]

The characterization of the northern NJ market sounds an awful lot like Southern California in the sense that there's a lot of specialty competition. If Kroger can't win with Ralphs in Southern California, they're not going to do it in Northern NJ. Their usual level of mediocrity and defensive play would perpetuate rather than improve Stop & Shop, even if they did spruce up the stores.

The perception of Wegman's is not unusual---stores that sell expensive items anywhere often get tagged as expensive even when their center store stuff isn't. If anything Wegman's is a little cheaper than their DC competition for teh center store and not all of the perimeter stuff is grossly out of line.

My feeling for NJ is that there are far more choices than SoCal. Here we basically have the big two chains, with a third local operator (Stater) sporadically thrown into suburban areas. New Jersey felt much more diverse with many small independent delicatessens, bakeries, butcher shops, produce markets, Italian markets, Asian markets, and more chains. Also more supercenters (good number of SuperTarget and Walmart Supercenters). Decently busy Costco stores, and also Sam's stores that are undoubtedly busier than most SoCal locations. Plus BJs Wholesale. It felt much more competitive there versus SoCal, and of course the majority of these stores are larger facilities with more selection. And at least Shop Rite, Wegmans and all the independents give you lots of high quality scratch prepared foods, baked goods, etc. that no SoCal grocery store chain can match with their crappy stuff reheated from frozen, a carton or a bag. On top of all that, I felt like there were many, many more stores versus parts of SoCal where there may only be one or two stores in a good size area. It seemed every little town had a dozen grocery stores. I wish we had as many choices in SoCal as NJ.

[mbz321]

Also more supercenters (good number of SuperTarget and Walmart Supercenters).

There are SuperTarget stores in NJ? I didn't think there were really any in the Northeast at all. They did build several 'Greatland' locations that were maybe designed to morph into the full grocery-heavy format, but I don't know of any instances of that happening.

[storewanderer]

Also more supercenters (good number of SuperTarget and Walmart Supercenters).

There are SuperTarget stores in NJ? I didn't think there were really any in the Northeast at all. They did build several 'Greatland' locations that were maybe designed to morph into the full grocery-heavy format, but I don't know of any instances of that happening.

They really should have converted a lot of the Greatland Stores into Super Targets...

[marketreportblog]

Can't say this is a big surprise, but Stop & Shop just announced the closure of the Jackson, NJ location (which I was just at in my last round of visits). The store was well-stocked and mostly clean, but absolutely deserted. Some thoughts: I am not the least bit surprised about that closure, especially since it's right up the street from a very busy but very strange ShopRite. It has the late 90s/early 00s Super Stop & Shop decor, and it's in pretty good shape but there are the usual maintenance issues with burnt-out lights and all that. I would not be surprised at all if there are a few more closures in that area (Howell, a few towns over, is massive and seems to be even slower in business than Jackson, although it's been renovated more recently when the Howell ShopRite opened). I do think this is a strong indication there might not be a major announcement coming, because it would be strange to announce one store closure individually right before you announce the whole chain is being sold or closed or rebranded or whatever. I'd assume you'd just wait and make it part of the whole big announcement. How many store closures were announced individually right before A&P's bankruptcy? The last individual store closure I can find was in January 2014, which is over a year before the bankruptcy declaration. For that reason, I suspect the strategy may be to slowly close stores that are unprofitable, while remodeling others, and then see what happens in another year or two.

My feeling for NJ is that there are far more choices than SoCal. Here we basically have the big two chains, with a third local operator (Stater) sporadically thrown into suburban areas. New Jersey felt much more diverse with many small independent delicatessens, bakeries, butcher shops, produce markets, Italian markets, Asian markets, and more chains. Also more supercenters (good number of SuperTarget and Walmart Supercenters). Decently busy Costco stores, and also Sam's stores that are undoubtedly busier than most SoCal locations. Plus BJs Wholesale. It felt much more competitive there versus SoCal, and of course the majority of these stores are larger facilities with more selection. And at least Shop Rite, Wegmans and all the independents give you lots of high quality scratch prepared foods, baked goods, etc. that no SoCal grocery store chain can match with their crappy stuff reheated from frozen, a carton or a bag. On top of all that, I felt like there were many, many more stores versus parts of SoCal where there may only be one or two stores in a good size area. It seemed every little town had a dozen grocery stores. I wish we had as many choices in SoCal as NJ.

There are SuperTarget stores in NJ? I didn't think there were really any in the Northeast at all. They did build several 'Greatland' locations that were maybe designed to morph into the full grocery-heavy format, but I don't know of any instances of that happening.

That's definitely true, except the Super Target. To my knowledge, there aren't any in NJ or New England. But yes, there's no shortage of great food in New Jersey.

[BillyGr]

Can't say this is a big surprise, but Stop & Shop just announced the closure of the Jackson, NJ location (which I was just at in my last round of visits). The store was well-stocked and mostly clean, but absolutely deserted. Some thoughts: I am not the least bit surprised about that closure, especially since it's right up the street from a very busy but very strange ShopRite. It has the late 90s/early 00s Super Stop & Shop decor, and it's in pretty good shape but there are the usual maintenance issues with burnt-out lights and all that. I would not be surprised at all if there are a few more closures in that area (Howell, a few towns over, is massive and seems to be even slower in business than Jackson, although it's been renovated more recently when the Howell ShopRite opened).

Another link - just for those who can't read the app due to lack of subscription (plus, we won't mention that they managed to put the word supermartket in their link ).

But anyhow, quite a bit of commentary on the APP Facebook page (I saw that and then checked here to see it was already noted - much of which leans towards the people in the nearby areas, which may also have a bearing on the lack of business if they fail to cater to the particular group.

[marketreportblog]

Another link - just for those who can't read the app due to lack of subscription (plus, we won't mention that they managed to put the word supermartket in their link ).

But anyhow, quite a bit of commentary on the APP Facebook page (I saw that and then checked here to see it was already noted - much of which leans towards the people in the nearby areas, which may also have a bearing on the lack of business if they fail to cater to the particular group.

Thanks for the additional link! And yeah, I noticed the supermartket -- I guess I can't complain, I once signed an email to my boss as Xachary which is very close to my name but decidedly not my name.

And yes, what people seem to be saying -- with varying degrees of politeness -- is that the Orthodox Jewish community in the area is large and growing, and there seems to be less of a need for two large mainstream supermarkets right there. I know there's a lot of tension between the incoming Orthodox Jewish community and the longer-term residents of the area in towns like Jackson, Toms River, Howell, and of course Lakewood, which is obvious from many of those Facebook comments.

There doesn't seem to be any truth to the rumor that the property was sold, though. County property records show it was last sold in 2007 and it's owned by Brixmor (apparently formerly called Centro Properties), which is just a large real estate firm. Hard to know if those records are outdated, but it's advertised on the Brixmor site so I'm betting they still own it. In at least one other case, a rival supermarket chain bought the property out from under Stop & Shop, then kicked them out once their lease was up. That's the store at 2145 Fairfield Ave in Bridgeport, CT, which is soon to become a Food Bazaar. But Food Bazaar actually bought the property about a year before Stop & Shop announced their closure.

Still, it wouldn't surprise me if the space became a kosher supermarket or if it were subdivided and leased to multiple smaller non-grocery tenants. Or perhaps Grocery Outlet would be interested, since they seem to be excited about the shore area (and are working on a store coming soon in nearby Toms River).

[buckguy]

Lakewood, et al. have always had a large Orthodox community. I've had a number of friends and colleagues from around there. Most of their families came to that area because of an Orthodox "back to the land" movement that started in the Bronx and Brooklyn in the early 20th century and more mainstream Orthodox culture including a big summer camp followed. The people I knew grew-up on what were basically hobby farms that often stopped with their parents' generation. I had a friend in Connecticut whose family had been part of the same movement but had created a smaller, less successful farming community East of Hartford. A lot of Italian-Americans also have small farms in the area and I wouldn't be surprised if there was a parallel movement in their communities. Kosher supermarkets might be expanding but they would have entered the area ages ago.

The Greatland program seemed very short lived---they replaced some old Richways with these stores in Atlanta and none became Super Targets. I don't think I've ever seen a Super Target in the Northeast; they've built quite a few regular Targets in the DC area, esp. 10-15 years ago but I can't remember any of them being Super Targets.

[mjhale]

The Greatland program seemed very short lived---they replaced some old Richways with these stores in Atlanta and none became Super Targets. I don't think I've ever seen a Super Target in the Northeast; they've built quite a few regular Targets in the DC area, esp. 10-15 years ago but I can't remember any of them being Super Targets.

The Target locations in Gainesville and Manassas (off Rt 28 just below the 234 Bypass) are both SuperTargets. Both these Target locations opened a year or so prior to the new Manassas Mall Walmart Supercenter and the expansion of the Sterling Walmart into a Supercenter. I had wondered if Target was going to try the Super format in the DC area to get ahead of Walmart or to compete with them. Almost 15 years later Gainesville and Manassas remain the only two SuperTargets among many Walmart Supercenters in the DC area. Target has a few dual entrance locations in the Virginia suburbs. I believe that Chantilly originally opened as a Greatland. The store currently has a large grocery section. If they were to reconfigure things they could build a Super without service deli and bakery in the space they currently have. However, that would mean loosing space elsewhere in the store and as has been discussed in other threads, Target's focus does not seem to be on grocery beyond PFresh.

[storewanderer]

Lakewood, et al. have always had a large Orthodox community. I've had a number of friends and colleagues from around there. Most of their families came to that area because of an Orthodox "back to the land" movement that started in the Bronx and Brooklyn in the early 20th century and more mainstream Orthodox culture including a big summer camp followed. The people I knew grew-up on what were basically hobby farms that often stopped with their parents' generation. I had a friend in Connecticut whose family had been part of the same movement but had created a smaller, less successful farming community East of Hartford. A lot of Italian-Americans also have small farms in the area and I wouldn't be surprised if there was a parallel movement in their communities. Kosher supermarkets might be expanding but they would have entered the area ages ago.

The Greatland program seemed very short lived---they replaced some old Richways with these stores in Atlanta and none became Super Targets. I don't think I've ever seen a Super Target in the Northeast; they've built quite a few regular Targets in the DC area, esp. 10-15 years ago but I can't remember any of them being Super Targets.

I never saw a "program" for Greatland beyond that it was a bigger store with two sets of entrances and additional "services" like pharmacy, portrait studio, etc. What other attributes did this program have? I know I've read it, but I can't really remember anything offhand.

Reno Target had Greatland signage from its opening in maybe 1997 to maybe 2009-2010.