EQUITY RETAIL BLOG

Many supermarkets remain closed due to Hurricane Sandy

Many supermarkets remain closed due to Hurricane Sandy, including the following:   ShopRite – 17 stores closed as of this morning, most of which are in New Jersey. Stop & Shop – 10 stores (five in NY and five in NJ) were closed as of yesterday. Whole Foods – four of the company’s seven New […]

Costco to ramp up openings, capital spending

During a conference call a couple weeks ago to discuss earnings, a Costco executive said the company plans to open 27-30 new stores next year, the most since 2007. Along with the openings, capital spending is expected to grow to nearly $2 billion, compared to $1.5 billion spent in the fiscal year that ended on […]

Potential buyer rumored for Supervalu as company posts earnings loss

It was widely reported yesterday that Cerberus Capital Management may make a bid for struggling grocery giant Supervalu, whose banners include Acme and Save-A-Lot in the Philadelphia market, and Albertson’s, Jewel-Osco and others around the country. Cerberus is a private equity firm established in 1992 that has made investments in distressed companies like Chrysler, and partnered […]

Walmart to invest billions in food pricing

Last week Walmart’s chief merchandising officer said the company plans to invest $6 billion in retail pricing by 2017, with the investment primarily in food and consumables. He also said they expect to have more than 500 Neighborhood Markets operating – with total sales of $10 billion – by fiscal 2016. According to Walmart’s website, […]

Genuardi's disposition causes Safeway sales decline

Safeway reported last week that the disposition of its Genuardi’s stores in PA and NJ contributed to a sales decline in the third quarter ended September 8. The company realized an after-tax gain of $49 million and cash proceeds of $111 million on the sale of 16 Genuardi’s units and the closure of an additional store […]

Analysts predict better year-end for supermarkets

Industry analysts said earlier this month that they expect the financial performance of supermarkets during the second half of the year to be slightly better than in the first half. Reasons cited include the following:   A slowdown in inflation, which may result in better value propositions; Slow but ongoing acceleration in the general economy; […]

Staples: Closing Some & Buyout Interest

Staples closing 45 stores in Europe and 15 in the Unted States.  Private equity firms have also expressed interest in purchasing the company.  Business Week Article Staples to close 30 stores Staples spokesman Kirk Saville would not comment as to whether any job reductions are in the works when the company lowers its store count by […]

Supervalu attracting buyers for parts, not the whole

A Bloomberg story reported last week that Supervalu (Acme & Save-A-Lot in the Philadelphia market) has attracted buyers that are interested in parts of the company rather than the whole. Supervalu prefers to sell the entire company, and has extended the deadline for offers past the original October 15 deadline. It has been working with […]

Retail vacancy rate declines in North/Central New Jersey

Although The Goldstein Group says that retail vacancies along highways in Northern and Central New Jersey dropped to its lowest level in three-and-a-half years this summer, their report notes that it’s still a tenant’s market. The vacancy rate dropped to 7.7% (from 7.9%), but 7.6 million square feet of empty space remains along 22 highway […]

Online grocery shopping growing at high rate

Online grocery shopping is increasing at an annual rate of 9.6%, according to research recently published by IBISWorld. The company also estimates that online grocery shopping will be a $9.4 billion industry five years from now. Researches say the growth, which well outpaces the U.S. GDP, is largely due to the economic recovery and the […]