Golub Corp. to Debut 'Market 32' Banner

The Golub Corp., parent company of the Price Chopper grocery chain, has revealed a new banner for its stores, Market 32, which it says will transform food shopping through modernized stores and new services and products. Market 32 stores will start opening across the Schenectady, N.Y.-based grocery chain's six-state market area this spring.

"Market 32 represents the next leap forward for our company," explained Neil Golub, Price Chopper's executive chairman of the board. "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."

Added Golub, "Early learnings gleaned from our Market Bistro concept store have put our next generation in an excellent position to make this move today."

"Market 32 combines what we are hearing from our customers and what we are learning at Market Bistro, with some of the best thinking in the retail industry, and will focus on delivering a distinctively different shopping experience to our customers," noted Jerel Golub, Price Chopper's president and CEO. "Our stores will meet customers' needs today and for decades to come. Most importantly, though, we will continue to offer great value for great food and service."

To begin with, three Price Chopper stores, in Clifton Park, N.Y.; Wilton, N.Y.; and Pittsfield, Mass., will be converted to the Market 32 banner. The first ground-up Market 32 will be built in Sutton, Mass., with the groundbreaking to take place on Nov. 12. A second wave of conversions will then begin over the next 18 months, encompassing another 10 to 15 stores. More than half of the 135-store chain will be converted within five years. According to the Golub Corp., the total investment in this phase of the conversions will be more than $300 million.

Expanded foodservice options, enhanced product mix

The new stores will feature expanded foodservice options, an enhanced product mix and a re-emphasis on customer service. More details on the new concept will be shared in the coming months as store conversions get underway.

Key elements of the savings platform offered by Price Chopper stores will be incorporated into Market 32, including Price Chopper brand products, AdvantEdge card savings, weekly features and special promotions, the Fuel AdvantEdge program, and double coupons and e-coupons.

"This is not merely about beautifying our Price Chopper stores," stressed Jerel Golub. "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. Our investment in this transformation reflects not only the position of strength from which we take this calculated risk, but [also] our determination to set a new and higher, more customer-focused standard that will engage and inspire shoppers for decades to come."

The Golub Corp. owns and operates 134 Price Chopper stores in New York, Vermont, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Golub’s 22,000 teammates collectively own more than 47 percent of the company's privately held stock, making it one of the nation’s largest privately held corporations that’s predominantly employee-owned.