Acme

[ynkeesfn82]

ACME plans store upgrades/remodels, at least one being completely rebuilt, and reopening at least one shuttered location.

http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/blog/peter-van-allen/2014/03/exclusive-acme-president-talks-about-supermarkets.html

[MikeRa]

The article says they plan an upgrade to the Willingboro, NJ, Devon, PA, and Chestertown, MD.  The Willingboro, NJ location was remodeled late last year with the "Premium Fresh & Healthy" interior decor.

[Stork of The Weak]

I'm sorry but I don't think people's perception of Acme will ever change. They used to be a great chain but their name was soiled long ago when their parent company ASC decided to focus on stores on the West Coast, neglecting the Acme chain and eventually trying to sell it off, in 1991 (even though Acme was the mother of ASC, and for a long time the only chain ASC owned). Acme tried building new stores in the late 80's, but most late 80's/90's Acme stores were always dumps compared to the much nicer Giant, Genuardi's, Super Fresh, and Super G stores built during that period. I think the only customers loyal to Acme these days are older folks who probably don't like anything new, or just are too lazy to be bothered to learn about alternative stores to shop at. The stores Albertsons built with the Acme name were a huge improvement over the early 90's Acme stores, but it was a stupid move to rename all the stores with pharmacies "Acme Sav-on". I can tell you with absolute certainty that NOBODY (except for maybe employees who answer store phones and are reading a script) has gotten into the habit of calling the stores the new name yet, even though it's been just over a decade since the name changed.

[MikeRa]

Acme is ending it's contract with Philadelphia Local 1776 of United Food and Commerical Workers.  The article is fromj Phill.com, and is in the Philadelphia Inquirer:
Acme ends contract with union, Local 1776 says

[TheFugitive]

I belonged to the UFCW for a time when I was younger.
Perhaps the most worthless union on the face of the planet.
Just sucked a hefty amount of dues out of you each week for a job
paying just above minimum wage.  Got little in return.

Other than they would always go to bat for bad employees who darn
well deserved to get fired.

[Stork of The Weak]

The Acme pictured in that article is the one in King of Prussia. The nail in the coffin for that store will probably be the new Target opening a block away this summer, which will have a big grocery section. But I am surprised the Acme has already survived with Giant, Wegmans, and a Walmart Supercenter in close proximity. Maybe ShopRite will open at the Acme site someday and compete well against the alternatives.

[retailisking]

Believe it or not, sales are up by double digits at Acme, and vendors are energized. Ahold has much bigger problems with negative comps and strained vendor relations. Appearances can be deceiving.

[Stork of The Weak]

One time I saw a stolen Acme cart at a miniature golf course in West Philadelphia. Well as it turns out, an Acme was once two blocks away, but closed in 2002 and now is a Ross Dress for Less. I went to that course around 2006 and the cart looked a few years old but not too old. Not sure why that Acme closed because after seeing an old picture, it looked like a store not too small or old.

[Stork of The Weak]

Why would any of you want to see new Acme stores open? That chain is awful, and opening new stores wouldn't do justice to the history of their older stores, which has been forgotten by corporate.

[acme style]

ACME plans store upgrades/remodels, at least one being completely rebuilt, and reopening at least one shuttered location.

http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/blog/peter-van-allen/2014/03/exclusive-acme-president-talks-about-supermarkets.html

What shuttered Acme is getting reopened?

[JoshAustin610]

The "reopening" mentioned in the article is actually just referring to the newly remodeled store at 10th & Reed, not one that was closed.

[Stork of The Weak]

Maybe Cerberus can roll out the Acme Super Saver concept again somewhere. Albertsons already tried using this name (originally used by ASC, Acme parent company, in the late 60's/70's) on some stores out west. Not sure if they still use it or not.

[Stork of The Weak]

Why did Acme feel the need to give all their pharmacies the Sav-on name? I think it actually was kind of a neat idea to put Sav-on signs above the pharmacies themselves, inside the stores, but to me it was total bull sh*t to spend thousands of dollars to replace all Acme signs on the exteriors and street signs for these stores just to give them the Sav-on name. And check out the Acme on City Avenue in the Manayunk section of Philly. Because of zoning, the already small Acme sign on the front of the store had to be replaced with one half its size, plus the equally tiny Sav-on sign. The word "pharmacy" is especially impossible to read here from the street, defeating the purpose of having the word on the sign. Anyway I think having the Sav-on name on an Acme sign anywhere is harmful to the value of the Acme name. And why should people in the Philly area be familiar with the Sav-on name anyway? Sav-on was a West Coast chain, so lots of Albertsons shoppers (who also now have to see this name on their favorite supermarket) would be familiar with it, but not anyone on the East Coast. But the original Sav-on drugstores were sold to CVS anyway years ago, and of course CVS killed the brand right away.

[EddieJ1984]

I know.....the pharmacy takes up a little section of a supermarket yet for some reason acme really wanted to push that their pharmacy was now sav-on pharmacy. It just made them look like whores imo. Plus it probably confused some people thinking the store is called Acme Sav-On which is beyond silly. I guess we should just be happy the stores with a citizens bank in it doesn't give them equal billing on ther sign, I can imagine it now, Acme Sav-On Citzens Bank lol.
Seriously it just makes acme look like they don't have faith in their brand alone, so their delusional mind think that having Sav-On Pharmacy just as big will make anyone want to step in.
Luckily this seems to be more of a thing they were doing 5 years ago or so.

I was in acme, and their slogan is everyday is getting better.......seemed the same to me and their prices never seem that much lower.

[Stork of The Weak]

I know.....the pharmacy takes up a little section of a supermarket yet for some reason acme really wanted to push that their pharmacy was now sav-on pharmacy. It just made them look like whores imo. Plus it probably confused some people thinking the store is called Acme Sav-On which is beyond silly. I guess we should just be happy the stores with a citizens bank in it doesn't give them equal billing on ther sign, I can imagine it now, Acme Sav-On Citzens Bank lol.
Seriously it just makes acme look like they don't have faith in their brand alone, so their delusional mind think that having Sav-On Pharmacy just as big will make anyone want to step in.
Luckily this seems to be more of a thing they were doing 5 years ago or so.

I was in acme, and their slogan is everyday is getting better.......seemed the same to me and their prices never seem that much lower.

Whores? ROFLMAO! But what did you mean by "whores"?

[store215]

Why did Acme feel the need to give all their pharmacies the Sav-on name? I think it actually was kind of a neat idea to put Sav-on signs above the pharmacies themselves, inside the stores, but to me it was total bull sh*t to spend thousands of dollars to replace all Acme signs on the exteriors and street signs for these stores just to give them the Sav-on name. And check out the Acme on City Avenue in the Manayunk section of Philly. Because of zoning, the already small Acme sign on the front of the store had to be replaced with one half its size, plus the equally tiny Sav-on sign. The word "pharmacy" is especially impossible to read here from the street, defeating the purpose of having the word on the sign. Anyway I think having the Sav-on name on an Acme sign anywhere is harmful to the value of the Acme name. And why should people in the Philly area be familiar with the Sav-on name anyway? Sav-on was a West Coast chain, so lots of Albertsons shoppers (who also now have to see this name on their favorite supermarket) would be familiar with it, but not anyone on the East Coast. But the original Sav-on drugstores were sold to CVS anyway years ago, and of course CVS killed the brand right away.

Just a stupid decision under the ownership of Albertsons. I guess they figured the 'Jewel-Osco' concept works so well, why not try it with Acme? (And I guess Acme-Osco just sounds kind of odd lol). But yeah, it seemed to be just a giant waste of money. It seems newly remodeled stores have scrapped or downplayed the Sav-On branding.

[Stork of The Weak]

The current Acme in Dresher PA is in awful shape, along with the whole shopping center (for most of the tenants both inside and out!). Even the parking lot surface looks horrible. But perhaps Acme has been wanting for years to demolish and rebuild their store, asking the other tenants to leave, while being turned down by the township? If this Acme closes, the site would be perfect for The Fresh Market. This Acme (along with the shopping center and neighborhood) reminds me so much of the former A&P in Pluckemin, NJ and its surroundings, which closed a few years back and The Fresh Market now is at the site. That chain already has a store in Willow Grove three miles away, but I could definitely see a second one doing fine.

[FitchMike26]

I don't see The Fresh Market having an interest in this location; besides, ACME seems committed to staying here.

For those outside the area, you can see pictures of the Drescher ACME here:
http://acmestyleblog.blogspot.com/search/label/PA%3A%20Dresher

[Stork of The Weak]

You can see the former A&P in Pluckemin (the aerial views are from before it closed) by entering the following address into Bing Maps: 35 Washington Valley Rd Pluckemin, NJ

I know The Fresh Market usually tries to put stores in large, modern shopping centers, but this store is an exception to that pattern. In fact the Acme site in Dresher would probably be a step up (at least it has a LOT more parking than this former A&P). Also the former A&P/Super Fresh in Towson, MD right outside Baltimore now is The Fresh Market. This shopping center is far from upscale but is near a fairly upscale mall, and is in a very urban area. Safeway opened a brand new store in Towson right after the Super Fresh closed around 2010. But not long afterward, the former Super Fresh (a much larger, more modern one than in Towson) in nearby Timonium was sold to ShopRite, who just may spell death for the Safeway. And on top of The Fresh Market, Trader Joe's is also in Towson.

[retailisking]

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/business/2-Local-ACME-Supermarkets-Set-to-Close-278906201.html

[ynkeesfn82]

Clifton, NJ store closing for good on February 19th.

http://www.northjersey.com/news/business/acme-checking-out-of-clifton-1.1196118

[ynkeesfn82]

West Chester and Exton, PA stores closing too.

http://supermarketnews.com/retail-financial/acme-closing-2-locations

[BillyGr]

West Chester and Exton, PA stores closing too.

http://supermarketnews.com/retail-financial/acme-closing-2-locations

Looks like that article is from Jan 2014.

[FitchMike26]

West Chester (Westtown) and Exton closed in early 2014. Since then, 3 stores have closed or will close soon.

Chalfont PA and Warminster PA, both in Bucks County, closed November 2014. You can read about these closings here:
http://www.thereporteronline.com/business/20141024/acme-markets-in-chalfont-warminster-to-close

Clifton NJ, the last location in Passaic County, is closing February 2015. More info here:
http://www.thereporteronline.com/business/20141024/acme-markets-in-chalfont-warminster-to-close

Aside from Clifton, no other store closings have been announced...yet.

[jason83080]

The old Click/Acme SuperCenter on Snow Rd in Brook Park, OH, was closed many years ago. The food side was kept open and transformed into a Rini-Rego Stop-n-Shop (a local grocery chain - a much larger location is/was in Middleburg Heights at the Southland Plaza, which is now an OfficeMax, Party City, and Marshalls), retaining the old Click/Acme decor and trying to match the brass/tile with gold foil and paint on the newly-constructed wall that was built. As a Giant Eagle, they shoehorned a GetGo station into the tiny parking lot, retained the old Acme exterior (it would likely cost too much to get rid of the covered driveway), but they did finally modify the interior to reflect the Giant Eagle maroon/salmon color scheme.

However! The old retail side, which was subdivided and, at one point, housed Patio Enclosures, is now a Goodwill store. I recently went in, and was pleasantly surprised to see that both Patio Enclosures and Goodwill retained the teal-gridlined ceiling tile setup! Arguably, the tile/brass wall decor is long gone, but you can tell where PE added an office area in the far back of the store, because the teal gridlined ceiling tiles run right into a wall. :)

[jamesway_95]

The new Beach Haven store is almost ready to go!

http://acmestyleblog.blogspot.com/2015/05/first-look-at-new-beach-haven-acme.html

[MikeRa]

Acme now officially sells Safeway's O Organtics and Open Nature brands.  Same with Jewel and possibily Albertsons, Shaw's, and Star

[retailisking]

I don't recall seeing any Safeway product at Shaw's lately, but it's probably just a matter of time as their agreement with Supervalu is winding down. I also wonder if Safeway will continue to make its Busy Baker brand products for Dollar Tree.

[MikeRa]

I don't recall seeing any Safeway product at Shaw's lately, but it's probably just a matter of time as their agreement with Supervalu is winding down. I also wonder if Safeway will continue to make its Busy Baker brand products for Dollar Tree.

The Dollar Tree and Deals in the Philadelphia area are getting rid of the Busy Baker brand products

[mixedday]

I had a chance today to visit the Safeway in Newark, DE (People's Plaza) and the Acme in Bear DE (Fox Hunt Dr.). These stores are 2 miles apart on the same road, US 40.

I don't know how they compete on pricing, but the Safeway had a nicer feel inside, with a cafe and Starbucks. It's in a plaza with Home Depot, which is a bonus that likely provides visitor traffic, and a Regal cinemas.

The Acme on Fox Hunt Dr. is ok, but there is a new ShopRite in Bear DE further up north/east on US 40.

If challenged for having too much concentration, my guess is Acme might close the existing Acme instead of the Safeway, while converting that Safeway to Acme. If it closed the Safeway, ShopRite (that owns the Bear store) 5.6 miles north could open right at this Safeway site, putting Acme in between two ShopRites - essentially worst case scenario. It'd be better if the original Acme closed, and an Aldi or something light weight just went into the original Acme spot, as ShopRite likely won't want that spot as it's too close to the other store.

ShopRite (through an owner) might want that Safeway though. ShopRite has no stores in Cecil County MD and that Safeway is close to the DE/MD border. That's a side note that ShopRite has stores in New Castle Co., DE and in Harford County, MD into the Baltimore region, but isn't contiguous because it has no store in Cecil County.

I also visited the other Safeway near Naamans Road further up in Wilmington, where Safeway is directly across the street from an Acme. This is near the PA state border. Probably the Safeway here will close. A new Wegmans looks like it's about to open in Concordville, PA. Wegmans site lists a date of Nov. 8, and this new Wegmans is not to far from this Safeway/Acme duo which would have likely affected the Safeway to some extent even if Acme and Safeway hadn't merged.