PRICE CHOPPER TAKES ADVANTAGE OF SHUTTERED SITES

Mark Hamstra

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. -- Price Chopper is hoping to succeed where others have failed.

In the highly developed Northeast region of the country, where bare ground is difficult to come by, Price Chopper has been opening locations at sites that previously had been put to other retail uses.

The two stores it opened this month in Connecticut, in the towns of Bristol and Southington, were both former Kmart buildings. In fact, each of the remaining half dozen or so stores the company plans to open in 2004 will be in a space previously occupied by a discount store.

"There are some Kmarts available and some Ames available, and that's helped us along," said Neil Golub, president and chief executive officer, Price Chopper, in an interview with SN. Although he declined to specify where the remaining openings were planned, he did say the company has "a number of sites in the Connecticut area."

Together Kmart and Ames shed hundreds of locations through the bankruptcy process during the past few years, some of which have been picked up by supermarket operators, including Price Chopper and Shaw's Supermarkets, West Bridgewater, Mass. Late last year, Price Chopper also agreed to acquire two P&C supermarkets in upstate New York from yet another company in bankruptcy, Penn Traffic, Syracuse, N.Y., for $6.6 million, according to Penn Traffic.

Price Chopper operates most of its 106 stores in the Albany, N.Y., area, but it also has stores in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Vermont and New Hampshire. The two openings last month in Connecticut doubled the company's presence in that state, where it has long operated a store in Torrington. About a year ago, the company opened its second Connecticut store, in Waterbury.

Because they were previously discount stores, the two new Connecticut stores are larger than typical supermarkets. The Bristol location, located in Bristol Commons, is 86,000 square feet, while the Southington store measures 96,000 square feet. Golub said the stores' large size gave Price Chopper room to offer an expanded array of perishables and prepared foods that have become its hallmark offerings.

"The more we do in food service, the bigger our whole dining area is becoming," he said.

Both stores offer sit-down cafe areas and a hot-and-cold buffet in addition to the company's traditional food-service offerings, which include Roasters rotisserie chickens and Bella Roma pizzas. Also, the stores feature such offerings as sushi prepared on-site, store-baked bagels and artisan breads, and a grab-and-go area for coffee and doughnuts near the front entrance.

"People are having fun shopping these stores," Golub said. "We have large floral departments, large seafood departments and service meats."

The two new stores expand its range to the Southeast, but are within three hours of its primary distribution facilities at its headquarters here.

"All our stores are within quick striking distance of the capital region," Golub said.

Price Chopper is owned by The Golub Corp., also based here, and is also partly owned by its employees.

The chain has been pursuing an aggressive pace of expansion that included eight new stores in 2003. At least another six openings are planned for this year as the company continues to take advantage of opportunities created by the failure of large department stress in the region.