Dive Brief:
- Price Chopper/Market 32 announced Wednesday it has finalized the purchase of five former ShopRite stores in the New York state Capital Region.
- The grocery company noted that it has so far determined two locations will transition to its Market 32 brand and another location will be marketed for sublease.
- The announcement comes about a month after Wakefern Food Corp. confirmed its ShopRite banner was closing locations in this market.
Dive Insight:
In the New York region where ShopRite struggled to gain a foothold, Price Chopper/Market 32 sees an opportunity to grow.
Price Chopper/Market 32’s goal in obtaining the leases, store equipment and fixtures of the former ShopRite stores is to expand its fleet of Market 32 locations, according to the press release.
The grocery chain noted that it is still “evaluating all its options” as it adds these five stores, located in Albany, Colonie, Niskayuna, Slingerlands and North Greenbush, New York, to its footprint.
While the grocer is still discussing with landlords in Albany and Colonie the fate of those two stores, the Niskayuna and North Greenbush locations will be converted into Market 32s. In addition, the Slingerlands location, which is across the street from another Market 32, will be marketed for sublease, according to the announcement.
Price Chopper/Market 32 said it doesn’t intend to operate the gas stations at any of these locations.
Current team members will be “prioritized in staffing whichever of the locations are ultimately occupied” and Price Chopper will offer opportunities to move to a more convenient location, the announcement stated — an update that follows local news outlets reporting in October an estimated 500 employees would lose their jobs due to these ShopRite closures.
Price Chopper/Market 32 has operated in the Capital Region for more than 90 years, the grocer’s President, Blaine Bringhurst, said in a statement. It operates storefronts under its namesake brands as well as the Market Bistro banner across New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, Pennsylvania and New Hampshire.
