Grocery Outlet thriving by selling national products for less
A feature story in Shopping Center Business earlier this year explained the continuing success of Grocery Outlet, a 70-year old, privately held grocery chain with 265 stores, 20 of which are in Pennsylvania. The author, Katie Sloan, points out that the company has made a name for itself by offering national brands at lower prices. […]
Kroger slows pace of new stores, analysts cite over-stored market
Kroger’s plans for this year include a 35% reduction in new store development, expansions and relocations as compared to last year, according to a company filing with the SEC. Kroger has 55 projects planned for 2017, while last year it had 85. In addition, Kroger’s cap-ex plans for the year include 175 major remodels plus […]
Shipt to begin Costco delivery service
Shipt, a delivery service headquartered in Birmingham, AL, announced late last month that it would start delivering Costco products to customers in Tampa, FL, with plans to expand Costco service to 50 markets by the end of the year. Shipt says it is already working with Whole Foods, H-E-B, Harris Teeter and Meijer. For a […]
Fresh Grocer, UPenn in litigation over Acme deal in University City
The Philadelphia Business Journal reported last week that Acme signed a lease with the University of Pennsylvania for a 34,500 square foot store on Walnut Street in University City. However, Fresh Grocer currently operates a store there and doesn’t plan to leave, even though Penn notified them that their lease expired on March 31. Penn’s […]
Wegmans plans openings for two NJ stores
Wegmans announced that new stores in Hanover, NJ and Montvale, NJ will open this year on July 23 and September 24, respectively. Each store will feature a Burger Bar, which is Wegmans’ in-store restaurant counter. They will also have wine, beer and spirits shops operated by a third-party. The stores are the company’s closest locations […]
Target unveils “reimagined” store design
Target unveiled its design last week for a “reimagined” 124,000 square foot store, the first of which is scheduled to open near Houston, TX in October. An additional 40 stores are slated to be redesigned during the same time period. Target plans to convert about 500 stores to the new design – or a similar […]
Giant to close to Lancaster County stores
Giant Food Stores announced it would close two stores in Lancaster County, PA on May 18. The stores are located on Reservoir Street in Lancaster and Fruitville Pike in Manheim. According to a story in Pennlive.com, the Lancaster store is 37 years old, and the Manheim location was acquired 10 years ago.
Albertsons in talks to acquire Sprouts
It was reported last week that Albertsons is considering a deal to acquire Sprouts Farmers Markets, and an industry source told me that he thought the likelihood of such a deal was 50-50. Sprouts, based in Phoenix, is the largest farmers’ market-style food retailer in the country. It operates more than 250 stores in 15 […]
Food deflation and competition hurting supermarket profit margins
A story this morning in USA Today reported that “low food prices and razor-sharp competition” are putting a serious dent into grocery chain profit margins. However, the issue is good news for consumers, who last year saw the first annual decline in supermarket prices since 1967. According to Supermarket Analyst Phil Lempert, the low food […]
Aldi to spend billions on new stores and remodels
Aldi announced earlier this year that it plans to remodel more than 1,300 stores by 2020 at a cost of $1.6 billion. The remodeled stores will focus on fresh items, including produce, dairy and bakery sections, and feature open ceilings, natural lighting and environmentally-friendly building materials. Currently Aldi owns and operates about 1,600 stores in […]