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 states, not including Pennsylvania, where a Philadelphia store is planned. There are no stores currently in New Jersey either, and it has been rumored that the company is looking for a site in South Jersey.

According to reports, Sprouts has plans to open 32 stores this year, following 36 new stores last year and 27 in 2015.

Jefferies Anlyst Chris Mandeville said last week that "the logic of a deal makes sense in our view," but added that it would be very expensive.

Albertsons, which is owned by Cerberus Capital, acquired Safeway and Supervalu in recent years. Reports said that the company was in talks to acquire Price Chopper late last year, but the deal never happened.

Albertsons - Price Chopper deal called off

According to a Supermarket News report in late January, Albertsons has dropped its pursuit of Price Chopper, which is headquartered in upstate New York. It had been reported in late 2016 that Albertsons was in "advanced talks" to purchase the supermarket chain for about $1 billion.

It is likely that Price Chopper will continue to seek avenues for new investment, but a strategic acquisition is now unlikely, according to a Supermarket News source.

Strategic Resource Group's Burt Flickinger anticipates that the 135-store chain would seek alternative means of financing such as sale-leasebacks or a family investment in partnership with private equity.

Albertsons on the verge of purchasing Price Chopper

Reports earlier this week state that Albertsons (Acme, Shaw's, Safeway, etc.) is "on the verge" of acquiring Price Chopper, the leading supermarket by market share in the Albany, Schenectady and Glens Falls, NY markets. Price Chopper also has strong market share in Binghamton, NY, Utica, NY, Pittsfield, MA, Worcester, MA and Burlington, VT.

For the better part of this year, Price Chopper has been seeking financial partners to help transform its 135 stores to their new Market 32 format.

Reuters has reported that the price tag would be approximately $1 billion and would not include Price Chopper's real estate assets. Supermarket News estimated that Price Chopper's 2015 sales were $3.7 billion.

The purchase by Albertsons would fill the gap between its Pennsylvania-based Acme and Massachusetts-based Shaw's brands.

Not that it's relevant, but... I grew up in Price Chopper country and my first job was as a stock boy for one of the Clifton Park, NY stores. As an employee, I was mediocre at best (it's safe to say that price labels didn't always make it onto the products at the bottom of the freezer!).

ShopRite expanding to Northern New York and Maryland

As Food Trade News declared in its annual Market Study issue, ShopRite has become the dominant grocery retailer in Northern New Jersey, the Delaware Valley and Greater Philadelphia. And as the Supermarket News reported last week, ShopRite is now competing in new markets.

In recent weeks the company opened its first store in the Albany, NY area. That's Price Chopper territory. In the 70s and 80s it was Price Chopper (where I stocked shelves) and Grand Union (where my best friend worked the register). Now it's Price Chopper and Hannaford (part of the Delhaize Group, which includes Food Lion and Bottom Dollar). The word on the street is that ShopRite is looking to open several stores in the area, including Clifton Park, NY, which is my hometown and home to two Price Choppers, a Walmart Supercenter, a Hannaford and an Aldi. My how the town has grown.

ShopRite is also expanding into Maryland, where it will compete with Giant and Safeway, among others. The bottom line is that it won't be easy for ShopRite in Northern New York or Maryland, but the members of the Wakefern Cooperative are strong operators with a proven recipe for success, and ultimately plenty of staying power. In the end it will be good for consumers, as ShopRite will force its competitors to remain on their game.

Friendly's files for bankruptcy, closes 63 stores

Friendly Ice Cream Corp., which began in 1935 as a neighborhood ice cream shop and grew to more than 600 restaurants, filed for bankruptcy protection yesterday and immediately closed 63 stores. Thirty of the closed stores are in the company's home state of Massachusetts. Three stores closed in the Greater Philadelphia area (Trenton, Doylestown and Pottstown).

In a press release, Friendly's said it was a victim of a challenging economy, high supply costs and changing customer preferences. In a phone interview reported yesterday by The Boston Globe, Chief Executive Harsha V. Agadi said the company already has $70 million in financing secured and hopes for a speedy restructuring.

I'm enthusiastically hoping for such a turnaround. Despite applying for a job at the Clifton Park, NY Friendly's as a teenager (didn't get it; ended up at Price Chopper), it was my go-to place after a movie during my high school and college years. There was nothing like a Reese's Pieces Sundae (the five-scoop kind with Cookies'n Cream ice cream) and a side of fries at 11pm. And it seemed I knew half the people in the crowded restaurant, which I once heard was one of the top performing Friendly's in the country.