The Golub Corp., longtime operators of
\nthe Price Chopper chain of grocery stores,
\nannounced in November that it will be
\nrebranding its stores with a new name and
\na new look.<\/p>\n
The company is also planning to remodel
\nall of its 134 stores over the next eight years
\nor so at a cost of some $300 million.
\nThe stores in Clifton Park and Wilton are
\namong the first three that are getting the
\nmakeover, the third being Pittsfield, Mass.<\/p>\n
Price Chopper stores, and the brand, will
\nbecome Market 32. The company promised
\nthe new brand will change food shopping for
\nits customers by modernizing its stores and
\noffering new services and products.
\nMarket 32 stores will begin rolling out
\nacross the chain’s six-state
\nfootprint this
\nspring.
\nA few days after the announcement, Jerry
\nGolub, Price Chopper CEO, took questions
\nfrom customers in a live chat on Facebook.
\nHe stated that the rebranding “does not
\nadd significant additional costs. Most of the
\ninvestment is being made in upgrades to our
\nstores. In addition, we will continue to keep
\nprices as low as we possibly can. They will not
\ngo up as a result of this rebranding effort.”<\/p>\n
He said the company has no intention
\nto do away with the programs such as the
\nAdvantEdge card and Fuel AdvantEdge
\nrewards.<\/p>\n
“We did not start with the intention of
\nchanging our name. We started with the goal
\nof determining the type of shopping experience
\nthat our customers are looking for now
\nand in the future,” the CEO said. “Once we
\nhad a clear vision of what that experience
\nwill include, and how it will be unique and
\nrelevant, we had to hold up a mirror to the
\nPrice Chopper name and ask ourselves if the
\ncurrent name reflects where we are going as
\na company. That’s when it became clear to us
\nthat the Price Chopper name was too limiting
\nand needed to be changed.”<\/p>\n
He said the $300 million in investment
\n“will entirely change their look and feel,
\nwhile offering an enhanced selection of
\nproducts, a focus on health and wellness,
\nand other elements that will enhance the
\nshopping experience. The portion of the total
\ninvestment that pertains to the name change
\nis actually very small.<\/p>\n
“Updating our stores is something that
\nis necessary if we want to continue to be
\nrelevant and meet our customers changing
\nneeds. We would be spending close to that
\namount to update and modernize our stores, even without a rebranding effort.”<\/p>\n
He said the money will not only be used
\nto update the look and feel of our stores, but
\nwill add important elements and offers to
\nimprove the shopping experience.<\/p>\n
Making the formal announcement, Neil
\nGolub, executive chairman of the board
\nof the Schenectady-based company, said
\nMarket 32 “represents the next leap forward
\nfor our company. We have evolved from the
\nPublic Service Market to Central Market to
\nPrice Chopper by responding to customers’
\nchanging needs over time and Market 32 is
\nthe next natural progression for us,” he said.
\n“Early learnings gleaned from our Market
\nBistro concept store have put our next
\ngeneration in an excellent position to make
\nthis move today.”<\/p>\n
The choice of Market 32 as the new name
\n“is a reflection of the fact that our company
\nwas founded by Ben and Bill Golub back
\nin 1932. We’re very proud of our heritage
\nand the fact that we’ve been part of this
\ngreat community for the past 82 years, and
\nthere’s no better way to express that pride
\nthan by reflecting it in our new name,” said
\nNeil Golub.<\/p>\n
The first “ground up” Market 32 will be
\nbuilt in Sutton, Mass. A second wave of conversions
\nwill begin over the next 18 months
\nand encompass another 10 to 15 stores. More
\nthan half of the chain will be converted
\nwithin five years, he said.<\/p>\n
The new stores will have expanded food
\nservice options, an enhanced product mix
\nand a re-emphasis on customer service.
\nMore details about the many differences
\nin the new concept will be unveiled in the
\ncoming months as store conversions begin,
\nthe Golubs said.<\/p>\n
“This is not merely about beautifying our
\nPrice Chopper stores. It is a complete refocus
\nof our company on the core values that our
\ncustomers are looking for in a store. We will
\nbe re-engineering nearly every facet of the
\nstore, beginning with the name but extending
\ninto our marketing, product selection,
\nservices offered and customer focus,” said
\nJerry Golub. “Our investment in this transformation
\nreflects not only the position of
\nstrength from which we take this calculated
\nrisk, but our determination to set a new and
\nhigher more customer-focused standard
\nthat will engage and inspire shoppers for
\ndecades to come.”<\/p>\n
The chain has grocery stores in New York,
\nVermont, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts
\nand New Hampshire.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Golub Corp., longtime operators of the Price Chopper chain of grocery stores, announced in November that it will be rebranding its stores with a new name and a new look. The company is also planning to remodel all…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":88,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[66,130],"class_list":["post-16061","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business-news","tag-business-news","tag-shopping"],"yoast_head":"\r\n