Giant Eagle has secured a site for a new technology annex aimed at driving the regional grocer’s digital innovation and expanding its e-commerce offerings.
The company said it has finalized a lease agreement for a 23,000-square-foot facility in the TechMill 41 mixed-use development, which is situated in the Lawrenceville neighborhood of Pittsburgh.
Plans call for Giant Eagle to occupy the new space early next year. Currently, the retailer’s digital-focused staff work out of its headquarters in the Pittsburgh suburb of Fox Chapel and its satellite tech hub in San Francisco.
The Lawrenceville facility will house about 150 digital team members, who will focus on enhancing current online services as well as developing new ones, according to Giant Eagle. The company noted that the planned tech hub underscores efforts to lure and retain top technology talent for its digital transformation, including Curbside Express online grocery ordering, Scan Pay & Go mobile checkout, the Giant Eagle mobile app and other technologies that enhance the shopping experience.
“As the retail industry continues through this amazing period of technological change, we are extremely fortunate to call Pittsburgh — a city with a deep and growing tech talent pool — home,” President and CEO Laura Shapira Karet said in a statement. “Our new office space in the heart of Lawrenceville will provide us with a geographic advantage to compete with regional, national and global companies that are vying for this unique expertise.”
With annual sales of $8.9 billion, Giant Eagle operates 216 grocery stores under the Giant Eagle, Market District, Market District Express and Giant Eagle Express banners plus 258 convenience/fuel locations under the GetGo and Ricker’s banners in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland and Indiana.
