Report: Ukrop’s sale deal falls apart over financing
DEAN HOFFMEYER/TIMES-DISPATCH
Quoting an unnamed source, Supermarket News wrote that talks to sell Ukrop’s failed over “contractual issues and an inability to get financing.“
Talks between Henrico County-based Ukrop's Super Markets Inc. and a potential private equity investor have fallen apart, according to Supermarket News, a grocery industry publication.
Quoting an unnamed source, Supermarket News wrote that talks failed over "contractual issues and an inability to get financing."
Ukrop's is now talking to other potential bidders, it said.
In July, Food World, an industry publication that covers the industry in the mid-Atlantic region, wrote that Ukrop's had issued a prospectus soliciting buyers. Food World cited multiple industry sources.
Supermarket News posted a story on its Web site in August saying that an unnamed private equity firm had outbid North Carolina-based grocer Harris Teeter to buy the chain.
Ukrop's has declined comment about a potential sale.
Reader Reactions
Publix is even more expensive than Ukrops, their bakery and prepared foods are sub-par, and their customer service is mediocre. I’m no Ukrops fan, but compared to Publix, our local chain is far superior. Anyone on here praising the Publix chain must not have shopped at one in years. They are awful stores.
I remember going to games at the Diamond joining in the shout, “Let’s go BRAVES, let’s go!“ to cheer the team on. Somehow, shouting, “Let’s go Squirrels, let’s go” just doesn’t have the same feeling to it. Not does, “Let’s go Hambones” or “Let’s go Flatheads” or “Hoppers” or “Flatheads.“ Maybe “Let’s go Rhinos, let’s go.“
If we are the Hambones, we could schedule a game every year with the Montgomery Biscuits of the Southern League. Give aways could be ham & biscuits.
Or if the Flatheads (catfish) then catfish sandwiches could be a staple in the concession stand.
The Carolina Mudcat is a catfish also, schedule an annual game with them with the winner being the “Top Cat” for the year.
Adelphi - I think that as Wegmans gets a market hold in VA, they will have multiple stores per region.
I look at the Rochester, NY area and there are multiple stores. Not as many per are as Ukrops, but none the less there are more.
I think that the Richmond area could be served by a Southside, West End and Glen Allen/Mechanicsville/North Side location for Wegmans.
I’m with you though, I’d drive to shop at Wegmans. I drive 25 minutes to hit Trader Joes, Whole Foods and Tom Leonards.
I can’t imagine though that Wegmans would come in and take over the multiple Ukrops stores. There focus seems to be on building one MASSIVE store to serve a very large and densely populated area. So just give me 1 Wegmans somewhere in the Richmond area and you guys can have any of the other stores you want.
“My brother Booby and I have tried hard over the last 2 decades to bring our values to Central Virginia. “
Thanks… I just squirted Coke out of my nose.
Folks,
My brother Booby and I have tried hard over the last 2 decades to bring our values to Central Virginia. With the upcoming events in Revelations about to happen we feel it’s best to spend time preparing for the end. Good luck and God bless.
Jimmy
I would welcome Publix market taking over Ukrops more so than Harris Teeter, Wegmens or anyone else. Publix is very close to Ukrops in terms of customer service and treatment of their employees. Until 2008 I had property in Florida near their Lakeland HQ with a Publix literally a block away I came to know their stores very well. I think Publix would be a good fit.
I’m sorry Wegmens doesn’t do it for me despite their reputation for suppsed customer service.
I wouldn’t call the contenders for Ukrop’s “second rate”. Giant, Stop and Shop, Harris Teeter and Wegmans all operate close enough to Richmond to make it worth their while. Personally I would like to see them all converted to Publix stores. Publix has 70 stores in SC & Tenn so it’s possible.
In 2008 and 2007 Fortune ranked Wegmans the third best company to work for in the United States. Wegmans has appeared on Fortune’s annual “100 Best Companies to Work For” list since its inception in 1998, and has ranked among the top 10 for seven consecutive years. Food Network recognized it with its award for Best Grocery Store in 2007, and Consumer Reports ranked it the top large grocery chain in the United States in 2009.
Their stores are flawless. ENd of discussion.
Doug_E, the folks who were rude to me at Forest Hill were black, white, and Asian. There were more black employees in this particular store than I’d ever seen at a Ukrop’s, but attributed that to hiring people who lived in the area (a practice I applaud). I don’t care what race or gender an employee is, but I do care about being treated politely. (The women were ruder than the men—I have no idea why.)
I should say that the front-end manager and two courtesy clerks at Harbour Point went above and beyond the call of duty about a year ago, when my husband was still alive. He had what we termed a “biological accident” in the men’s room, which required my assistance. The two clerks kept male shoppers from entering the restroom as I got him cleaned up, and the front-end manager mobilized cleaning equipment and, without my asking, retrieved a package of Depends for me (she accurately figured out my husband’s size). She and the clerks good-naturedly dismissed my repeated apologies and thanks, and the manager didn’t let me pay for the Depends.
That kind of behavior is what Ukrop’s is famous for, not the antics at Forest Hill or Laburnum. And it’s greatly missed.
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