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 of its 134 stores over the next eight years
or so at cost of some $300 million.
The stores in Clifton Park and Wilton are
among the first three that are getting the
makeover, the third being Pittsfield, Mass.
Price Chopper stores, and the brand, will
become Market 32. The company promised
the new brand will change food shopping for
its customers by modernizing its stores and
offering new services and products.
Market 32 stores will begin rolling out
across the chain’s six-state
footprint this
spring.
A few days after the announcement, Jerry
Golub, Price Chopper CEO, took questions
from customers in a live chat on Facebook.
He stated that the rebranding “does not
add significant additional costs. Most of the
investment is being made in upgrades to our
stores. In addition, we will continue to keep
prices as low as we possibly can. They will not
go up as a result of this rebranding effort.”
He said the company has no intention to
do away with the programs such as the AdvantEdge
card and Fuel AdvantEdge rewards.
“We did not start with the intention of
changing our name. We started with the goal
of determining the type of shopping experience
that our customers are looking for now
and in the future,” the CEO said. “Once we
had a clear vision of what that experience
will include, and how it will be unique and
relevant, we had to hold up a mirror to the
Price Chopper name and ask ourselves if the
current name reflects where we are going as
a company. That’s when it became clear to us
that the Price Chopper name was too limiting
and needed to be changed.”
He said the $300 million in investment
“will entirely change their look and feel, while
offering an enhanced selection of products,
a focus on health and wellness, and other
elements that will enhance the shopping
experience. The portion of the total investment
that pertains to the name change is
actually very small.
“Updating our stores is something that
is necessary if we want to continue to be
relevant and meet our customers changing
needs. We would be spending close to that
amount to update and modernize our stores,
even without a rebranding effort.”
He said the money will not only be used to
update the look and feel of our stores, but will
add important elements and offers to improve
the shopping experience.
Making the formal announcement, Neil
Golub, executive chairman of the board of the
Schenectady-based company, said Market 32
“represents the next leap forward for our company.
We have evolved from the Public Service
Market to Central Market to Price Chopper
by responding to customers’ changing needs
over time and Market 32 is the next natural
progression for us,” said. “Early learnings
gleaned from our Market Bistro concept store
have put our next generation in an excellent
position to make this move today.”
The choice of Market 32 as the new name
“is a reflection of the fact that our company
was founded by Ben and Bill Golub back in
1932. We’re very proud of our heritage and
the fact that we’ve been part of this great
community for the past 82 years, and there’s
no better way to express that pride than by reflecting
it in our new name,” said Neil Golub.
The first “ground up” Market 32 will be
built in Sutton, Mass. A second wave of conversions
will begin over the next 18 months
and encompass another 10 to 15 stores. More
than half of the chain will be converted within
five years, he said.
The new stores will have expanded food
service options, an enhanced product mix
and a re-emphasis on customer service.
More details about the many differences
in the new concept will be unveiled in the
coming months as store conversions begin,
the Golubs said.
“This is not merely about beautifying our
Price Chopper stores. It is a complete refocus
of our company on the core values that our
customers are looking for in a store. We will
be re-engineering nearly every facet of the
store, beginning with the name but extending
into our marketing, product selection, services
offered and customer focus,” said Jerry
Golub. “Our investment in this transformation
reflects not only the position of strength from
which we take this calculated risk, but our
determination to set a new and higher more
customer-focused standard that will engage
and inspire shoppers for decades to come.”
The chain has grocery stores in New York,
Vermont, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts
and New Hampshire.
Photo Courtesy Price Chopper