A&P to close 25 stores to close immediately...
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)
*Wow! They lost a bundle remodeling this store.
You can view the super deluxe Holmdel store on the blog
by clicking here. (It's at the bottom of the Bonus Store post)
*Wow! They lost a bundle remodeling this store.
You can view the super deluxe Holmdel store on the blog
by clicking here. (It's at the bottom of the Bonus Store post)
Stop and Shop acquires 25 New York stores...
Details at ProgressiveGrocer.com.
This leaves 95 stores on the table for the first round of sell offs.
I'm going to assume that the 25 stores closing are not ones being included in a sake to another grocer? Not a lot of Philly and DE stores on that list, which makes me think those are the areas where Acme might be acquiring stores. And it would make sense for Acme to solidify its grip on those markets since it's been getting kicked around by ShopRite on its home turf for quite some time. Still, that move wouldn't add up to 80 stores so either the number is wrong or Acme is going to get back into northern NJ since it's unlikely they go to NY, and it seems Stop & Shop is already declaring its intentions there. This is proving entertaining so far, and I hate to admit that because an American icon is disappearing and so many people are going to be negatively affected by this. A total shame.
ReplyDeleteI've been reading articles all over the web and it's been inferred that there are currently no potential buyers for these 25 stores so they're just going to close them.
DeleteYes, A&P did officially say it is closing these 25 stores since there is a lack of interest from any buyers and all locations are losing money.
DeleteHowever, one has to suspect that if suddenly someone showed up with money looking to buy one of these stores they would change the plans.
DeleteOne interesting spot is the Pathmark on Route 18. It (along with an attached former RIckel) sits fairly near the road. Then a bit to the right and further back is a Kmart (that had to start as something else). Then even further back is a former A&P that S&S took over after the A&P/Pathmark merger.
One thing that that busy highway doesn't have (unless it's hidden, kind of like the fact that the Milltown Acme is only a couple miles from this area, but one would never find it if you didn't know that) is WalMart.
So, should the Kmart decide to close (which could easily happen with their history as of late) one could see Walmart coming in and buying both properties to take down & rebuild a store there.
Clifton is taking a huge hit with both of its Pathmarks closing. There are two Stop & Shops but they're both on the opposite end of the city. Considering I've seen both of those Pathmarks very busy at times, I'm wondering how the company couldn't make money with them. The one on Paulison looks like it used to be something else at one point, the one on Ackerman was built in the 90's.
ReplyDelete3 of the stores acquired by Stop & Shop are in NJ: Pathmarks in Butler and South Orange and the A&P in Closter.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nj.com/bergen/index.ssf/2015/07/stop_shop_to_buy_25_ap_stores_including_3_in_nj.html
No surprise with Butler, although technically the Pathmark is located in Kinnelon and the current Stop & Shop is in Butler. For years I had suspected Stop & Shop wanted to replace the old store (former Grand Union) and was just waiting for A&P to get desperate and sell off the Pathmark.
ReplyDeleteA blast from the past... nicely-preserved from 1990.
ReplyDeletehttp://articles.philly.com/1990-09-20/news/25877181_1_acme-stores-acme-markets-walt-rubel
All I have to say is... wow. 25 years ago, Acme has 275 stores. They had 38 percent (!) of the Philly market with second place going to PATHMARK with 10 percent. And who might have bought Acme all the way back in 1990? How about A&P, with 76 Superfresh stores in the Philly area?
How the mighty have fallen in 25 years. Now the bones of one dead company might be picked by a company that probably wasn't too far from death not too long ago...
Claymont is from around 2001 - they vacated an old Colonial store to move down the pike into new, much larger digs. I was in there a few months ago and they were resetting the whole store. Not sure if they were remodeling anything. Store still looked very dated.
ReplyDeleteFood Lion moved into the old Super Fresh probably 3-4 years ago. I assume they captured a majority of the business in the city to cause the Super Fresh to start losing money.
The Wilmington store is kind of a mystery as there really isn't anything else out that way. But it is probably too far out of the city proper for those without cars. I think they had a lot of problems with theft as well. I never serviced that store much as a vendor so I don't know it that well. I imagine those who rely on public transportation are going to the giant Shoprite that was built on the southern edge of the city.
That leaves Delaware with three Pathmarks and three Super Freshes. None of which are particularly attractive looking stores. The Pathmark in Newark does decent business because the university is nearby, but it is in a dead shopping center (which is supposed to be revitalized soon). Acme has a store at the other end of the city which also does tremendous business and is closer to the newer student housing. There is a tiny, old Super Fresh at the north end of the city that outlived a newer, larger one further south simply because of its' location - close to housing developments and student housing. It is also in a decaying shopping center which has seen better days. In New Castle you have a Pathmark and a Super Fresh in different parts of town. They also compete with a BJ's Wholesale and a fairly new Food Lion, which last I heard wasn't exactly setting the world on fire. If A&P exits these two locations or doesn't find a buyer, I could see the Food Lion stepping up its' game. Though Acme may be interested in the Pathmark because it is on busy US 13 and is a much larger store than the older Super Fresh on DE 9. The last store is a Super Fresh in north Wilmington. Very much a neighborhood store and does quite well and is in a thriving shopping center with other shopping centers at the same intersection. Acme could really lock up north Wilmington if they took it over - though I would like to see them expand the store.
On a side note, it is interesting that the Safeway and Acme on Naaman's Road (directly across the street from one another) are still both going strong. That Safeway was a powerhouse back when it was a Genuardi's. Lots of loyal customers. The Acme also did quite well. I don't know of their present history. Though they will both probably suffer some when the Wegmans opens in November in Concordville PA. Though the Glen Mills Acme and Whole Foods will both take a bigger hit.
And the news you've been waiting for:
ReplyDeletehttp://news.yahoo.com/acme-markets-announces-bid-purchase-76-p-stores-233400065.html
Here is a link to all of the A&P-affiliated stores that have been sold to Acme, Ahold/Stop & Shop, and Key Food:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.apteanotice.com/faq/
It looks like Acme will indeed be returning to Northern NJ (and NY State as well). It is interesting that Acme will get a second chance at its one-time location in New Providence.
I notice that ShopRite isn't getting in on any of the old A&P locations. Did Acme, Ahold and Key beat them or is ShopRite not interested in any of these locations? Or will some of the ShopRite owners go after the closed stores?
DeleteI also notice that Ahold is being rightfully careful not to purchase stores where there is potential overlap with Food Lion whom they are purchasing. And off topic, but along those lines, I'm curious to know how Ahold is going to integrate Food Lion, which is non-union, into its union operating areas of Giant-MD. Just a curiousity in my mind.
Lastly, I'm wondering if Wal-Mart might try to get in on some of the closing A&P locations. Wal-Mart has been building much smaller stores that still have full grocery or opening Neighborhood Markets where there isn't space or support for a Supercenter. In northern Delaware Wal-Mart has no Supercenters. Maybe they'd like a Neighborhood Market or two if there is support.
I'd like to think A&P said... "ShopRite helped do us in. They're not getting any of our stores. We're giving them to our ol' pal ACME!!!"
DeleteSince ShopRites aren't corporate owned, wouldn't it be up to the individual owners to acquire locations?
DeleteI'm curious about Montclair. Acme is buying the A&P on Valley Road. It's a beautiful store- an expanded and remodeled Centennial. Truthfully, if Acme is okay with keeping the A&P décor, they could slap their logo on the building and call it a day. It's a nice part of Montclair- of the five other grocery stores in the immediate area, two are Kings and two are Whole Foods. Acme will have a nice store and still be among the cheapest in the area.
As for that fifth store, it's a Pathmark, only a couple miles away (but ten or so minutes when you take Montclair traffic into account). It's on the side of Montclair closer to Newark, so the area isn't the greatest, but not bad either. It's actually a few blocks away from the store that Acme used to have in Montclair up until the late 90's (featured here on the blog). It's a huge Pathmark, probably larger than any Acme needs to be. But it would be perfect for a ShopRite. Maybe that is the plan.
There is a ShopRite in nearby Nutley- expanded many times because what was cutting edge in the 50's isn't cutting edge fifty years later. The store does so well that the owner purchased a shuttered Pathmark in Belleville and built a new ShopRite to take some of the burden off of the Nutley location. I would imagine that ShopRite owner could open another one in Montclair- it would probably be part of his/her territory since there are no other ShopRites in the immediate area. I have a feeling a lot of the stores we're wondering about have different buyers competing- something tells me Stop & Shop, Key Foods and maybe even Acme aren't done buying yet.
Shoprite has a lot of coverage in that area. I don't really see why they need another store when the surrounding area (Bloomfield, Nutley, West Orange, East Orange, Orange, Belleville, Little Falls, West Caldwell) has so many locations. I can see Stop & Shop making a run at that Montclair store.
DeleteI'm dumbfounded that nobody thought to at least buy the Botany Pathmark. High traffic location, big store...that shopping center's probably gonna lose both its anchors by next year if Kmart doesn't get outta trouble.
I imagine the owners of the ShopRites in that area would want to protect their turf, so this would be their time to buy the store and do that, although I did forget about the ShopRite nearby in West Orange.
DeleteI think ShopRite will bid for locations at a premium price when other operators want them...because that would drive up their cost-base. They seem to use their immense brand-power to draw shoppers to locations that are not as nice or convenient and this obviously is a winning strategy for them. Sometimes, when they have smoked out a competitor, they purchase the real-estate at a discount and move-in.
ReplyDeleteIt's also worth noting, and Acme has stated in their press releases, that other operators could outbid them for some of the A&P locations they want. In particular, I could see Whole Foods or Fresh Market bidding for some.
ShopRite/PriceRite and Foodtown will probably end up with some of the leftovers, but ShopRite has pretty much saturated this trade area.
Never thought about Foodtown, probably because all they ever seem to do is close stores these days. I imagine a Foodtown operator would come in at the very end when A&P is willing to give the last stores away for peanuts. That would make it compelling for an independent owner/operator to come along (or a Foodtown owner) and give the location a shot.
ReplyDeleteIt's true Foodtown is closing in the burbs...but they have been expanding in higher-income and urban communities at the same time. They have opened like 15 new stores over the past 5 years in Brooklyn and Queens and they now operate under several banners. They opened in a former Pathmark in Whippany (which used to be a Foodtown.) under the Farmtastix banner. They also are opening at the new transit village development in downtown Bloomfield as street-level retail early next year. Their members are very good at operating in smaller locations, which is why I think they may snap up a few A&P's or Food Basics in the end. But besides Foodtown, there are tons of other operators I can see that might snap up some locations--Kings, Seabras, Weis, Hmart. Northern Jersey is extremely diverse...and the non-conventional operators such as Super Exito, Hmart and Compare Foods are tough competitors. Look how that tiny Super Exito in Botany Village outlived the giant Pathmark next store. Acme traditionally is not great at catering to diverse clientele. It's gonna need to up its game big-time if it wants to succeed in some of these Pathmark stores like Jersey City, Newark, Bergenfield, Elmwood Park, Weehawken. Yikes!
DeleteThat Super Exito in Botany has been four different things in the last decade. It's also filthy and disgusting, and it smells funny.
DeleteIn regards to the Pathmark at Philadelphia Mills, this location has direct competition from a Super Walmart, as well as a Redner's and a Acme Sav-on.
ReplyDeleteEw with our luck the Franklin Mills Pathmark will sit vacant for a bit then get subdivided with one piece becoming another dreaded Spend-A-Lot, which is my personal least favorite of all the discount/knockoff grocery chains >:( >:( >:(
DeleteWell, the reinforcement of the exercise happened: the Pathmark on Paulison Avenue has its closing sign up, entire store is to be sold off by Labor Day including fixtures.
ReplyDeleteThe Pathmark of Franklin Mills started their Closing sale this past Friday, July 31, 2015
DeleteFollow up on Clifton: Paulison to close September 4. Botany to start its.liquidation sometime shortly after that, which I found strange because I figured both would go down together.
ReplyDeleteJust saw the closing signs up at SF on Columbus Blvd.
ReplyDeleteSeptember 4th is the Devon Pathmark's last day. I would guess that applies to the rest of these as well. Anyone know what the deal will be with fixture sales?
ReplyDeleteWe need another food supermarket on Paulson avenue in clifton where the prices of food are reasonable and not too expensive.
ReplyDelete