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Stop & Shop to acquire King Kullen

Long Island chain credited by Smithsonian with nation’s first supermarket

Russell Redman

January 4, 2019

3 Min Read
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Ahold Delhaize USA’s Stop & Shop plans to buy Long Island, N.Y., supermarket chain King Kullen Grocery Co. Inc.

Financial terms of the transaction weren’t disclosed. Stop & Shop said Friday that the deal includes 32 King Kullen stores, five Wild by Nature natural/organic supermarkets and the King Kullen corporate office in Bethpage, N.Y.

“King Kullen is a well-respected grocery chain in the Long Island market that has an 88-year tradition of excellent customer service,” Stop & Shop President Mark McGowan said in a statement. “We look forward to bringing our quality, selection and value to more communities in Nassau and Suffolk counties.”

Quincy, Mass.-based Stop & Shop said it expects to close the deal during the first quarter of 2019, pending customary closing conditions.

King Kullen is recognized by the Smithsonian Institution as the America’s first “supermarket.” Along with traditional grocery, King Kullen stores feature a large catering and prepared foods department, fresh-baked breads and sweets, healthy and organic product areas, pharmacies and online shopping. The company launched the Wild by Nature natural food store banner in 1995. However, the company has seen its store count dwindle over the years amid rising competition from larger supermarket chains, big-box discounters and, more recently, online grocery services.

Related:King Kullen boosts online grocery functionality

Currently, Stop & Shop has 51 locations on Long Island. Spokeswoman Jennifer Brogan said the retailer at this time has made no plans in terms of King Kullen banner conversions or store closings. “We will evaluate the stores and make these decisions in the near future,” she stated, adding that Stop & Shop also “is committed to retaining as many associates as possible.”

"In 1930, Michael J. Cullen opened the first King Kullen and ushered in the era of the great American supermarket,” stated Brian Cullen, co-president of King Kullen. “As a family-owned and -operated business, we are very proud of our heritage and extremely grateful to all of our associates and customers for their support over the years. We are confident the Stop & Shop brand will carry on our legacy of service in the region."

Stop & Shop’s planned purchase of King Kullen marks the second acquisition of a Long Island supermarket chain in the past six weeks. In mid-November, German deep discount grocer Lidl announced a deal to buy Bethpage-based Best Market, which has 24 of its 27 metropolitan New York stores on Long Island.

Frans Muller, president and CEO of Zaandam, Netherlands-based Ahold Delhaize, said in a recent interview that the company’s scale and large U.S. footprint give it an advantage in the fragmented retail grocery market on the East Coast. He acknowledged that the company also wouldn’t rule out the possibility of fill-in acquisitions in the U.S.

“There will be more consolidation in the industry for smaller and midsize companies, and it gives us a nice opportunity to gain share, deepen our footprints and make our brands along the East Coast even bigger,” he said.

Stop & Shop is Ahold Delhaize USA’s largest grocery chain. Over the next five years, plans call for Stop & Shop to roll out a new look and shopping experience at its 412 stores in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York and New Jersey. The brand refresh got under way in October at 21 stores in the Hartford, Conn., area. The pilot includes a modernized store format and a new logo that reflect a more customer-centric strategy based on convenience, particularly a wider array of fresh, fast, healthy and local food options and meal solutions.

Chainwide, 60 to 80 stores are due to be upgraded annually under the multiyear program, with capital outlays expected to total $1.6 billion to $2 billion. Stop & Shop stores on Long Island are next in line for upgrades, starting in the spring of 2019.

About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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