Reopenings, Rebrandings Continue at Marsh

Marsh Supermarkets Inc. celebrated the grand re-opening of its store on 116th Street in Carmel, Ind., on Thursday after a $2 million redesign and remodeling project.

Meanwhile, two other Marsh supermarkets in another Indiana town were rebadged as MainStreet Markets.

Marsh Chairman, CEO and President Joe Kelley led the Carmel ribbon cutting, after which the store’s first 200 customers received free $5 Marsh gift cards. The first 200 customers each day through Sunday were eligible to receive free items.

Kelley said the store has undergone significant physical improvements including new fixtures, enhanced lighting, rotisserie and hot foods center, soup and sandwich bar, and a wine department with temperature controlled cases. “Along with these visible physical upgrades, we continue our commitment to the level of customer service Marsh customers have come to expect and have enhanced many of our product offerings,” Kelley said. “We look forwarding to serving Carmel and surrounding area residents for many more years with our newly remodeled store.”

Recycled materials were used in elements of the décor package. The newly remodeled wine department features art sculptured from John Deere parts and the store boasts a mural painted by a local artist. A new reading center provides shoppers with an area to relax and enjoy coffee or soft drinks from the enhanced café.

Also Thursday, two Marsh stores in Greensburg, Ind., were converted to MainStreet Markets, the latest in a series of store rebadgings for the Indianapolis-based retailer.

The company has explained its business rationale for the rebrandings is based on “an increasing need to better position many of Marsh’s smaller and more traditional facilities with offerings and services consistent with consumer preferences in these store’s trading areas. MainStreet Market will build on the foundation of local community involvement, fresh, high-quality perishable products, fast and friendly service, fair pricing and weekly specials on popular staple items.”

This move represents a refinement of Marsh’s existing two-banner store strategy that was launched in late 2006 and included the renovation of 90 percent of the Marsh store base. That strategy bannered many of the smaller stores as Marsh Hometown Markets, while renaming many of the larger stores with broader departmental and product offerings as Marsh the Marketplace.

“Consumer research has consistently indicated that while our initial strategy aimed to better position and differentiate our stores according to their size and varying consumer demands, the fact that both banners continued to operate under the Marsh name limited our ability to do so,” Kelley said. “Operating under the name MainStreet Market will enable us to take the best of what Marsh stands for in these communities and add a much more customized marketing approach for these stores.”

Marsh operates 70 Marsh stores, including three O’Malia’s Supermarkets and 27 MainStreet Markets in Indiana and Ohio, with 40 Indiana pharmacy locations.