Pathmark supermarket to open in Brooklyn... really

Grocery retail cooperative Allegiance Retail Services announced that it plans to open a 49,000 square foot Pathmark supermarket - at the site of a former Pathmark store in Brooklyn, NY - later this month or next. The New Jersey-based cooperative purchased the intellectual property of the Pathmark name and associated marks last year.

Pathmark was a mainstay in the metro New York market for decades until parent company A&P filed for bankruptcy in 2015.

The new store's owner is PSK Supermarkets, which operates about a dozen stores in the New York market, mostly under the Foodtown banner.

Acme lowering prices

According to reports, Acme is advertising "thousands" of new lower prices in sales flyers released this morning. The price breaks come amidst the continued expansion of Aldi and ahead of Lidl's anticipated Greater Philadelphia store openings. Aldi is known as grocery's low price leader (lower than Walmart!), and reports indicate that Lidl's new stores in North Carolina and South Carolina feature prices on par with Aldi.

Acme's campaign is one of the first major shake-ups since Jim Perkins returned to his role as president. In Perkins' previous tenure as president, he used lower pricing to help turn the company around.

Sources have told Supermarket News that some of the A&P stores acquired by Acme in 2015 have not performed as well as expected.

Acme to be repaced by residences in Society Hill, Philadelphia

The Acme store in Philadelphia's Society Hill will close once its lease expires in two years and be replaced by a residential building, according to a report in today's Philadelphia Inquirer. The report says that Alterra Property Group received a conditional zoning permit last week that allows for the demolition of the current building as well as the construction of a five-story structure with 43 underground parking spaces.

Neighborhood residents and the Society Hill Civic Association oppose the project, which needs to be reviewed by the Philadelphia Historical Commission since it's located within a historical district.

Acme acquired the store after A&P's bankruptcy in 2015. It had been operating for several years as a Super Fresh.

ShopRite opens new stores in Philly and Brookhaven, PA

Earlier this month ShopRite opened a 60,000 square foot store in South Philadelphia's Whitman Plaza, replacing an older ShopRite about a mile away. The new store is in a former Pathmark location that Wakefern acquired during A&P's bankruptcy auction last year.

The renovated supermarket includes the standard grocery departments plus an in-store cafe, on-site dietition, and meal planning services for customers. It also offers ShopRite from Home internet shopping with home delivery and store pick-up options.

In August, ShopRite opened in Brookhaven, PA, also in a former Pathmark location. At 63,000 square feet, the store is open 24 hours a day and offers a beer garden as well as grocery delivery services. A Giant supermarket is under construction across the street.

Acme performance improving thanks to new playbook

Prior to Albertsons takeover of Acme in 2013, same-store sales at the one-time Greater Philadelphia market leader were negative in 27 of the previous 28 quarters. Today, thanks in large part to the parent company's "operating playbook," Acme is performing better than it has in years.

According to a Supermarket News story last week, new leadership immediately boosted store standards, customer service and community involvement. In addition, it empowered local buyers to make buying and merchandising decisions, and added "aggressive muscle" to price and promotions.

These efforts paid off quickly. And recently, Acme aggressively pursued stores left vacant by the A&P bankruptcy filing. In all, they bought 73 former A&P, Pathmark and SuperFresh stores for $293 million. The purchase returned Acme to the Northern New Jersey, New York and Connecticut market.

The company's "operating playbook" was applied to the purchased stores, and customers are seeing the results. One Acme shopper told Supermarket News that "customer service is now a major priority, and the store has become the cleanest grocery store I've ever shopped in."

Industry expert Bob Gorland of Matthew P. Casey & Associates believes Acme is a healthier company than it used to be. In addition, he pointed out that they are doing things they weren't doing a few years ago, like remodeling more stores and adding beer cafes.

Key Food Co-op acquires Super Fresh name

Earlier this month the Key Food Cooperative reported that it had acquired the Super Fresh brand from A&P and that it is "planning to open several stores under the Super Fresh banner in the near future, the first of which may be as early as this month."

Key Food previously acquired the Food Emporium banner in a bankruptcy auction and is using that name on properties it acquired from A&P in Manhattan.

Last November the Key Food Cooperative completed the purchase of 23 A&P stores, bringing the total number of stores under its management to 212. It is the largest grocer in New York City.

According to the report, the Super Fresh banner was created in Philadelphia in 1982 as part of a deal between organized labor and A&P. A&P filed for bankruptcy and ceased operations last year after 156 years in business.

A&P has sold 167 of 296 stores; all remaining supermarkets to go dark by Thanksgiving

To quote the Food Trade News, "The wind down of the once iconic Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company goes on and the results continue to be underwhelming."

The publications November issue reports that 167 of the 296 stores have been sold, with another 20 awaiting sales approval from the bankruptcy court. All the stores are slated to shut their doors by November 25.

The 167 stores have sold for a total of $615.7 million, and the 20 additional stores to be sold will bring in another $81 million, pending approval.  A&P has also sold inventories and pharmacy records (about $100 million between the two), and has received a $1.75 million offer from Key Foods to acquire the Food Emporium name.

Once all the stores are closed and A&P is no longer under bankruptcy protection, landlords stuck with vacant stores and no rental income will be free to market their properties (with some exceptions, as per the ongoing bankruptcy process).

So far, 71 stores have been sold to Acme, most of which have already re-opened. Stop & Shop and Key Food Stores acquired 25 and 24 units, respectively. Wakefern (13) and Best Yet (10) also bought multiple stores.

Reference: Food Trade News

A&P to put store names up for auction

Now that A&P's bankruptcy proceedings, including the auctions for its remaining stores, are winding down, the company announced that it plans to take bids for its intellectual property, including brand names for its stores and private brands, its slogans and customer data.

Brands up for grabs include A&P, Pathmark, Waldbaum's, Super Fresh, Food Basics and Best Cellars. Bids are due on November 19.

WARN Notices filed for 94 A&P stores in New Jersey

WARN notices were filed with the state of New Jersey for 94 A&P, Superfresh, Pathmark and Food Basics stores that are slated for closure. The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) was enacted in 1988 and requires employers to provide notice 60 days in advance of covered plant closings and covered mass layoffs. The notice must be provided to either affected workers or their representatives (e.g., a labor union), and to the appropriate unit of local government.

Here is the list of stores from the New Jersey state website: NJ Department of Labor

A website - apteanotice.com - has been set up by A&P that lists the stores closing and the stores under agreement with Acme, Ahold (Stop & Shop) and Key Foods.

Acme to bid on bankrupt A&P stores; several Pathmarks and Superfresh stores to close immediately

One day after A&P filed for bankruptcy for the second time in five years, Acme announced today that it will bid to acquire 76 A&P, Superfresh and Pathmark stores in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.

In a statement by A&P earlier today, the company said it plans to sell 120 stores in total for about $600 million. The food retailer has 296 stores overall, and in its bankruptcy filing it lists assets and liabilities of more than $1 billion each.

Analysts have speculated that Ahold (Giant, Stop & Shop) may bid on certain A&P locations as well.

A report this afternoon by Natalie Kostelni on the Philadelphia Business Journal's website said that A&P has asked a bankruptcy judge "to let it quickly close 25 underperforming stores that have sustained 'significant operating losses.'" A list of stores slated for closure is below.

A story on PhillyVoice.com pointed out that A&P operated more than 15,000 stores early in the 20th century. By 2010, the company was a fraction of its former self and filed for bankruptcy. A couple years later it emerged as a private company after obtaining financing from investors.

Acme is a subsidiary of Albertsons, which acquired Acme in 2013, and the Malvern, PA-based company operates 107 stores.

Stores slated for quick closure:

A&P (2101 Route 35, Holmdel, NJ)
A&P (325 Highway 35 South, Cliffwood, NJ)
Pathmark (1764 Grand Avenue, Baldwin, NY)
Pathmark (115 Belmont Avenue, Belleville, NJ)
Pathmark (450 West Swedesford Road, Berwyn, PA)
Pathmark (2150 Middle Country Road, Centereach, NY)
Pathmark (85 Ackerman Avenue, Clifton, NJ)
Pathmark (895 Paulison Avenue, Clifton, NJ)
Pathmark (50 Racetrack Road & Route 18, East Brunswick, NJ)
Pathmark (561 Route 1, Edison, NJ)
Pathmark (420 McDade Boulevard, Folsom, PA)
Pathmark (651 North Stiles Street, Linden, NJ)
Pathmark (1043 Route 9 North, Old Bridge, NJ)
Pathmark (840 Cottman Avenue, Philadelphia, PA)
Pathmark (85 Franklin Mills Boulevard, Philadelphia, PA)
Pathmark (1256 Indian Head Road, Toms River, NJ)
Pathmark (300 South Best Avenue, Walnutport, PA)
Pathmark (3901 Lancaster Avenue, Wilmington, DE)
Superfresh (1301 Skippack Pike, Center Square, PA)
Superfresh (2105 Philadelphia Pike, Claymont, DE)
Superfresh (863 East Baltimore Pike, Kennett Square, PA)
Superfresh (1851 South Columbus Boulevard, Philadelphia, PA)
Waldbaums (2 Westbury Avenue, Carle Place, NY)
Waldbaums (3620 Long Beach Road, Oceanside, NY)
Waldbaums (1510 Old Country Road, Riverhead, NY)

A&P looking for buyers

Last week A&P, which operates under the Super Fresh and Pathmark banners in the Greater Philadelphia market, acknowledged that it is "seeking alternatives for its business," adding that a sale of the company was only one of its options.

In other words, A&P is for sale.

According to a New York Post story, A&P is looking to sell 137 of its 301 stores, including all 10 of its Food Emporium stores in Manhattan, high-volume Pathmark stores in Queens and Staten Island, and low-volume A&P stores.