TOPS SAID TO GIVE NOD TO PRESIDENT'S CHOICE

RICHARD TURCSIK

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Tops Friendly Markets here will be taking on the upscale President's Choice private-label line within the next few weeks, market sources have told SN.

The move would make Tops the second U.S. division of Dutch retailing giant Ahold to take on the President's Choice label. President's Choice is distributed by Loblaw International Merchants, a subsidiary of Loblaw Cos., Toronto, and is made available on a market-exclusive basis.

Ahold's Finast subsidiary in Maple Heights, Ohio, began stocking President's Choice in its 40 northeast Ohio stores last September.

However, unlike Salt Lake City-based American Stores, which eventually rolled out President's Choice to all of its U.S. subsidiaries, President's Choice will not necessarily be available in each of Ahold's U.S. divisions: Bi-Lo, Mauldin, S.C.; Giant Food Stores, Carlisle, Pa., and Edwards Super Food Stores, Windsor Locks, Conn.

"For each subsidiary it is the local management that decides on which products to carry," said Hans Gobes, senior vice president of communications at Ahold's corporate headquarters in Zaandam, the Netherlands.

Tops officials declined to comment. Officials at Loblaw could not be reached for comment.

Market sources said that Tops taking on President's Choice would fill a void in the western New York market that was left when Peter J. Schmidt, a West Seneca, N.Y.-based wholesaler, went out of business in 1992. Peter J. Schmidt was a one-time Loblaw subsidiary and the President's Choice supplier in the western

New York market.

"Tops would be a likely successor to the Bells' stores, which had been supplied by Peter J. Schmidt to carry the President's Choice line. I don't think Bell's did the job that could have been done with it, and what some of the national chains have done," said one upstate New York source.

Sources said President's Choice would be used to complement Tops' existing private-label program and would make it more competitive against its chief rival, Rochester, N.Y.-based Wegmans Food Markets.

"Wegmans has a much better private-label package design [than Tops], and we hear that they are killing Tops when it comes to private-label cookies and pop, so President's Choice may give Tops a more competitive edge," said one local observer.

Other market observers said that Tops' existing private-label program is at least moderately successful, and that it is advertised and merchandised frequently.

The chain also carries brands from its sister chains. "Tops is using a lot of the Finast private label, especially in the nonfood areas, like batteries," a source said.

"Tops continually updates their private label, and they are timely with their introduction of new items. Tops' private label is comparable to Wegmans in terms of the number of private-label stockkeeping units that both chains stock," said another local source.

"Tops has a very good chance of being successful with President's Choice, as long as they merchandise it well and advertise it frequently," said another observer here.