Acme wants A&P stores in Denville, Jefferson
One day after Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co announced bankruptcy proceedings, store closures and the intent to sell others, Acme Markets announced Tuesday that it plans to buy 76 A&P stores, including locations in Denville and Jefferson.
Malvern, Pa.-based Acme, a subsidiary of AB Acquisition LLC (Albertsons Companies), operates 107 stores across Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and New Jersey. It was acquired by Albertsons in 2013.
Acme presently operates stores in Morris Plains and Randolph. The company, which was founded in 1891, once had several more locations in Morris County, including Parsippany, but most were closed over the years by previous ownership.
“The transaction, if completed, would expand the Acme markets footprint in a strategic and vibrant market and build upon A&P’s rich history of delivering quality products and services in the neighborhoods they serve,” Acme announced in a release on its website.
A&P, which also operates Pathmark, Walbaums and Food Emporium in the greater New York region, filed for bankruptcy late Sunday and said it wants to sell 120 stores and close 25 more in a bid to pay its creditors and save thousands of jobs. In addition to Acme, companies that have bid on the assets include Stop & Shop and Key Food Stores
Among the 25 A&P-owned closures announced Sunday was the Pathmark in Kinnelon, which is listed by the company as being in Butler. A&P has not yet announced future plans for its stores in Boonton and Randolph, or its Pathmark locations in Parsippany, Roxbury (Landing) and Lake Hopatcong.
All of those markets face increasing future competition from growing grocery and food chains including Wegmans. Wegmans broke ground on its first Morris County location in January in Hanover, saying it planned to open there in 2016 along with eight other locations in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions.
Montvale-based A&P said it has been squeezed by a confluence of forces, ranging from high costs for its unionized employees to the demand for natural, organic and gluten-free products.
“It’s certainly a time of a lot of anxiety as we go through this process,” said Harvey Whille, president of United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1262.The company’s bankruptcy filing in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court Southern District of New York shows it has about $2.3 billion in liabilities and $1.6 billion in assets.
A&P previously filed for bankruptcy in 2012. Since then, company officials said in documents, its labor costs have remained high and it has had to fight off competitors by lowering prices.
A&P has 300 supermarkets, beer, wine and liquor stores, 28,500 employees and a storied history that includes the nation’s first supermarket — a 28,125-square-foot store in Braddock, Pa. that opened in 1936.
Staff Writer William Westhoven: 973-428-6627; wwesthoven@GannettNJ.com.