Pathmark
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Pathmark | |
 |
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| Type | Public (NASDAQ: PTMK) |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1968 in Carteret, New Jersey |
| Headquarters | [200 Milik Street Carteret, New Jersey]USA |
| Key people | John T. Standley (CEO) |
| Industry | Retail |
| Products | Grocery, Meat, Produce, Dairy, Deli, Bakery, Non-Foods, Frozen Foods, Seafood, Pharmacy, Floral |
| Revenue | $3.981 Billion USD (2005) |
| Net income |  $327.1 Million USD (2005) |
| Website | www.pathmark.com |
Pathmark (NASDAQ: PTMK), headquartered in Carteret, New Jersey, is a supermarket chain founded in 1968 when its parent, Supermarkets General (now known by the store name), pulled out of the ShopRite retailers' cooperative. The company is currently being purchased by Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company and ownership is expected to change late fall/early winter of 2007.
As of March 2007, Pathmark operates 141 stores in Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. Supermarket News ranked Pathmark No. 31 in the 2007 "Top 75 North American Food Retailers" based on 2006 fiscal year estimated sales of $4.1 billion.[1] Based on 2005 revenue, Pathmark is the sixty-seventh largest retailer in the United States.[2]
A&P revealed on February 27, 2007, that it was in talks to acquire Pathmark for $653 million.[3]; the price of the chain went up over the next few days, and A&P announced on March 5th that it will buy Pathmark, for $1.3 billion which will be subject to certain approvals such as shareholder, state and federal anti-trust. http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/2007-03-05-ap-pathmark-deal_N.htm A&P buys Pathmark Stores], Reuters, February 27, 2007.</ref>
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[edit] History
Pathmark begun in 1968 as a group of stores that left the Shop Rite Co-op. This company became known as Supermarkets General Corporation.
Pathmark was one of the first supermarket chains in the New York metropolitan area to operate 24 hours a day during the work week. They also became one of the first chains to contain in store bakeries, in store pharmacies, as well as increasing the amount of general merchandise (items you would not expect to find in a supermarket) sold in their stores. It became well known for television and radio commercials that featured actor James Karen as spokesman for more than 20 years.
Pathmark had been extremely competitive through the 1980s. It was the number 2 chain as well behind Shop Rite. Stores indeed did comparable sales to Shop Rite. In the late 1980s the company made a few bad investments and in 1987 took a leveraged buyout. By the early 1990s Pathmark continued to have financial troubles, barely able to pay interest on its debt. In 1993, Pathmark restructured and Stores, however remained profitable as the company continued remodeling and updating their stores. At that point the company sold Rickel Home Center stores. Supermarkets General became known as Pathmark Stores Incorporated. With the exception of exiting the Connecticut market in 1995, the company has closed very few stores. In 1994, the company sold the Purity Sumpreme/Heartland Food Supermarket division serving Central New England to Royal Ahold. Those stores are mostly Stop & Shop stores.
In 1997, Pathmark sold their Woodbridge warehouse to C & S WHolesale Grocery, which still services Pathmark today. In 1999, Pathmark proposed a sale to Royal Ahold (which owned and still owns Stop & Shop Supermarkets). At that time Ahold owned about 2 dozen stores in the New York Metro area known as Edwards Super Food Stores. Under the deal Edwards stores would be renamed Pathmark. In addition both Giant Supermarkets of Carlisle as well as Giant of Maryland would be rebranded Pathmark. Stop & Shop would continue to be the banner for New England stores. By the end of 1999, government approval of this sale was denied due to teh fact the company would own too many stores in the New York Metro area. About half the stores in that area would have to be sold for the sale to be approved. At the end of 1999 Ahold walked away from the deal. The rebranded Edwards stores Stop & Shop. Giant of Carlisle and Giant of Maryland remained under separate divisions (and remain separate today).
Due to the fact this sale did not go through, Pathmark filed for bankruptcy in July of 2000, but was able to recover in early 2001. Pathmark managed to buy half a dozen Grand Union Supermarkets that year that Ahold was unable to take over. In 2005 40% of Pathmark was bought by the Yucaipa Co's.[4]
In 2006, rumors of a merger with A & P began to surface. In February of 2007, it was announced that negotiations were going on for A & P to buy Pathmark. On March 5, 2006, A&P announced that it will buy Pathmark, for $1.3 billion which will be subject to certain approvals such as shareholder, state and federal anti-trust. Under the deal, between 20 and 35 stores will be sold to competitors. Pathmark and A & P will remain separate banners. Employees working at the in-store levels will remain with their respective banners for the forseeable future, but people working above store levels will be consolidated.
[edit] Product partnership
Pathmark partnered with Wild Oats Markets beginning in February 2007 when Pathmark added Wild Oats brand private-label goods to all of its 141 northeast U.S. stores. About 150 different natural and organic products were included in the partnership, including specialty products such as imported Italian sodas, balsamic vinegar, organic fruit spreads and flatbread crackers.[5]
[edit] References
- ^ 2007 Top 75 North American Food Retailers, Supermarket News, Last accessed February 24, 2007.
- ^ Top 100 Retailers: The Nation's Retail Power Players (PDF), Stores, July 2006.
- ^ A&P in talks to buy Pathmark for about $653 mln, Reuters, February 27, 2007.
- ^ Yucaipa to invest $150 million in Pathmark Stores, Inc. common stock and warrants (PDF), Pathmark, March 24, 2005.
- ^ Pathmark Stores Introduce Hundreds of Wild Oats Brand Specialty Products, Wild Oats Markets, Inc., February 6, 2007.
