Text 1602, 52 rader
Skriven 2006-05-20 16:45:30 av DAVE SACERDOTE (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av MICHAEL LOO
Ärende: Food Zone 696
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DS> When FPM/Champion closed their doors and IGA took the place in lieu
DS> of the cash they were owed, the IGA regional manager said that
DS> they were only selling off the stock, not any of the fixtures,
DS> because they felt the location was good and they wanted to find
DS> someone who would open up another grocery store for the area.

ML> What's the position of IGA in this - IGA stands for independent
ML> grocers' something, but aren't their stores labeled IGA in some
ML> way? Was FPM or Champion an affiliate?

Champion was an IGA store for the short time it was FPM's successor.
The managers of Champion skipped on their debts, so IGA was awarded
lock, stock, and barrel by the bankruptcy court.  IGA sold off the 
stock to liquidate the perishables and recover their losses, but
refused to sell fixtures or equipment in the belief that the area
needed a grocery store and that one would be profitable if managed
well, so they would try to find a stable buyer for the physical
building after the stock was sold.

DS> I have a feeling they did some recruiting.

ML> I admit that this guy with his enthusiasm and Latin background
ML> looks like a good fit, and that the area does cry out for a
ML> neighborhood grocer, but the question I have is: the previous
ML> enterprises built a good customer base and did land-office
ML> business. So why did they fail, one wonders.

I agree with Sr. Diaz that the reason that FPM/Champion failed was
mismanagement.  That corner of Belmont has had a neighborhood 
supermarket since the late 1950's.  Although the Springfield paper
mentioned Food Mart, Waldbaum's, and A&P as "previous stores" what
they left out was that the store was actually a "Food Mart" for
almost 50 years:  Food Mart changed its name to "Waldbaum's Food Mart"
in the 1970's because a court ruled that the phrase "Food Mart" could
not be considered a trademark; Waldbaum's later bought the New England
rights to the A&P name and added them to the stores.  When Big Y
later went on their anticompetitive rampage, they bought a number of
A&Ps and promptly shuttered them to eliminate low-price competition 
in their operating areas.

FPM was there a little over a year before changing their name to
Champion and going under when the management skipped town.  That
doesn't seem to be a fault of the location.  If Diaz can find and
retain decent local management and keeps an eye on things, I can
forsee a bright future.

 

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