Anniversary Celebrations Tie to Charity

Using the theme, “Inspired by the past, and focused on the future,” Schenectady, N.Y.-based Price Chopper recently completed a 75th anniversary celebration that spanned six weeks and involved charitable contributions, private-label promotions and other activities.

One of the promotions involved donations to breast cancer research, one of the major charities the chain supports. The chain will donate 5 cents for each item sold from an assortment of its most popular private-label products. More than 5 million packages supporting the promotion were printed with its 75th anniversary logo and a pink ribbon.

The company also was offering special 75-bud rose bunches for $19.32 — the year of the chain's founding — with a percentage going to breast cancer research.

Another promotion called the “Price Chopper Pantry Patrol” also involved private label. Consumers entered to win this promotion by swiping their AdvantEdge discount card at the store, and winners were chosen electronically to receive an unscheduled visit from the Pantry Patrol. Customers who could produce their AdvantEdge card automatically won $750, plus $75 for every Price Chopper-brand product found in their home, up to a total of $7,500.

On the company's “Founder's Day,” Nov. 17, Price Chopper also conducted a special promotion in Ben & Bill's Deli, the experimental food-service concept the chain has tested in Albany.

Several initiatives also rewarded employees, such as Associate Appreciation Week, in which workers were offered a 10% discount on product, and cake and coffee were served in all stores.

“Does this 75th anniversary mean something to our associates?” asked Neil Golub, president and chief executive officer. “We think it does — the thing that we all share is stock ownership.”
— M.H.