Stop & Shop Acquires 25 A&P Stores

The Stop & Shop Supermarket Co. has acquired a total of 25 stores in the greater New York area sold off by the bankrupt Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. in its Oct. 8 auction, and will begin converting them in groups of up to five stores.

The locations will temporarily close for about seven days, with all conversions expected to be completed by Friday, Nov. 13.

Meanwhile, the first wave of Stop & Shop grand openings of formerly A&P-owned stores is set for Friday, Oct. 16 in East Hampton, South Hampton, Bronx, Ozone Park (Queens) and Brooklyn, N.Y.

The extent of the remodels and addition of new amenities will vary by store, but each reopened store will be rebannered as a Stop & Shop and feature updated decor, new refrigeration systems and lighting, and cutting-edge technology.

"Stop & Shop is committed to improving the overall shopping experience in these 25 stores to meet the quality, selection and savings that customers have come to expect from us," said Don Sussman, president of the Stop & Shop New York Metro Division, in Purchase, N.Y., noting that the company would "strive to minimize the inconvenience to customers" during the conversions.

Other new amenities of the converted stores include access to e-grocer Peapod, one of Stop & Shop's sister companies, which recently expanded its service in the New York metropolitan area.

Montvale, N.J.-based A&P got approval last month from the court overseeing its bankruptcy proceedings to sell the stores to Stop & Shop.

An Ahold company, Stop & Shop employs more than 59,000 associates and operates 394 stores throughout Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York and New Jersey.