Dive Brief:
- Weis Markets has agreed to acquire a pair of Pennsylvania supermarkets and other assets from Sunnyway Foods and intends to rebrand the stores under the Weis banner, the grocery chain announced Friday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
- The Sunnyway stores involved in the transaction, located in Chambersburg and Greencastle, Pennsylvania, are the only supermarkets the company operates.
- Weis’ pending acquisition of the Sunnyway stores builds on expansion plans the chain announced in May.
Dive Insight:
The sale is scheduled to close before the end of the year, and both stores will shutter briefly while they are converted to the Weis Markets brand, according to the announcement. The locations will start operating on Sundays as part of their integration, Weis said.
Weis said it intends to interview associates who currently work in the stores it is purchasing from Sunnyway who are “interested in employment at Weis Markets,” but did not provide further information about its hiring plans. Sunnyway’s first store opened in 1955, and the grocer added a second location in 1973, according to Herald-Mail Media.
“Sunnyway Foods, the Martin family and its associates are known for their service and dedication to their communities,” said Jonathan Weis, Weis Markets’ chairman and CEO, in a statement. “As a company with a strong local focus, our goal is to build upon this strong foundation.”
The announcement builds on plans Weis announced earlier this year to construct six new stores, all of which are due to open in 2025. The company, which currently runs 196 supermarkets in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, West Virginia and Virginia, also said it expects to open five fuel centers and update 26 stores.
Based in Sunbury, Pennsylvania, Weis generated sales of about $1.2 billion in its latest quarter, which concluded June 29. Comparable store sales rose 0.5% year over year during the period, according to the company.
