Weis Markets targeting Bedminster, PA for new store; to spend $135 million on CapEx this year

Last week Weis Markets presented its plans to the Bedminster Township planning commission for a 63,000 square foot supermarket and adjacent gas station at the corner of Routes 113 and 313 in Bucks County, not far from Doylestown. Meetings with the Board of Supervisors and the town's municipal authority are planned for the coming months.

Township officials have been hoping for some form of new construction at the site that would result in road improvements paid for by the developer. Rite Aid had received approvals to build on the site, but abandoned its plans.

In related news, Weis announced that it would invest $135 million this year towards 37 major projects, including four new stores and 32 remodels. (I'm not quite sure what the 37th project is.)

Weis currently operates 164 stores in PA, NJ, MD, NY and VA.

Giant's 100th gas station opens in Sourderton

Giant Food Stores opened its 100th fuel station last week, which is located in front of a Giant store in Souderton, PA and directly across from a Super Wawa.

Giant opened its first fuel station in 1998, and has recently been adding stations in the Philadelphia market. There are a number of developers looking for sites in hopes of landing Giant's next fuel station.

Grocery prices are up, but spending is down

According to the semi-annual Acosta Sales & Marketing report titled "The Why Behind the Why," average monthly spending on groceries is 7% less than it was one year ago. This spending decrease is despite the fact that grocery prices are higher than they were in 2010.

Other report findings include the following:

• Americans spend an average of $94.60 on a routine grocery visit. Last year it was $98.70.
• Grocery spending has been affected by high gas prices. The average shopper will make fewer grocery trips when the price of gas reaches $3.70 per gallon.
• 53% of Americans are paying more attention to what they buy at the grocery store; 43% are buying less food; 41% are using coupons or looking for sales; and 22% are shopping at less expensive stores than they once did.

Retail sales and vacancy rates at odds in recent reports, but wait...

Sales: According to Thomson Reuters data on 25 major chains, retail sales in the U.S. increased 1.7% in March, despite a late Easter, high unemployment and rising gasoline prices. Analysts had expected that sales would fall 0.7%. And according to a story in The Wall Street Journal, U.S. retailers expect solid spring sales, despite gas prices, inflation and lackluster consumer confidence. Global consumer strategist Don Palmer says many retailers are actually raising prices more than they have to in order to test their pricing power with customers.

But wait... Mr. Palmer points out there is risk in this pricing strategy, as resistance to rising prices will be delayed and hit later, possibly during the critical back-to-school or holiday sales season.

Vacancy rates: According to Reis, vacancies at neighborhood and community shopping centers, which are usually anchored by discount and grocery stores, rose to 10.9% in the first quarter from 10.7% a year earlier. The rate was unchanged from the three previous quarters and the highest since it reached 11% in 1991. The vacancy rate for regional malls hit 9.1%, also the highest rate since 1991.


But wait... CoStar Group said the vacancy rate for all types of U.S. retail properties (including freestanding stores, malls, strip malls and community shopping centers) fell to 7.1% in the first quarter from 7.4% a year earlier. Furthermore, retail properties overall have had net occupancy gains for seven quarters. More consumer spending and corporate hiring has helped, according to one of CoStar's senior real estate strategists.

There you have it.