EQUITY RETAIL BLOG

Grocery co-ops planning to open in Philly and Bethlehem

Groundbreaking took place last week for a grocery cooperative in Bethlehem, PA, which has been described by city officials as “the most important project in the City.” And a grocery cooperative signed a lease for a property in the Germantown section of Philadelphia. It will be the organization’s fourth location in the city. Bethlehem, PA […]

Weis Markets has record sales in '21; plans for $150 million in CapEx

Weis Markets announced earlier this month that it plans to increase its capital expenditures by 11% to $150 million for 2022 by investing in new stores, remodels, fuel centers, IT upgrades and store improvement projects. The increase in spending follows a year in which the grocer generated $4.2 billion in net sales, its highest total […]

Philly On The Verge of Another "Rendell" Moment

In a recent Philadelphia Inquirer article, local business leaders discuss how Center City Philadelphia has nearly recovered to pre-pandemic levels of jobs and downtown foot traffic, although non-resident workers still haven’t fully returned physically to their Philly workplaces. In fact, according to a new report from the Center City District, the city could be on […]

Grocers And Restaurants Are Leading Retail Growth

For the First Time in 5 Years, Brick-and-Mortar Retail Openings Are on Track To Outnumber Store Closings Here’s something to look forward to: Brick-and-mortar store openings in 2022 are on pace to outnumber store closings for the first time in five years. The trend is an ironic byproduct of the pandemic, said Erik Foster, a […]

Amazon's physical store sales grow 17.1% in first quarter

Despite an overall loss in the first quarter of nearly $4 billion (due to an investment valuation loss), Amazon experienced a double-digit gain in the first quarter by its brick-and-mortar stores. For the quarter ended March 31, physical-store sales, which include Whole Foods Market, grew 17.1% compared to the same quarter last year. The increase […]

BJ's to open new, smaller format store

BJ’s Wholesale Club has unveiled a new, smaller-format store called BJ’s Market that’s about half the size of a normal club location. The 43,000 square foot store is scheduled to open later this week in Warwick, RI. According to BJ’s, the new concept will offer fresh foods, produce, sundries and seasonal products, among others, and […]

$580 Million in Upcoming Philadelphia projects

Recent proposed projects in Philadelphia show how some of the city’s development hotbeds are continuing to heat up. Just since February 2022, over $580 million in new projects have been proposed for the Greater Philadelphia region. In Fishtown, an area in east Philadelphia, a mixed use development (the Frankford) is being planned for 1120 Frankford […]

Study shows that 87% of grocery shoppers still prefer the in-store experience

A report released earlier this year by Advantage Sales revealed that nearly nine in 10 households’ principal shoppers buy their groceries mostly or only in person, even though online grocery has increased significantly since the pandemic. The study of more than 1,000 U.S. adults who do at least half of their household’s grocery shopping reported […]

The Fresh Market sits atop USA Today "Best Supermarkets" list

The Fresh Market recently topped the list of the “Best Supermarkets in America” in USA Today’s 2022 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards. The specialty grocer, which operates 159 stores in 22 states, finished number one in the poll last year as well. Midwestern grocer Hy-Vee came in second, followed by Aldi. Here’s the complete top 10 […]

Grocery Outlet now offering Instacart delivery

Grocery Outlet, the “value grocer” that has been actively expanding in the Greater Philadelphia market, announced last week that it has rolled out Instacart’s online delivery service to almost all of its stores. According to the company, nearly 400 stores in Pennsylvania, California, Oregon and Washington now offer Instacart’s same-day delivery service. The Instacart rollout […]