Friday, March 19, 2010

P&C, Quality, and BiLo/Riverside: Here to stay

Four logos

According to Store Front, it looks like the former Penn Traffic brands aren't going the way of Peter's, William's, and Price Chopper New Zealand. It appears that P&C, Quality, and BiLo/Riverside will remain in use for the time being. Also, the Wild Card loyalty programme will also continue to be accepted at these stores. However, Tops' own Bonuscard (still used by current Ahold US stores) might not be taken at all of the newbies (the Skaneateles store took my Bonuscard, but I used my Wild Card at the Skytop store the next day), as it uses a different algorithm, and is not interchangeable with the Wild Card. Not everyone thinks to have both, even if they were in the same area beforehand (such as Bath, Buffalo, and Erie). Even three BiLos in Pennsylvania that now are called Tops yet remain on the BiLo site still use the Wild Card and the same ad as the other new stores (see earlier post). However, it is still early days and the stores are still being evaluated and more announcements are being made as they come.
P&C, Quality, and BiLo/Riverside each have a long history in their respective areas, and it'd be hard to shut the door on it all. These have all changed hands in the past, especially P&C, but it's a different world now. Increasing competition from world-class Wegmans and un-union Walmart, as well as the economy have changed the rules. We'll have to see how this will pan out in the long term. I can accept having the different names as conglomerates Safeway, A&P, and Kroger, who have larger market spans, have it this way as well.

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