Is A&P deal trouble for Plainfield?

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A&P is moving to take over Pathmark and that could be trouble for Plainfield's supermarket hopes.

You may have missed the brief business story in Wednesday's Ledger ("A&P, Pathmark confirm talks"), but the industry's 'worst-kept secret' was acknowledged on Tuesday.

Both supermarkets have been troubled financially for years -- this in an industry where profit margins can be as low as 3%.

What does this have to do with Plainfield?

Pathmark has been rumored for years to be THE supermarket that is interested in the Marino's redevelopment site on West Front Street, across from the Drake House Museum.

AST, the developer designated for the project has already missed a deadline, asked for an extension, and looks like it may miss on the extension, too. Whatever their problems have been in putting a deal together, they are likely to become more complicated now.

The reason is that A&P, the top dog in the deal, is known not to perform well in URBAN locations. Their strength has been in their SUBURBAN stores, like South Plainfield -- though you may have your doubts after witnessing their disastrous store reconfiguration of last summer.

Though Pathmark's strength is its performance in URBAN markets, expansion plans may be put on hold by the new management until the merger can be consolidated. That consolidation is likely to include the closing of stores where there is overlap and where one or the other chain has an underperforming unit. And, of course, the new management could put the kibosh on plans for any Plainfield Pathmark unit.

PT has puzzled for years at the rather drab Pathmark on Route 22 in North Plainfield. From a marketing point of view, it seems a nearly ideal location, with no competition in any direction for about three to four miles. But somehow it has never seemed to quite click, unlike the South Plainfield A&P, which was mobbed from its opening day.

What kind of traffic can a Plainfield supermarket generate? Plainfielders have resented not having a store since Foodtown was yanked after Royal Dutch Ahold took over the chain in the early 1990s. But resentment may not be enough to make a business case.

While the West Front Street location makes sense from the point of view of how close competitors are (the problem would be the Route 22 Pathmark), the real issue on the minds of store executives and the developer is probably: Who will shop there?

Desirable upscale shoppers will have to have some incentive to bring them to West Front Street.

What will it be?

-- Dan Damon

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