ShopRite to Exit Albany

[BillyGr]

So much for Weis. It's just going to be more Price Choppers...

Niskayuna and North Greenbush become Market 32s. Slingerlands subleased, and Albany and Colonie TBD.

Yep, not such a wise (er, Weis) decision

Though, it does confirm that there were two locations that did better than the others (the two they are planning to use), and why they wouldn't buy unless they got all the stores (it sounded like ShopRite was willing to leave those two and sell the other three off).

Of all of them, they are the two the least close to existing PC locations (North Greenbush is kind of halfway between two others, Niskayuna is on the same street but a bit away from the other store) - Slingerlands is like a long block from an existing Market 32, the others are within a couple blocks or a mile from existing stores (both still labelled as PC).

[TW-Upstate NY]

So basically all that happened is that Golub bought out a competitor-nothing more and nothing less.

[mbz321]

I think Wakefern is really struggling outside of its core NJ market

I feel like some of their stores in PA (once you get outside Philadelphia) are struggling as well.

Today I happened to pop in the Hatfield, PA ShopRite for the first time (a suburb 40 minutes North of Philly), a location you toured a few years back. It felt to me like its a bit tired, and to me, felt incredibly dated despite only opening in 2011. So today was a cold, windy day, but the whole vestibule and inside the store around the produce area were leaves everywhere...and I''m not talking about a few, it was like a walk in the woods until you walked into the department a bit! It looks like when this store opened, it had some upscale features like a large prepared foods section/salad bar and a cheese counter, all of which seem to have been abandoned. (There was a small Asian hot bar running, but I have a feeling the staff there are not employed by the store). Many of the checkout lanes up front don't look like they have been used in quite a long time and were crudely blocked off. The traffic also felt very light for a Tuesday afternoon, definitely not a sustainable volume if it is always this way. It also closes at 9PM which is a bit earlier than the others. The only close competition is an Aldi across the street, although there is a Giant, Walmart, Lidl, and Weis in the vicinity. Outside of the store, the whole parking lot reeked of sewage...not sure the cause of that but it was rather off putting. I wonder how the store in West Chester does as you mentioned its the same owner (reviews seem okay and it is open until 11 PM).

Then there is the recently closed store in East Norriton that was sold off shockingly to Acme..you would have thought Brown (the owner)/Wakefern would have tried to get a different operator instead of selling to a competitor (maybe there were no takers?).

[buckguy]

Klein's is the main operator in the Baltimore area and they owned the Calverton store--somehow that got lost here. They also own the store in Baltimore City, which probably came with incentives. Safeway and Giant have never had the kind of market share in Baltimore that they've had in DC. Acme and Food Fair had significant market share in the old days and there were local chains that were built on the infrastructure of those former chains.You can still find Acme A-frames and pylon Food Fairs being operated by independents. It's a more open market and that probably accounts for Weis having done much better there than in the DC area.

Shop-Rite did have stores in Maryland long ago--a short-lived effort by Supermarkets General (Pathmark) in the late 60s. The new MOM's in College Park was one of those locations--it started as an Acme and later was an A&P and then an REI. Pathmark considered entering Maryland in the 90s---there was a sign for a never built store in the Highlandtown area of East Baltimore.

[marketreportblog]

(There was a small Asian hot bar running, but I have a feeling the staff there are not employed by the store).

...

Then there is the recently closed store in East Norriton that was sold off shockingly to Acme..you would have thought Brown (the owner)/Wakefern would have tried to get a different operator instead of selling to a competitor (maybe there were no takers?).

As for the Asian hot food, yes, typically the ShopRite Asian food bars are run by an outside vendor, as are the sushi counters.

And as for East Norriton, I'm unclear on the transition process. Did ACME directly purchase the store from Brown's? Or was it a combination of the lease coming to an end and Brown's choosing not to renew it, while ACME took over the lease from the landlord?

If ACME purchased the store from Brown's, taken alongside the Albany stores being sold to Price Chopper, it signals a major shift in Wakefern policy: in the past, the policy (as I understand it) was that any stores being marketed for sale had to be offered to other members first, then to SRS, and if neither was interested, the store was to be closed. That's how it's been done for a very long time. See by-laws from 2013 here. These moves would signal that Wakefern seems to be increasingly open to selling stores to competitors, something they have avoided in the past. A shift like that could mean that, well, they're more open to selling stores to competitors because they expect to sell more stores to competitors in the future. Or it's not that important, and they're only doing this in a few isolated cases. I think it all comes down to the question of how well Wakefern is doing outside of their core area.

[BillyGr]

If ACME purchased the store from Brown's, taken alongside the Albany stores being sold to Price Chopper, it signals a major shift in Wakefern policy: in the past, the policy (as I understand it) was that any stores being marketed for sale had to be offered to other members first, then to SRS, and if neither was interested, the store was to be closed. That's how it's been done for a very long time. See by-laws from 2013 here. These moves would signal that Wakefern seems to be increasingly open to selling stores to competitors, something they have avoided in the past. A shift like that could mean that, well, they're more open to selling stores to competitors because they expect to sell more stores to competitors in the future. Or it's not that important, and they're only doing this in a few isolated cases. I think it all comes down to the question of how well Wakefern is doing outside of their core area.

Though you could say they followed that with the Albany ones. Could have offered them to other members (with no interest), obviously Wakefern already owned them, then they closed them and sold the locations to PC (not as operating stores, likely due to union vs. not as well).

[marketreportblog]

Four of the five ShopRites are set to become Market 32. Slingerlands is not. The Colonie location is set to move.
https://wnyt.com/top-stories/price-chop ... market-32/

[BillyGr]

Four of the five ShopRites are set to become Market 32. Slingerlands is not. The Colonie location is set to move.
https://wnyt.com/top-stories/price-chop ... market-32/

Actually, both of the stores on Central Avenue (Colonie and Albany) are moves. They have one in Westgate plaza, which is about 3 traffic lights west of the former Shoprite location, along with one just west of the 155 intersection, they say about 2 miles from the former Colonie Shoprite (but it seems closer).

The North Greenbush and Niskayuna locations are totally new (though PC has existing stores in both directions from the North Greenbush one, one on the same road and the other just off on a road it runs into and a ways down the same road from Niskayuna in one direction, I think there is one the other way but not so certain). All those existing ones will remain along with the new locations (the North Greenbush one in particular is quite beneficial, as once one passes that there is but one small Hannaford and then nothing in terms of supermarkets until you reach MA - a lot of fairly open areas, but with enough people that go right past the store site to get to/from work in Albany).

[marketreportblog]

Actually, both of the stores on Central Avenue (Colonie and Albany) are moves. They have one in Westgate plaza, which is about 3 traffic lights west of the former Shoprite location, along with one just west of the 155 intersection, they say about 2 miles from the former Colonie Shoprite (but it seems closer).

Good catch, thanks!

[BillyGr]

Actually, both of the stores on Central Avenue (Colonie and Albany) are moves. They have one in Westgate plaza, which is about 3 traffic lights west of the former Shoprite location, along with one just west of the 155 intersection, they say about 2 miles from the former Colonie Shoprite (but it seems closer).

Good catch, thanks!

You're welcome