Here’s some food for thought. Bruised by debt and swelling competition, A&P, one of America’s most venerable supermarket chains filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection over the weekend, though the company says all of its nearly 400 stores will remain open, fully stocked, and operating business as usual. At least for now.  Founded in 1859 as a coffee, tea, and spice merchant, A&P today runs nearly 400 stores in the Northeast under its flagship name as well as Waldbaum’s, The Food Emporium, Super Fresh, Pathmark, Best Cellars, and Food Basics logos. The bankruptcy filing will give the company breathing room to restructure its debt, reduce “structural” costs, and keep paying its bills via access to some $800 million in what’s called “debtor-in-possession” financing. Experts predict that A&P might end up scuttling as many as a quarter of its stores on the road back to solvency. Like many supermarket operators, A&P has been pummeled by the sour economy and reduced consumer spending. The chain, also like many others, has also been under assault by warehouse clubs, drugstores, and giant retailers like Walmart and Target, which have entered the supermarket arena in a big way. The chain has additionally been hampered by pension and lease costs, among other hurdles. According to A&P, the company began implementing a turnaround strategy back in October, which included the radical idea of “improving the A&P value proposition for consumers” and “enhancing the customer experience.”  Heck, A&P should’ve realized that the customer experience at the chain’s stores was in need of improvement as far back as 1992, when we undertook our first major survey of reader experiences at the nation’s biggest grocery chains. We’ve conducted the survey five times hence, and in every instance, A&P (along with Pathmark, and Waldbaum’s on those occasion’s we’ve had adequate data to include the latter in the rankings) has been at or near the bottom of the Ratings. What’s the problem? Relative to perennial top-ranked grocers such as Publix, Raley’s, Wegmans, and Harris Teeter, A&P consistently generates below – or much below – average scores for service (staff helpfulness and checkout speed), the quality of its perishables (meat, produce, and baked goods), store cleanliness, and overall prices. At best, A&P earns a rating of “average” in a couple of key ratings areas, but never anything above that. And remember, these are criticisms expressed by the chain’s own customers – people who shop its stores regularly. While A&P is certainly not the only chain to receive black marks in our studies, it has no particular strengths to fall back on, as do some others. Take ShopRite, another Northeast reatailer, for example. Despite middling scores for service, perishables, and cleanliness, it was lauded for better-than-average prices, which is at least some consolation.  Way back in 1993, when we published that first supermarket Ratings report, our survey researchers took note of the fact that many of the low-rated chains like A&P and the now-defunct Grand Union were clustered in the East. We wondered, in effect, whether the phenomenon was attributable to what was humorously dubbed a “crabby New Yorker” effect? In other words, were the low scores in any way due to the fact that the East is more urbanized and it’s tougher to operate supermarkets in large cities?  Not at all. After reviewing the data, our experts concluded that stores in large cities in other parts of the U.S. fared well, overall. Moreover, most Eastern stores in the survey tended to be located in suburbia, not within a city’s boundaries. And, finally, supermarket chains with stores in the East and another region didn’t do consistently better outside the East. So much for the crabby New Yorker theory.   

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