EQUITY RETAIL BLOG

Shoppers Returned To Stores For The Holidays

Shopper traffic to physical retail stores has strongly rebounded from 2020. Data from Placer.ai, a company which measures shopper visits across a wide range of physical stores including grocery, apparel, big box, department and specialty, indicate that shoppers returned for the 2021 holiday season. Store visits were higher than 2020 and slightly ahead of 2019 […]

Saker ShopRite up to 39 stores with acquisition of Perlmart ShopRite

One ShopRite operator acquired another ShopRite operator earlier this month, according to reports. Saker ShopRites, Inc., owned by the Saker family and operators of 32 supermarkets in New Jersey, acquired Michael Perlmutter’s Perlmart, Inc., which operated seven New Jersey grocery stores. Both families were early Wakefern members, the retailer-owned cooperative now in its 75th year. […]

Supermarkets at Montgomery and Plymouth Meeting Malls offered for sale

The Philadelphia Business Journal reported that the supermarkets at Montgomery and Plymouth Meeting Malls are for sale. Wegmans, at 128,000 square feet, has been operating at the Montgomery Mall since 2013, and the 65,000 square foot Whole Foods opened in Plymouth Meeting in 2010. Kohan Retail Investment Group purchased the Montgomery Mall last month for […]

Online grocery sales climb 6% to $8.6 billion in November

The online grocery market in the U.S. generated $8.6 billion in sales for the month of November, and during the month nearly 69 million households purchased groceries online, according to Brick Meets Click. The sales volume and number of households represent 6% and 15% gains over last November, respectively. The data is based on a […]

Starbucks Tests Cashierless Stores

Starbucks is exploring a new store format in partnership with Amazon that will allow customers to buy drinks, snacks and other items without waiting in line, utilizing automated checkout technology developed by the e-commerce giant.  The first concept store opened recently in New York City, on 59th Street between Lexington and Park Avenues. The companies […]

McCaffrey's to open in Gladwyne in former Acme space

The Philadelphia Business Journal’s Natalie Kostelni reported that McCaffrey’s supermarket plans to open in Gladwyne, PA, in the 27,500 square foot space vacated by Acme in 2019. McCaffrey’s is expected to open next fall. Alterra Property Group, which originally proposed to construct 34 apartments and 8,000 square feet of retail on the site, abandoned the […]

Saladworks and Frutta Bowls open in Giant supermarkets

Giant recently added Saladworks and Frutta Bowls stores in four more supermarkets. WOWorks, which seems to me to be a silly name, is the franchisor for both restaurant banners (and Garbanzo Fresh, too). More importantly, it has developed a store-within-a-store expansion plan to open the Saladworks and Frutta Bowls brands together in nontraditional locations. Co-branded […]

Walmart ridicules Whole Foods for new grocery delivery fee

Late last month Whole Foods announced a new $9.95 delivery fee. On the same day, Walmart said it would give $9.95 to shoppers who sign up for its Walmart+ membership platform. And on that same day, Walmart tweeted, “Really? Who charges members a Whole new $9.95 fee to get their groceries delivered?” Walmart jumped at […]

Wegmans plans to add smaller stores in new markets

Wegmans, known for supermarkets in excess of 100,000 square feet, has identified three locations in mixed-use developments for new, smaller stores  that are expected to open in 2022. An 81,300 square foot store is slated for a spring opening in Carlyle-Alexandria, VA that will feature two levels of parking below and residential units above. It […]

Giant opens 124,000 SF e-commerce fulfillment center in Philly

Giant opened its 124,000 square foot Swisslog-automated Giant Direct E-commerce Fulfillment Center (EFC) in Philadelphia last week. The Island Ave. facility serves customers in the Center City and South Philadelphia neighborhoods, as well as some Southern New Jersey communities. More South Jersey markets are slated to be added in the coming months. The EFC will […]