EQUITY RETAIL BLOG

Target plans on 230 new P-fresh grocery sections in 2012

Target completed about 400 P-fresh remodels in 2011 and plans to slow the pace this year to about 230 stores. A P-fresh remodel greatly expands the grocery offering in a traditional Target store. According to the company, last year’s remodeling efforts were largely in high-volume stores in urban and suburban locations, and they are now […]

Supermarkets selling less than half the nation's groceries

I read an article in the March issue of Shopping Centers Today this morning about food shopping. It had a number of interesting tidbits: Low-income shoppers typically buy 45% of household groceries at a traditional supermarket, 38% at a mass merchandiser (ex. Walmart), and the rest elsewhere (dollar store, drug store, etc.). Shoppers with incomes […]

Nonprofit grocery store to open in Chester, PA

Philabundance, the Delaware Valley’s largest hunger relief organization, recently announced plans to purchase a building that will house a food center called “Fare and Square” in Chester, PA. The 21,000 square foot nonprofit grocery store will be located in an area that hasn’t had a full-fledged supermarket for more than a decade. It will provide […]

Safeway to count on non-core businesses for income growth

We’re used to hearing about struggling companies disposing of non-core businesses in order to concentrate on what they know and do best. However, Safeway announced last week that with supermarkets being a relatively low-growth endeavor these days, adding more non-core businesses will enable it to grow operating income. Examples of non-core activities for Safeway include […]

Bottom Dollar to open 8 more stores in New Jersey

About a month after Bottom Dollar opened 14 new stores in the Pittsburgh, PA and Youngstown, OH markets (see “related blog posts” below), the company announced yesterday that it would open eight new locations in New Jersey. The new stores will all be in the Central and Southern part of the state. New stores opening Friday, March […]

Panera's pay-what-you-can concept to expand

A story in the Detroit Free Press last week detailed the success of the three Panera Cares Cafes in Michigan, Missouri and Oregon. I hadn’t heard of them, and was a bit surprised to read about Panera locations where you can pay the suggested price, pay more, pay less, or pay nothing at all. From […]

Top Brands of 2012

Interbrand has released its top brands of 2012.  5 out of the top 10 are anchors. The link below will allow you to download the full report.  Check it out… Interbrand Report Interbrand Releases 13th Annual Best Global Brands Report Coca-Cola, Apple and IBM lead Interbrand’s 13th annual Best Global Brands report. While Coca-Cola retained […]

Save-A-Lot store count on the rise in PA

At one point last year Save-A-Lot parent company Supervalu said the company would open 160 new Save-A-Lot stores in the next year. They backed off that number in the fall, revising it to 80-90 new stores. This growth has been evident in Pennsylvania, where four have already opened this year, and two more are planned […]

Kimco called the best blue chip REIT by Seeking Alpha

A Seeking Alpha article earlier this week said that “many investors… will want to own blue chip REITs,” calling them a “financially sound, ‘safe’ investment.” The article went on to use Kimco, the “king of the jungle” in the retail sector with 946 properties overall, including many in the Greater Philadelphia region, as an example […]

Weis Markets reports strong quarterly and year-end results

It’s been a busy day for Weis. Not only did they announce the purchase of three Genuardi’s stores in Pennsylvania, but they also announced their quarterly and year-end results. The Genuardi’s news can be found in more detail here, and below is a short summary of their financial results. Sales increased 11.4% for the 14-week […]