Dive Brief:
- Hannaford completed six store remodels during the first half of this year, the Ahold Delhaize-owned grocery chain announced Tuesday.
- The updates to the stores in Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont and New York included adding self-checkout registers, introducing more fresh and local foods and installing private pharmacy consultation rooms.
- This is the latest round of store updates for Hannaford as the Ahold Delhaize banner looks to stay competitive in the Northeast.
Dive Insight:
Each of Hannaford’s six latest store remodels was distinct, but common themes included adding grab-and-go foods and other trending products.
Two of the stores installed new meat and seafood cases, while three others added features to their full-service pharmacies.
The remodel of a store in Bennington, Vermont, for instance, included adding a fresh sushi bar, expanding the pharmacy waiting area and increasing the assortment of organic, natural, dairy and frozen products.
Hannaford said its remodels incorporated sustainable building practices, including the installation of carbon dioxide refrigeration systems and electric cooking equipment.
“These projects support Hannaford’s commitment to delivering fresh, high-quality food at a dependable value, while doing good for our communities and the planet,” Todd Bullen, Hannaford’s vice president of retail operations, said in a statement.
Hannaford, which is one of the top-performing chains in Ahold Delhaize’s portfolio of East Coast grocery banners, has remodeled stores at a fairly regular pace over the past several years. A round of store updates in 2022 included adding new Hannaford To Go pickup and delivery infrastructure and expanding in-store pharmacies. A store in Belfast, Maine, reopened in 2021 with an expanded selection of prepared foods and other fresh products.
Store updates have helped power positive results at fellow Ahold Delhaize-owned grocer Food Lion, while another company-owned banner, Stop & Shop, hopes that a sweeping store remodel campaign will turn around recent results.
