Location: 481 River Rd, Edgewater, NJ
Opened as an Acme on October 9, 2015
Every time I have stepped in the store over the past couple of months, I've imagined seeing the walls stripped of it's Pathmark décor and slathered with spackling in preparation for a remodel. My hopes have been even higher lately as Acme is ramping up its remodels. Well, last Thursday evening, I walked in and saw exactly what I have been imagining all this time! Funny thing... I was in a rush and entered through the Pharmacy door which I'm pretty sure I've never done before. This put me over by the first aisle where the first thing I noticed was the paper product image gone from the wall. At first I though it may have fallen off but the I took a quick look around to find ALL the décor removed from every wall!
As of last Thursday, the remodel looks to be just a décor swap. No reset is happening, the floors are not being touched and no new cases. The store was fully remodeled in the mid-2000's so everything is still in decent shape. One thing I'm hoping for is for the ceiling to get painted back to white. Not a fan of the beige treatment that both Pathmark and A&P have done during their 2000's remodels.
This will be the third remodel I've watched this store go through in the past 17 years.
Perfect spot for the retro logo wall! As we've seen, the acquired A&P stores haven't been getting the logo wall. This store does have a ton of wall space to be covered since the Deli and Seafood departments are out on the sales floor.
Returned on Saturday to check the progress
and the Quality Built colors have arrived!
and the Quality Built colors have arrived!
Seafood will have the same blue as the Deli instead of the gray that it is used in the Meat Department.
Just one coat of yellow in Dairy but this area of the store is already looking better!
I'll try not to go overboard with updates on this store but since I'm in here several times a week, I might not be able to help myself.
PHOTOS TAKEN
A FEW DAYS LATER...
So here's how it's done! This wall will say "This Is Your Acme".
Produce ceiling has been painted to match the rest of the store.
Acme logo going up around the corner from Seafood.
Dairy sign before the white frame went up.
Third area of the store that will be getting "This Is Your Acme".
PHOTOS TAKEN AFTER
THE DÉCOR WAS COMPLETE...
Acme opted to keep Pathmark's Natural and Organic rather than replacing it with their own.
I continue to be blown away with the volume of business this Acme does.
The Live Bistro is now Fresh to Go. Not much fresh food to be seen on this side of the department.
Do you think ACME will be remodeling all of their stores, or are they just doing a bunch?
ReplyDeleteMore than a bunch but less than all. Some are just getting minor refreshes.
DeleteSome stores might be waiting for serious remodels.
ReplyDeleteThe Wildwood store was given a remodel (more like a refresh as not much was changed except for the wall decor and customer service area) but the nearby North Wildwood store that used to be a Superfresh remains as it did. I have a feeling it will get major attention this next off season. Seems to me that a lot of former Pathmarks might need that kind of investment as well.
And especially in that area it would make sense since they are bound to be quieter in the cooler months than they are now. In fact, should it need major efforts they could probably even close it for a time and direct people to their original store in the area?
DeleteI'd like to see an improvement over the A&P stores (operations, pricing) rather than (literally) a new coat of paint.
ReplyDeleteActually, one question: what did ACME with the "Bistro" at the store?
The operations at the former A&P are already much improved since Acme took over.
DeleteThe Live Bistro is nothing more than an exposed kitchen used to prepare some of the hot foods.
That's a bit disappointing regarding the Bistro, I was hoping it would be like what H-E-B in Texas had, where in nicer stores there would be a kiosk (initially "Showtime" and later "Cooking Connection") where there was a live chef that prepared samples of gourmet food (on display/sale at the kiosk) and have wine samples. I was hoping ACME could adopt something like that and it could spread to other stores in the Albertsons Companies.
DeleteThat's what Pathmark originally did with the area. Didn't go over well. Just created a lot of noise and chaos along the front-end.
DeleteShucks. I think Pathmark screwed up because of execution reasons, though, and not the concept was unsound (maybe it was in the wrong place, the stores where H-E-B had it was nestled firmly within the perishable departments). I imagine the tendency for A&P to push Pathmark as a low-end brand didn't help matters.
DeleteThe Live Bistro came and went before A&P bought Pathmark.
DeleteThe 'Live Bistro' thing just doesn't work. It must be super costly to run from a store's perspective, with sales that don't match, as other chains have tried it too without much success (specifically, a 'Super' Giant or Carlisle store near me. People just aren't going into 'regular' grocery chains for that kind of prepared food like they do at Wegmans and such.
DeleteThey didn't cook food at the "Live Bistro" to sell in the prepared foods dept. It was used for demonstration purposes.
DeleteShopRite in Morristown did it. It was very successful but they shut it down anyway.
DeleteWonder if they'll reface the facade outside to get rid of the Pathmark shape behind the letter?
ReplyDeleteWhy would they need to? It isn't really necessary.
DeleteWould've loved to have seen that on the Botany store, considering how it's another store like Edgewater, but that's not what Acme wanted.
Still no sign of a remodel at the Warren store. It needs it A lot more then many stores have allready got it
ReplyDeleteFunny, I was just there today to see if they remodeled it. No changes in South Plainfield, New Providence, or Old Bridge either, though those stores are a lot more modern looking than Warren.
ReplyDeleteThe ones I know of that have been or are in the process of being refreshed are Blairstown (PF&H signange), Kenilworth, Clark, Wall, Ocean City, and now Edgewater. Are there any others? I wonder how exactly they're determining the order of stores to be remodeled.
Yonkers and Rye Brook are being remodeled.
ReplyDeleteMost of the A&P stores that are now Acme's seem to have many more employees and I the shelves are stocked. However, Acme's prices are nearly identical to the SuperValu days. My 2 local Acme's are King of Prussia and Phoenixville. King of Prussia had a reset awhile back but needed a complete remodel in order to compete. It's dreadfully dated and no matter how nostalgic it's Circus decor might be, it's not what the people in King of Prussia want. They want something clean and fresh and bright. Which is why the sales are suffering. And as for Phoenixville, can they at least spring for a coat of paint??? The Paoli store is constantly updated and invested in. Might be worth a shot to sling a few bucks into Phoenixville and KOP!
ReplyDeleteSales are off because the pricing still isn't there. Even though people in the KOP area generally have more disposable income, why stop at Acme when they can hop on over to Wegmans and get higher quality products and lower prices?
DeleteI rarely shop at Acme besides grabbing a couple of cherry-picked sale items because their everyday pricing is still astronomical.
I went to the Denville Carnival and I went into the Denville Acme to buy some snacks for the firework show and what did I see inside? QUALITY BULIT! Alot of them are being updated now.
ReplyDeleteI agree, but at least Acme could make an effort in KOP. Moving some shelves around was minimal effort. Companies everywhere are putting investments into their properties in KOP, and the Acme is dated and just looks worn out. And I just don't understand why Acme refuses to compete with their pricing. Part of one of the biggest grocery store chains in the US, and there is almost zero effort made. Remodels going on everywhere, except for the 2 wealthiest counties in PA, Montgomery and Chester (except for Devon)
ReplyDeleteI suspect they really cannot afford to invest in too many price cuts. Price cuts are extremely expensive and cut into already thin margins. Remember when Kmart cut its prices in an effort to compete? They went bankrupt.
DeleteDespite its increased sales, Albertsons is not a profitable company yet and it's losing millions every quarter. They have borrowed billions to finance their acquisitions and are very highly leveraged, borrowing even more to finance their capital investments in renovations. The people who loaned them all that money do not want to see a slip in gross margin from lowered prices....quite the contrary, they want to see increases in margin.
Although, if they could cut prices and by doing so increase their sales volume one would think those who loaned them money would be happy with that also (as it would lead to more profits in the long run - the old A&P, Food Lion and others idea of making 5 fast pennies rather than one slow nickel)?
DeleteUnfortunately private equity companies are not supermarket operators; they are money guys (and gals) and "fast" is all they are concerned with. We have seen it many times before with private equity and retailers like Fairway, Pathmark, Winn-Dixie, Dominick's, Wild Oats. These capital companies are not in it for the long-term sales. They only care about short-term improvements in sales and profit so they can either sell the company or fetch a high price in an IPO. After that, the capital companies cash out and the company is left saddled with the huge debt they have amassed.
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