Crucial times for Shoppers

[buckguy]

Very uneven amounts of house brand stuff--I wonder if there's a strategy to it. There also was some patchiness to name brands--The one brand of pasta was "Iberian" which I've rarely seen anywhere. In other departments, like coffee, they had all the usual brands.

I noticed the mismatched flooring. It seemed like it was there to highlight where the endcaps or aisles went straight through. It seemed like a needless, probably somewaht expensive touch, given that the decor was pretty minimal and probably very cheap.

The fresh stuff looked forgettable but not bad (no smells or insects), but I didn't spend much time there.

I came away guessing that they're treading water there and that the store managed because it's just far enough away from major competition to have its own niche. The nearest Giant (a bit further away than Lidl) seems to get the college student trade and has always been a very high volume store. The execution at Shoppers seemed confusing in terms of price, selection and the image they were trying to project---which seems to reflect their later years, generally. I'm surprised Safeway didn't buy this one---they used to have a store where the Lidl is now. It might work as well for them as for Shoppers--maybe a little better because they know how to merchandise stores for different locations. It's too close to the existing Giant, but they could have bought it as a way to defend their dominance of the area.

[storewanderer]

I think the jury is still out on what exactly will happen to Shoppers. The confused merchandising is very strange given they are wholesaler owned they have access to tons and tons of different products. The person running Cub left or is about to leave to take a job at a competitor, he was an old Albertsons person and seemed pretty strong.

[buckguy]

Here's a Shoppers that soon will be a Giant in the Baltimore area: https://www.wmar2news.com/local/giant-f ... 0in%202024.

The article mentions a recent renovation of the center, which is owned by Federal Realty investment Trust, one of the largest landlords in the region---I'm guessing that they recruited Giant as a better fit for their upgrades. There's a legendary crab cake place a few miles down on the other side of the freeway (a real old school place that looks like its from the 50s, but claims to be from the 70s) and some relatively new big boxes like Floor and Decor closer-by. That general area is mostly middle income and long established but is convenient to Towson (the hub for upscale retail in the Baltimore area) and the well-off north/central areas of Baltimore City. Losing this store basically takes them out of Northeastern areas of Baltimore County.

[storewanderer]

I wonder if Shoppers wanted to be losing this store of if they were forced out by the landlord/outbid for the space.

I can't blame the landlord if Giant is interested in the space, for going with getting Giant into the space.

There is no telling when UNFI may decide to close Shoppers again.

[buckguy]

It's not super far from existing Giants, but it looks like it fills a gap for them in the region and won't be a replacement for an existing location, although it's not in an area that's growing.

[BatteryMill]

I wonder if Shoppers wanted to be losing this store of if they were forced out by the landlord/outbid for the space.

I can't blame the landlord if Giant is interested in the space, for going with getting Giant into the space.

There is no telling when UNFI may decide to close Shoppers again.

BizJournals confirms it was a decision on Perring Plaza's owner's behalf.
https://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/n ... osing.html

That prediction would be confounding considering Shoppers has made a strong effort in the past year to expand and reinvest in stores.

[mjhale]

Giant had a store on the other side of Perring Parkway on Joppa Road. It is a Savers Thrift Store now. Giant closed the store in 2007. The store was a classic "cheese grater" style store. This will put Giant back up against Safeway in North Plaza across Joppa Road.

[mjhale]

I wonder if Shoppers wanted to be losing this store of if they were forced out by the landlord/outbid for the space.

I can't blame the landlord if Giant is interested in the space, for going with getting Giant into the space.

There is no telling when UNFI may decide to close Shoppers again.

BizJournals confirms it was a decision on Perring Plaza's owner's behalf.
https://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/n ... osing.html

That prediction would be confounding considering Shoppers has made a strong effort in the past year to expand and reinvest in stores.

Who knows how long that commitment will last. UNFI said that it wanted out of running the retail stores. If I'm a landlord and I had Giant knocking on my door I'm taking it. At least with Giant you know that Ahold is committed to the business and you don't have to worry about a sudden change in direction from UNFI that they actually do follow through with exiting the retail business. The space stays occupied and it stays as a grocery store going forward. No need for the landlord to risk loosing Shoppers and having to contend with the rotating furniture stores (lol) or worse, a huge empty space.

[BatteryMill]

Who knows how long that commitment will last. UNFI said that it wanted out of running the retail stores. If I'm a landlord and I had Giant knocking on my door I'm taking it. At least with Giant you know that Ahold is committed to the business and you don't have to worry about a sudden change in direction from UNFI that they actually do follow through with exiting the retail business. The space stays occupied and it stays as a grocery store going forward. No need for the landlord to risk loosing Shoppers and having to contend with the rotating furniture stores (lol) or worse, a huge empty space.

The UNFI statement was obviously from before 2020, as the company was unloading large quantities of stores. The only pointer I have towards that are the few Shoppers closings made since and perhaps the leadership change at UNFI. For that I'll have to see if any more closings happen, or if the Charlotte Hall and Waldorf openings are cancelled.

[mjhale]

The UNFI statement was obviously from before 2020, as the company was unloading large quantities of stores. The only pointer I have towards that are the few Shoppers closings made since and perhaps the leadership change at UNFI. For that I'll have to see if any more closings happen, or if the Charlotte Hall and Waldorf openings are cancelled.

UNFI sold Smith Avenue in Baltimore and the Fairfax, VA location to Safeway in 2021. At that time they also closed the Crofton, MD location. Shoppers closed Manassas in 2021 which became Giant. And now the Perring Plaza store. Landlords aren't looking at some far off potential openings in Southern Maryland to guide them to keeping a stable tenant in their space. Shoppers is on rocky ground right now in my opinion. One moment they are selling off locations and closing stores. Then the next moment they are opening stores. No consistency. Why would a landlord stay with Shoppers in this state when they could have a strong grocer like Giant or Safeway in their space. Even if Safeway is divested in the Albertsons-Kroger merger, you are more likely to have an ongoing store than with Shoppers where the parent company seems to have no long term strategy to keep and grow the company.