Instacart to service PriceRite stores in PA's Lehigh Valley

PriceRite Supermarkets announced yesterday that it is expanding its partnership with Instacart to include the Lehigh Valley, where the grocer has two stores - one each in Allentown and Bethlehem. Instacart already operates in the Lehigh Valley, where about 206,000 households can shop online at Wegmans, Whole Foods and Costco, and have their purchases delivered to them for a fee.

Instacart is already offered at many PriceRite locations in Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island and Virginia.

Wakefern's fiscal 2014 sales rise 4%

Wakefern Food Corp. reported last week that retail sales improved by 4% to $14.7 billion in the fiscal year that ended on September 27, 2014. During the fiscal year store openings included six ShopRite, five PriceRite and six Fresh Grocer stores. In addition, the company expanded its ShopRite from Home services to 214 stores.

PriceRite opens in Camden today

Camden, NJ's first new supermarket in nearly 40 years comes today as PriceRite opens it's doors to the public at the site of a former Pathmark that closed last year. Ravitz Family Markets, which operates five ShopRite stores, is the owner/operator. They plan to open a sixth ShopRite in Camden in 2016.

Delhaize may pull the plug on Bottom Dollar

Food Trade News reported in its August issue that Bottom Dollar Foods, a division of Delhaize America, "has reportedly felt enough competitive heat and is exploring the sale of its 66 stores located in Pennsylvania, Southern New Jersey and Northeast Ohio." 46 of the 66 stores are in the Greater Philadelphia market.

Reportedly several retailers received profile sheets in July and bids for the stores were due on August 13. In addition, Food Trade News learned that Wells Fargo is serving as Delhaize America's investment advisor.

Analysts believe that Delhaize is trying to sell all 66 stores rather than sell individual locations or groups of stores. Supervalu (Save-A-Lot) and Aldi are leading contenders.

According to information that Food Trade News obtained, all but 10 Bottom Dollar stores are leased. The stores typically have significant term remaining and rents of about $10-$12 per square foot, although they range from $1.76 (most likely a ground lease) to $26.23. Store sizes run from 16,848 to 30,352 square feet, with most closer to 20,000 square feet. Weekly sales volumes range from $103,000 to $296,800, with an average weekly volume of $156,802. 

Bottom Dollar entered the Greater Philadelphia Market in 2010, and many industry observers were skeptical. Discount operators like Aldi and Save-A-Lot were already in the market, not to mention PriceRite, dollar stores and Walmart Supercenters. 

Referencing Bottom Dollar locations, the Food Trade News story quoted a veteran merchant as saying "You get what you pay for... After seeing what their operating model was it was pretty clear that their questionable site selection would not be beneficial."

Ravitz to open PriceRite in Camden

Ravitz Family Market, the Wakefern Cooperative member planning to open a ShopRite in Camden (ShopRite to open 75,000 SF store in Camden), announced last month that it would also open a PriceRite store in the city's vacant Pathmark location. The company owns five other ShopRite stores in New Jersey.

PriceRite is expected to open in November and create 80-100 jobs. Much of Camden has been labeled a food desert by the U.S. Department of Agriculture due to its lack of supermarkets and access to fresh produce.

First PriceRite supermarket in New Jersey opens in Garfield

The first PriceRite supermarket not owned by Wakefern is also the first PriceRite in the state of New Jersey, according to a story on NewJersey.com last week.

The 41,000 square foot store is in Garfield and owned by a division of Inserra Supermarkets, which owns 22 ShopRites in New Jersey and New York. Wakefern operates 55 PriceRite stores in six other states.

PriceRite, founded by Wakefern in 1995, competes with limited assortment, budget chains like Aldi and Bottom Dollar. The stores carry a "narrower variety," according to Lawrence Inserra III.

Typical PriceRite stores do not have butcher or deli workers, but do sell pre-packaged meats, and operate on a no-frills model with closeout-style pricing. They also tend to be in more urban areas and where median household incomes are generally lower than in the suburbs.

Wakefern sales increase to $14.1 billion in fiscal 2013

Wakefern reported last week that retail sales reached $14.1 billion for the fiscal year ending September 28, 2013. The figure represents a 3.9% sales increase over the previous year.

During fiscal 2013, the company added 10 new ShopRite stores, four PriceRite stores and one Fresh Grocer store. It also expanded its ShopRite from Home service to 172 stores.

The Wakefern cooperative has approximately 250 ShopRite stores located in NY, NJ, PA, CT, DE and MD, 32 of which are corporately owned. PriceRite, a subsidiary of Wakefern, operates more than 50 stores in CT, MA, NY, PA and RI.

Wakefern reports gain in yearly retail sales

Wakefern Food Corp. announced that retail sales were up 6.4% to $13.6 billion for the company's recently completed fiscal year. In addition, warehouse sales for the cooperative wholesaler and ShopRite parent company were $10.1 billion. For the year, 10 new ShopRite stores and one new Price Rite discount store opened.

Whole Foods, Wakefern reach sales milestones; A&P has deal to exit bankruptcy

Whole Foods Market announced earlier this week that sales for the fiscal year ending September 25 rose 12.2% compared to the previous year and passed the $10 billion mark. During the fiscal year comparable-store sales rose 8.4% and net income increased 39.4% to over $343 million.

For the fourth quarter, the company's sales rose 12.2% compared to the same period one year ago. In addition, net income climbed 31% to over $75 million, and comp-store sales rose 8.7%.

Wakefern Food Corp. (ShopRite, PriceRite) also reached new sales heights. The company announced last week that it reached $12.8 billion in retail sales for the fiscal year ending October 1. Wakefern's sales numbers reflect an 8.5% increase compared to the previous year. Ten new ShopRite stores and two new PriceRite stores opened during the fiscal year.

As for A&P (Super Fresh, Pathmark), the company announced yesterday that it has entered into an agreement to receive almost $500 million in debt and equity financing from private investors. The agreement, which is subject to approval from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, will enable A&P to emerge from Chapter 11 as a private company early next year. This announcement comes nearly a year since the 152-year old company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.