Price Chopper
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- For the unrelated supermarket chain, based in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, see Associated Wholesale Grocers.
- For Canadian Price Chopper stores, see Sobeys.:For other uses, see Price Chopper (disambiguation)}}}.
History
In 1933 Russian immigrants Bernard and William Golub opened their first Central Market in Schenectady, NY. It was a success and they continued to open many more stores in the region. In 1943 the Golub brothers bought out Joseph Grosberg and formed the present parent company, the Golub Corporation. In 1951 they were one of the first grocery chains in the country to issue the well-known S&H Green Trading Stamps.In the fall of 1973 Central Market changed their operating strategy. They dropped the Green Stamps, slashed their prices, and to reflect this new strategy changed the stores' name to Price Chopper. Since then Price Chopper has continued to grow, opening new stores and upgrading old ones.
Store Modernization Project (1980s & 1990s)
Price Chopper was an early innovator in the conversion of conventional stores to superstores and combination (food & drug) units. The first Price Chopper Super Center opened in the early 1980s in Latham, New York, followed by an even larger unit constructed in Glens Falls, New York, in 1986. The Super Centers, which were state of the art by 1980s standards, often featured full-service meat, seafood, and bakery departments, as well as pharmacies and banks (features new to supermarkets at the time). These units were also known for their unconventional layouts with aisles facing horizontally, or away from the cash registers, rather than the traditional vertical arrangement with the aisles facing the cash register area (Very few Price Chopper stores still retain this layout today).In 1993, Price Chopper launched an updated version of the Super Center format with their South Hills Mall store (#2) [store will close on July 15, 2006] in Poughkeepsie, New York when the chain entered Dutchess County, New York. The updated concept had a greater emphasis on take-out/ready meals, some featuring food courts with Price Chopper's own in-house branded concepts, such as Roaster's (rotisserie), Bella Roma (pizza), Coyote Joes (tacos), and the Bagel Factory. Under the newer prototype the aisles were also placed back in the traditional vertical arrangement at the request of many customers finding the former layout quite confusing.
Expansion into New England
Prior to 1990, Price Chopper was barely even a player in the New England market, with only about a half dozen outlets in Massachusetts and Vermont. However, beginning in the early 1990s, the chain began an aggressive expansion eastward into the New England region, primarily focusing on further growth in Vermont and Massachusetts. (Today the chain operates about 35 stores in this region and continues to grow)In 1990, Price Chopper acquired many stores in Vermont from Syracuse-based P&C Food Markets. (The FTC was requiring P&C to sell off several stores at the time because of its parent company's decision to increase its ownership stake in the Grand Union Co.) Throughout the 1990s, Price Chopper made an attempt to either modernize, expand, or construct replacement stores for many of the acquired P&C locations.
In 1995, Price Chopper acquired The Wonder Market Companies' twelve Big D stores in the Worcester, Massachusetts area, rebranding or replacing them as Price Chopper stores.
In 1999, Price Chopper opened its first New Hampshire store in West Lebanon. However, the chain has been slow to grow in the Granite State, as it only recently opened its second New Hampshire location in January of 2006 - a 74,000 market center in Keene.
In recent years, Price Chopper has also begun to expand rapidly into Connecticut (primarily in the Hartford suburbs) where it now operates six stores and is currently constructing a seventh.
Price Chopper's Attempt at Convenience Retailing
In 2002, Price Chopper exited the convenience store business by leasing out its remaining convenience locations to Petroleum Marketing, a Getty operator. Price Chopper had attempted to enter the convenience store business during the 1980s by opening smaller stores with gas under the "Mini Chopper" trade name, but was largely unsuccessful. It was perhaps quite difficult for Price Chopper to emerge as a successful convenience retailer with Saratoga Springs, NY-based Stewart's Shops already having such an overwhelmingly dominant position in the convenience store business throughout large portions of Price Chopper's trading area.Today
| New York | 70 |
| Massachusetts | 14 |
| Vermont | 12 |
| Pennsylvania | 8 |
| Connecticut | 6 |
| New Hampshire | 2 |
| TOTAL | 112 |
The Golub Corporation, a leading employer in the Capital District of New York, is 55% employee-owned, with the other 45% remaining in the hands of the Golub family. President and CEO Neil Golub is a well-known and generally liked philanthropist in the region.
Ben and Bill's
In late 2005, renovations on the 8 year-old Slingerlands store (#159) began. Plans for the renovation included the opening of a New York-style sandwich shop to be named, "Ben and Bill's" after the founders of the company. If the sandwich shop is successful at the Slingerlands store, it will be incorporated into stores throughout the chain. The Sandwich Shop is now open, selling a variety of pre-packaged products, such as typical New York City pastries, along with sandwiches and deli items. It stands next to the store's regular deli.Market Share By Region
Price Chopper holds a strong position in several of the markets in which it operates, including Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY, Worcester, MA, and Utica-Rome, NY.'''Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY (Capital Region)
1.) Price Chopper - 36.0%
2.) Hannaford - 21.1%
3.) Stewart's Shops - 12.7%
4.) Wal-Mart Supercenters - 10.9%
5.) BJ's Wholesale Club - 5.6%
(Source: Supermarket News, October 17, 2005)
Worcester, MA
1.) Price Chopper - 19.5%*
2.) Shaw's - 18.7%
3.) Stop & Shop - 18.2%
4.) Hannaford - 11.9%
(Source: Supermarket News, October 17, 2005)
* Figure was combined with Big D/Wonder Markets which was acquired by Price Chopper
Utica-Rome, NY
1.) Wal-Mart Supercenters - 26.1%
2.) Price Chopper - 17.6%
3.) Hannaford - 13.3%
4.) Tops Markets - 12.9%*
5.) Penn Traffic (P&C) - 9.8%
(Source: Supermarket News, October 17, 2005)
*Since this study was conducted, Tops has exited the Utica market and sold three of its units to Hannaford
Burlington, VT
1.) Hannaford - 48.9%
2.) Shaw's - 18.4%
3.) Costco - 12.6%
4.) Price Chopper - 11.6%
5.) Grand Union- 5.5%
(Source: Supermarket News, October 17, 2005)
Poughkeepsie, NY
1.) Wakefern (ShopRite) - 21.9%
2.) Stop & Shop - 20.0%
3.) Hannaford - 13.7%
4.) Wal-Mart Supercenters - 8.4%
5.) Price Chopper - 6.7%
(Source: Supermarket News, October 17, 2005)
Syracuse, NY
1.) Wegmans - 37%
2.) Penn Traffic (P&C) - 20%
3.) Price Chopper - 12%
(Source: MMR, June 13, 2005, "Top 100 Markets")
External links
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