Genuardi’s… and then there were 4
Five Genuardi’s stores transitioned to Giant last week and 10 more will transition later this month. Three stores reopened as Weis supermarkets last month, and one will be a McCaffrey’s within a couple weeks. For those (like me) keeping score, that leaves five open and operating. Next month it’ll be down to four. The Cherry […]
Valu King to compete with Bottom Dollar in Pittsburgh
Giant Eagle, the Pittsburgh, PA-based supermarket, said on Monday its discount grocery brand Valu King will expand into the Pittsburgh market. According to the company’s website, Valu King has four stores in Ohio and three in Pennsylvania. The PA stores are in Johnstown and Erie (2). Bottom Dollar, a Delhaize brand that currently has 27 […]
Occupancy and rents are up at shopping centers
Good news from Reis, Inc., a research company that tracks shopping centers. In the three months ending June 30, occupied space rose by a net 2.06 million square feet, the third largest addition since the first quarter of 2008. Shopping center vacancies dropped for a second consecutive quarter. Vacancies are now at 10.8%, down from […]
Led by Whole Foods, food retailers ahead of Dow Jones pace
Supermarket News tracks the stock prices of food retailers, and they reported last Friday that Whole Foods Market was the industry leader for the first half of the year with a 37.69% gain in price. The Fresh Market, a similar store to Whole Foods in that it’s a high-end market, was next with a 34.41% […]
Supervalu cutting marketing positions
Supervalu (Acme, Save-A-Lot in Greater Philly) announced yesterday it is cutting 39 marketing positions. The company did not specify whether the employees losing their jobs are based at the Eden Prairie, MN headquarters, located elsewhere or a combination of the two. Supervalu has been in the news lately due to the speculation that it’s a […]
Family Dollar to sell more refrigerated and frozen foods
Family Dollar reported yesterday that they plan to continue to increase their assortment of food offered for sale, including a greater selection of refrigerated and frozen foods. Largely as a result of the company’s partnership with McLane Co., Family Dollar said it added 150 food SKUs in February and expects to add 250 more by […]
Giant conversion of 15 Genuardi’s stores to start this week
The 15 Genuardi’s stores sold to Giant (and approved by the Federal Trade Commission) will all be converted by the end of July. Here’s the schedule: Phase 1 – stores to close June 28 and re-open July 8 West Chester Huntingdon Valley Jamison Kennett Square North Wales Phase 2 – stores to close July 5 […]
Market Study: ShopRite, Giant tops again in Greater Philly sales
I received the highly anticipated Market Study issue of the Food Trade News last week. As usual, there was an incredible amount of information about the supermarket industry in the PA, NJ and DE markets. The headline was that ShopRite remains a strong leader (based on total sales) in the 55-county market area that stretches […]
Bernie Kenny turning Delaware ShopRite business over to son Chris
After more than 50 years in the supermarket business and 12 years as the chief executive of Delaware Supermarkets Inc., Bernard Kenny is stepping down. His son, Chris Kenny, will become CEO while Bernard will remain active as chairman. Delaware Supermarkets currently has five stores under the ShopRite (Wakefern) brand, and has a 15% share […]
Supervalu can be bought at a big discount, analysts say
Supervalu (Acme, Save-A-Lot), which operates more than 2,000 supermarkets in the U.S. including Albertsons, Jewel-Osco and Shaw’s, continues to generate press as a takeover target. Last week, Bloomberg said that Supervalu “is offering private equity shoppers the biggest discount of any supermarket chain in America.” Here’s why: The company is expected to turn a profit […]