MARKET MERGER
Price Chopper/Market 32, Tops enter alliance agreement
Price Chopper/Market 32 and Tops Markets announced on Monday that the companies have entered into a definitive merger agreement that creates an alliance between the grocery chains, nearly doubling their collective footprint in the Northeast.
This transaction unites the two independent New York-based grocery chains, which have deep ties to their local communities and shared commitments to service, savings, and convenience, a press release from Price Chopper/Market 32 and Tops Markets said.
With increased scale across their almost perfectly contiguous footprints, the merged companies are expected to be better positioned to compete and offer
even more value and outstanding services to their customers across the Northeast, the release continued.
Prior to the anticipated merge, Price Chopper/Market 32 operates 130 Price Chopper and Market 32 grocery stores and one Market Bistro, employing 18,000 teammates in New York, Vermont, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. Tops Markets currently operates 162 grocery stores in New York, Pennsylvania, and Vermont, and employs more than 14,000 associates.
The transaction is expected to close in the coming months, subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Once the deal is complete, Scott Grimmett, Price Chopper/Market 32’s president and CEO, will be CEO of and serve on the board of
directors of the new parent company which will oversee the operations of nearly 300 Price Chopper, Market 32, Market Bistro and Tops Markets stores and collectively employ more than 30,000 teammates.
Additionally, Frank Curci, Tops Markets chairman and CEO, will serve on the board of directors of the new parent company and as a consultant to assist in the transition. Blaine Bringhurst, Price Chopper/Market 32’s executive vice president of merchandising, marketing and store operations, will lead the Price Chopper/Market 32 business. John Persons, Tops Markets president and chief operating officer, will lead the Tops Markets business.
The new parent company will be headquartered in Schenectady, the site of Price Chopper/Market 32’s headquarters. The Price Chopper/Market 32 and
Tops Markets businesses will retain main offices in Schenectady and Williamsville, where Tops Markets is based, and will continue to be managed locally by their respective leaders.
“This merger marks a major step forward and collectively elevates our ability to compete on every level,” Grimmett said in the release. “It leverages increased value for our customers; advances shared opportunities for innovation; fortifies the depth of our workforce, community and trade partnerships; and ultimately accelerates our capacity to deliver a distinctively modern and convenient shopping experience.
“Given the vital role that supermarkets and their workforces play in our communities, particularly this past year, I am excited to lead the parent company of these two historic grocery
retailers.”
Curci added, “We have long believed that this merger makes sense both strategically and based on the similar ways in which we each put customers first, go to market and treat our people. We look forward to working closely with the
Price Chopper/Market 32 team and together becoming an even stronger competitor with more scale, as we continue serving our customers and communities.”
Neil Golub, Price Chopper/Market 32’s executive chairman of the board also commented in the release.
“I’ve seen tremendous change in our industry across my 65-year career and have long been an advocate for the promise of innovation and partnership, like that which has driven this merger forward. I can assure you that our commitment to sustaining and improving the communities in which we operate remains steadfast,” he said.
“Tops has always put serving customers and providing an exceptional shopping experience at the center of everything we do, and this merger is no different,”
Persons said in the release. “Our associates, who take pride in their work and recognize the importance of the role they play in taking care of customers and communities, will continue to be the backbone of our company.”
With formative roots dating back to the 1920s, both Tops Markets and Price Chopper/Market 32 have grown exponentially over the last century, building and acquiring stores across upstate New York and throughout the Northeast, the release said, noting that the merged companies are committed to serving their markets across the Northeast.
More information about the grocery chains is available online at www.pricechopper.com and www.topsmarkets.com.
CLIFTON PARK, N.Y. » A Maine man was arrested on felony weapons charges in connection to an incident at the La Quinta Inn and Suites on Route 9.
The Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office arrested Michael J. McLaughlin, 29, of West Enfield, Maine and charged him with two counts of seconddegree criminal possession of a weapon (felony), two counts of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon (felony), and one count of thirddegree criminal possession of a weapon (felony).
Deputies responded to the La Quinta Inn and Suites for reports of a subject walking around the hotel with a firearm. The subject in question, identified as McLaughlin, was located in the hotel and found to be in possession of several weapons at the time.
McLaughlin was arraigned in Malta Town Court and remanded to the Saratoga County Correctional Facility on $20,000 cash bail, $40,000 secured bond, or $80,000 partially secured bond. He is scheduled to answer the respective charges in Clifton Park Town Court at a later date.