Price Chopper/Market 32

[BillyGr]

Why perhaps? Didin't the company that was going to build it back out?  There web site seems to be down.

I meant that perhaps they would build a store in that area, but if they do it definitely would be Market 32 and not Price Chopper (since the plan is to eventually convert all stores to the Market 32 name, they wouldn't open a new store with the PC name).  No idea about their actual plans, though.

[silvfx66]

Nice slideshow of the completed Market32 store in Wilton NY. http://www.timesunion.com/news/article/New-Market-32-drops-the-tobacco-6333198.php

[JimSawhill]

Nice slideshow of the completed Market32 store in Wilton NY. http://www.timesunion.com/news/article/New-Market-32-drops-the-tobacco-6333198.php

Nice stores...very nice...

[ynkeesfn82]

PC is building a Market 32 in Fort Edward, New York on the site of a former Grand Union.

http://www.bizjournals.com/albany/morning_call/2015/06/price-chopper-building-more-market-32-stores.html

[BillyGr]

PC is building a Market 32 in Fort Edward, New York on the site of a former Grand Union.

http://www.bizjournals.com/albany/morning_call/2015/06/price-chopper-building-more-market-32-stores.html

Sounds sensible - if there was GU, probably not anything in the (immediate) area now.

[JimSawhill]

PC is building a Market 32 in Fort Edward, New York on the site of a former Grand Union.

http://www.bizjournals.com/albany/morning_call/2015/06/price-chopper-building-more-market-32-stores.html

Sounds sensible - if there was GU, probably not anything in the (immediate) area now.

Arethey tearing down the old GU? I hope not...

[BillyGr]

Arethey tearing down the old GU? I hope not...

No idea for sure, but the fact that they label it as the site of a former GU might indicate that it is already been taken down?
Also that they are calling it the first Market 32 to be built (in NY) from the "ground up" - though that could just mean not being converted from an existing Price Chopper.

[amesman]

Arethey tearing down the old GU? I hope not...

No idea for sure, but the fact that they label it as the site of a former GU might indicate that it is already been taken down?
Also that they are calling it the first Market 32 to be built (in NY) from the "ground up" - though that could just mean not being converted from an existing Price Chopper.

This Grand Union was demolished last year. http://poststar.com/news/local/former-grand-union-store-in-fort-edward-to-be-demolished/article_6bcb8afc-9efe-11e3-b5a2-001a4bcf887a.html

[JimSawhill]

Arethey tearing down the old GU? I hope not...

No idea for sure, but the fact that they label it as the site of a former GU might indicate that it is already been taken down?
Also that they are calling it the first Market 32 to be built (in NY) from the "ground up" - though that could just mean not being converted from an existing Price Chopper.

This Grand Union was demolished last year. http://poststar.com/news/local/former-grand-union-store-in-fort-edward-to-be-demolished/article_6bcb8afc-9efe-11e3-b5a2-001a4bcf887a.html

Oh well...I wonder if I could buy the name Grand Union from C&S

[ynkeesfn82]

The Torrington Price Chopper will be the first one in Connecticut to get The Market 32 make-over. Price Chopper's website say they're hiring at Market 32 in Torrington. That's how I came to that conclusion. They were the first Price Chopper in the state opening in 95 or 96.

I also talked to one of the managers in Southington yesterday. She tells me there is no time table as to when they will do what store. She says they're doing them one at a time starting with brand new stores. She doesn't know  when Southington will get done. She said it could be next year or it could be 5 or 6 years down the road. She also said Market 32 is dramatically different from Price Chopper.

[ynkeesfn82]

This article from May 2015 said construction on Market 32 in Oxford, CT was supposed to start in a few weeks.

http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Dense-development-hits-rural-Oxford-6236586.php

It's amazing home many people were and still are against this project. I mean really. It's going to be the first supermarket in town.

[ynkeesfn82]

After yet another Price Chopper card broke off my key chain I sent away for a replacement. My new one came in the mail today. They redesigned it. The one for the key chain has a background of blueberries and it says AdvantEdge on it. Advant is in white. Edge is in Green. The wallet sized one has a background of  large blueberries and it says AdvantEdge on it and underneath it says  Everyone loves to save. The new card is valid at Price Chopper, Market 32, and Market Bistro. I don't have a camera at the moment so I can't take a picture of it.

[JimSawhill]

After yet another Price Chopper card broke off my key chain I sent away for a replacement. My new one came in the mail today. They redesigned it. The one for the key chain has a background of blueberries and it says AdvantEdge on it. Advant is in white. Edge is in Green. The wallet sized one has a background of  large blueberries and it says AdvantEdge on it and underneath it says  Everyone loves to save. The new card is valid at Price Chopper, Market 32, and Market Bistro. I don't have a camera at the moment so I can't take a picture of it.

I wonder if PriceChopper will have 3tiers of stores?

[silvfx66]

Interesting article from the Albany Business Review on the new Market32 stores: http://www.bizjournals.com/albany/morning_call/2015/06/price-choppers-new-market-32-more-olive-oil-no.html

[BillyGr]

After yet another Price Chopper card broke off my key chain I sent away for a replacement. My new one came in the mail today. They redesigned it. The one for the key chain has a background of blueberries and it says AdvantEdge on it. Advant is in white. Edge is in Green. The wallet sized one has a background of  large blueberries and it says AdvantEdge on it and underneath it says  Everyone loves to save. The new card is valid at Price Chopper, Market 32, and Market Bistro. I don't have a camera at the moment so I can't take a picture of it.

I wonder if PriceChopper will have 3tiers of stores?

Not sure about 3 tiers - the Market Bistro name is one store (Latham, NY) where they took what was already a fairly large store (their 3rd separate location in that plaza, each larger than the one before) and expanded it a bit by using part of the neighboring store (which was Bradlees, then Ames) that the current tenant (Hobby Lobby) didn't need.
It was designed to be a "laboratory" to try a whole bunch of new concepts, and many (but not all) appear to have made their way into the Market 32 stores.  I do not believe, though, that they plan to use that name on any other stores and it wouldn't be a surprise if (probably at the end of the renovation cycle) they do some minor changes to that store and switch out the Bistro for a 32.

[silvfx66]

http://www.progressivegrocer.com/departments/deli-prepared-foods/market-32-debuts-1st-ground-store?nopaging=1

[retailisking]

Sorry, couldn't resist that headline...kind of a shocker given that they're in the middle of their Market 32 conversion process, but then again, maybe with the new wave of consolidation hitting the industry (and an even stronger Ahold/Delhaize in their backyard) perhaps the time has come to cash out. Albertsons is said to be "very interested." Huge overlap in Vermont (Shaw's) and some in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Officially, at least, the company is dismissing the reports as rumor and innuendo.

http://best-met.com/news/prospectus-issued-price-chopper-reportedly-exploring-sale-option/

[BillyGr]

Sorry, couldn't resist that headline...kind of a shocker given that they're in the middle of their Market 32 conversion process, but then again, maybe with the new wave of consolidation hitting the industry (and an even stronger Ahold/Delhaize in their backyard) perhaps the time has come to cash out. Albertsons is said to be "very interested." Huge overlap in Vermont (Shaw's) and some in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Officially, at least, the company is dismissing the reports as rumor and innuendo.

http://best-met.com/news/prospectus-issued-price-chopper-reportedly-exploring-sale-option/

The article seems to indicate that they haven't gotten the returns they hoped for from the conversions so far, which could be a reason to change directions?
It also mentioned Kroger and Tops as options for purchasers.

Any of the three could work - Kroger probably the best as they don't (do they?) have anything in the 6 states that PC is in.  

Tops would only have a smallish overlap (with the few stores out towards Syracuse possibly, and maybe one or two with their newly acquired Hannaford/S&S stores - most of their other stores in NY & VT are former GU locations and most were the only store in town type stores).  Also one might wonder if they had such a deal in mind with those handful of stores they picked up, including that otherwise odd one location in MA nowhere near the rest of their stores, but quite close to some of the PC locations in that state...

As you mention, Albertsons has a few places but still likely a small % overall (PC only has 15 VT stores and some are not in similar towns, like Bennington, 4 in NH, Albertsons has minor presence in NY with the few Acme locations in former A&P's, the CT PC stores could "connect" the Shaws in the rest of New England with the couple A&P Acmes, not sure about the PC stores in PA vs. any Acme presence, MA is a toss up since the Western PC's wouldn't be an issue but the Worcester area is a ??).

One NOT mentioned (and without any real idea if they would ever consider such, but one that would certainly be the most interesting and wanted option) would be that Western NY based chain that has (supposedly) had some sort of agreement with PC not to enter each other's areas...
(Not to mention that there has been opinion that the new Market 32 was PC's try to make there stores more like such a chain).

[retailisking]

The article seems to indicate that they haven't gotten the returns they hoped for from the conversions so far, which could be a reason to change directions?
It also mentioned Kroger and Tops as options for purchasers.

Any of the three could work - Kroger probably the best as they don't (do they?) have anything in the 6 states that PC is in.  

Tops would only have a smallish overlap (with the few stores out towards Syracuse possibly, and maybe one or two with their newly acquired Hannaford/S&S stores - most of their other stores in NY & VT are former GU locations and most were the only store in town type stores).  Also one might wonder if they had such a deal in mind with those handful of stores they picked up, including that otherwise odd one location in MA nowhere near the rest of their stores, but quite close to some of the PC locations in that state...

As you mention, Albertsons has a few places but still likely a small % overall (PC only has 15 VT stores and some are not in similar towns, like Bennington, 4 in NH, Albertsons has minor presence in NY with the few Acme locations in former A&P's, the CT PC stores could "connect" the Shaws in the rest of New England with the couple A&P Acmes, not sure about the PC stores in PA vs. any Acme presence, MA is a toss up since the Western PC's wouldn't be an issue but the Worcester area is a ??).

One NOT mentioned (and without any real idea if they would ever consider such, but one that would certainly be the most interesting and wanted option) would be that Western NY based chain that has (supposedly) had some sort of agreement with PC not to enter each other's areas...
(Not to mention that there has been opinion that the new Market 32 was PC's try to make there stores more like such a chain).

The article makes a very good point that they're brought outside senior management in for the first time in the chain's history, and the family's influence in day-to-day operations is fading. There is also the factor that the conversion process to the Market 32 format is very capital-intensive, and the chain has acknowledged seeking investors to aid in funding PC's transformation. This article from Supermarket News says that the option to sell came about in the context of seeking that outside investment.
http://supermarketnews.com/retail-financial/golubs-price-chopper-sale-sources

[Scrabbleship]

Any of the three could work - Kroger probably the best as they don't (do they?) have anything in the 6 states that PC is in.

Nothing grocery, only the Turkey Hill Minit Marts in NE PA. North of the Mason-Dixon Line & East of Ohio has been an area Kroger has never had a foothold in minus their long-gone Pittsburgh division and I'm surprised they haven't pounced on anyone.

Tops would only have a smallish overlap (with the few stores out towards Syracuse possibly, and maybe one or two with their newly acquired Hannaford/S&S stores - most of their other stores in NY & VT are former GU locations and most were the only store in town type stores).  Also one might wonder if they had such a deal in mind with those handful of stores they picked up, including that otherwise odd one location in MA nowhere near the rest of their stores, but quite close to some of the PC locations in that state...

The Hannaford/S&S stores they're buying on the New York side are fine, none are within distance of a PC that would raise any red flags with the FTC. The Gardner, MA location would be a problem as PC opened there several years ago and was one of the factors in why that S&S is becoming a Tops.

As you mention, Albertsons has a few places but still likely a small % overall (PC only has 15 VT stores and some are not in similar towns, like Bennington, 4 in NH, Albertsons has minor presence in NY with the few Acme locations in former A&P's, the CT PC stores could "connect" the Shaws in the rest of New England with the couple A&P Acmes, not sure about the PC stores in PA vs. any Acme presence, MA is a toss up since the Western PC's wouldn't be an issue but the Worcester area is a ??).

The two Acmes (Pleasant Valley and Hopewell Junction) are just far enough away from a PC (Poughkeepsie) that it really shouldn't matter as there is no overlap otherwise. The only NH store with some overlap would be West Lebanon; Lebanon is just far enough, Keene drove Shaw's away, and Lincoln is pretty isolated as it is. Even Worcester isn't as bad as it could be, the two only have overlap with one location there as the PC and Shaw's in Shrewsbury are on opposite sides of town.

One NOT mentioned (and without any real idea if they would ever consider such, but one that would certainly be the most interesting and wanted option) would be that Western NY based chain that has (supposedly) had some sort of agreement with PC not to enter each other's areas...
(Not to mention that there has been opinion that the new Market 32 was PC's try to make there stores more like such a chain).

Seeing how they mostly build from the ground up, the build inside what was the former JCPenney in the Natick Mall that is underway aside, I wonder if any PC locations would benefit them. I think with the Golubs out of the picture it would be worth a few stores along the I-90 corridor in New York, I don't think the noncompete ever extended into MA. On that tangent...

There is a Western MA-based chain that does have a confirmed noncompete with PC which has kept PC out of the I-91 corridor in MA and said chain outside of NY and possibly VT. I wonder if a post-Golub PC would expand there as the market is ripe for a third challenger and it is a bit of a gaping hole for them.

[BillyGr]

One NOT mentioned (and without any real idea if they would ever consider such, but one that would certainly be the most interesting and wanted option) would be that Western NY based chain that has (supposedly) had some sort of agreement with PC not to enter each other's areas...
(Not to mention that there has been opinion that the new Market 32 was PC's try to make there stores more like such a chain).

Seeing how they mostly build from the ground up, the build inside what was the former JCPenney in the Natick Mall that is underway aside, I wonder if any PC locations would benefit them. I think with the Golubs out of the picture it would be worth a few stores along the I-90 corridor in New York, I don't think the noncompete ever extended into MA. On that tangent...

That is true but they have had older and smaller locations in their home (Western NY) markets that they kept open in some places, not automatically replacing them all with the newer, larger locations.  So that would lead one to believe that they have some knowledge of how to deal with some of the stores that they would get if they were to take over PC (and PC does have many newer/larger locations - probably not quite as large but still offering enough space to make a reasonable, if somewhat edited, copy - plus at least some of those stores have open area where an expansion could be done if needed).

There is a Western MA-based chain that does have a confirmed noncompete with PC which has kept PC out of the I-91 corridor in MA and said chain outside of NY and possibly VT. I wonder if a post-Golub PC would expand there as the market is ripe for a third challenger and it is a bit of a gaping hole for them.

Not sure I ever heard about that, but it makes total sense, since otherwise there was no logical reason that PC wouldn't have opened stores to connect their Western MA (Berkshires) and Worcester area stores, especially a few years back when A&P pulled out of that market completely.  It also made no sense that another third competitor wouldn't move in - if, for example Pittsfield can support 3 chains there's no reason that Springfield can't.

Although that brings up one more thought - could PC and that chain (assuming it's the MA&CT only one ;) be a potential other merger option?
The other chain doesn't go too far East (do they?) in MA and even the Berkshire locations are quite separated (different parts of Pittsfield, the PC in Lee is tiny and such).  Not sure with the CT locations and of course they aren't in the other states that PC is.

[Bdubs]

I heard investors were walking stores in some CT PC's this month. Certainly wouldn't surprise me if a Kroger snatched these up. CT is such a tough market. Saturated with S&S, it's going to be an uphill climb for a new player to the game.

[AmesNewington]

I heard investors were walking stores in some CT PC's this month. Certainly wouldn't surprise me if a Kroger snatched these up. CT is such a tough market. Saturated with S&S, it's going to be an uphill climb for a new player to the game.

I wonder which ones. I'd guess the ones in smaller middle class towns such as Bristol, Newington and maybe Southington. Locations like Torrington (already a Market 32), Middletown and Storrs will be around for a while, but I'm not sure towns like Newington or Bristol would fit the Market 32 concept. These towns are more about straight-forward value shopping. Unfortunately, you are right about S&S. Too many of them in this state, and yet people will always go there. Not sure why.

[BillyGr]

I wonder which ones. I'd guess the ones in smaller middle class towns such as Bristol, Newington and maybe Southington. Locations like Torrington (already a Market 32), Middletown and Storrs will be around for a while, but I'm not sure towns like Newington or Bristol would fit the Market 32 concept. These towns are more about straight-forward value shopping. Unfortunately, you are right about S&S. Too many of them in this state, and yet people will always go there. Not sure why.

Although, if you look at the ones they have already converted in NY, two of them (Delaware Ave & Madison Ave) are both smaller, older, in city stores that one wouldn't have necessarily thought of for this either, so apparently they do have a way to make it work in different situations?

P.S. - The Delaware Ave one was formerly nicknamed the "Ghetto Chopper" if that explains the area better.
http://www.pricechopper.com/market-32-locations

[JSIDA17]

This is probably the most expensive grocery store I've ever been in my life (even more than Stop & Shop, which is sad really). You can buy WAY more for the money you have at Market Basket or even Walmart than at this sham of a supermarket. To literally sum it up, a Hungry Man frozen meal costs $4.50 (?!!!!), where at MB you could get it for $2.00 and Walmart for $2.50. Like Stop & Shop, avoid this place like the plague and just do your shopping at Market Basket or Walmart. You'll save LOADS of money by just making that decision alone. 

[giantsfan2016]

I know it's crazy how expensive PC is. I was just there yesterday. A 3 Liter Bottle of Poland Spring Water is $1.39 that's 10 cents more than my store - Stop & Shop! We have some good deals at times. Depends on what you're looking for. Sales are up quite a bit at my store as a matter of fact. We redid our Bakery Department and the sales of muffins are through the roof now.

[giantsfan2016]

The Market 32 by Price Chopper in Oxford, CT is finally opening on September 20th

http://www.primepublishers.com/voicesnews/news/top_stories/coming-soon/article_2d65013c-7451-11e6-b6a4-8b3dde98c0d7.html

[giantsfan2016]

The Market 32 by Price Chopper in Oxford, CT is finally opening on September 20th

http://www.primepublishers.com/voicesnews/news/top_stories/coming-soon/article_2d65013c-7451-11e6-b6a4-8b3dde98c0d7.html

They are now open. I heard a commercial on CBS Radio last week on both HOT 93.7 the Hip-Hop Station and LITE 100.5 the Adult Contemporary station.

I don't have a car at the moment, so I have yet to check them out. (Not sure if I'm actually curious enough to drive that far even if I did have a car).

[giantsfan2016]

Was at the Southington, CT Price Chopper today. An employee told me that their lease is up in January. There's a chance they won't renew their lease. Obviously if they don't it won't get converted to Market 32.

The building is just over 95,000 square feet and was built in 1974 as KMART. A small portion of the store is leased to the UPS Store.

I'm just thinking out loud here. Anything that goes in there is going to share space with another tenant. BIG Y? Whole Foods? Christmas Tree Shoppes? Maybe Job Lot? The Job Lot in the adjacent plaza is very small and cramped. It was previously a Marshall's. It's under 30,000 Square Feet and is smaller than most of their other stores. What if Stop & Shop moved up from further down Route 10? They could also buy the adjacent Sunoco Station and make it S&S gas.

[retailisking]

The brand comes from Topco, the collective that Price Chopper is a member of. Switching to a Topco-owned brand for household items is part of Price Chopper's effort to phase out the Price Chopper brand as PC transitions to the Market 32 banner. The banners introduced the PICS brand for food products earlier this year.
http://www.timesunion.com/tuplus-business/article/Price-Chopper-adds-new-brand-line-9961465.php