Penn Traffic: Difference between revisions

P&C Foods began in 1944 as the Producers and Consumers food cooperative in [[Ithaca, New York]], as a way for farmers in [[Upstate New York]] to get their products to market efficiently. Until 2010, Penn Traffic operated 70 P&C supermarkets serving the [[Syracuse metropolitan area]] and other communities in Upstate New York, [[Vermont]], [[New Hampshire]], and [[Pennsylvania]]. P&C was also a major wholesaler in upstate New York; from its Syracuse warehouse, the company served 99 independent supermarkets in central New York, the majority of which still operate under the Big M franchise trade name.<ref>[https://www.bigmsupermarkets.com Big M Supermarkets]</ref>

In 1997, a new ballpark for the [[Syracuse Chiefs]] opened. Penn Traffic owned the naming rights for nine baseball seasons of [[NBT Bank Stadium|P & C Stadium]]. The last P&C Foods branded grocery store closed on January 21, 2012 in [[Bath, New York]], when the building was sold to Moran Foods, owner of [[Save-A-Lot]], by order of the [[Federal Trade Commission|FTC]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.the-leader.com/x123110939/Save-A-Lot-owner-buys-Bath-P-C |title=Save-A-Lot owner buys Bath P&C |newspaper=[[Corning Leader]] |date=January 10, 2012 |first=Mary |last=Perham |access-date=August 10, 2014 |archive-date=August 12, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140812203519/http://www.the-leader.com/x123110939/Save-A-Lot-owner-buys-Bath-P-C |url-status=dead }}</ref> The P&C name survives today in [[Cortland, New York|Cortland]] and Ithaca under new owners.<ref>[https://www.pandcfresh.com P&C Fresh]</ref>

When the first Big Bear store opened in 1933, it marked the beginning of self-service supermarket operations in the [[Midwestern United States|Midwest]]. Big Bear was the first supermarket in the country to use cashier-operated motorized [[conveyor belts]] and the first to use an [[IBM]] [[mainframe computer]]. In the 1980s, its Big Bear Plus stores combined a supermarket with a general merchandise store. Penn Traffic operated 70 Big Bear and Big Bear Plus stores in [[Ohio]] and [[West Virginia]] until early 2004. As a result of Penn Traffic's 2003 [[bankruptcy]] filing, these stores were either closed or sold to other companies, such as grocery retailer [[Giant Eagle]], while other properties were left vacant and still remain vacant. The [[Columbus, Ohio]] warehouses operated by Big Bear were also left vacant and subsequently torn down for redevelopment.

In 1997, Hirsch hired Phil Hawkins, who was credited with saving the [[Vons]] supermarket chain in [[California]]. Hawkins, forced to cut costs, and fired 325 employees, including all five division heads, some with 20 years or more with Penn Traffic. As [[CEO]], Hawkins replaced USDA Choice meat in its butcher shops with a cheaper grade meat. In an effort to reposition its stores as value-focused, Hawkins slashed expenses by using generic grocery bags, postponing store maintenance, and reducing benefits to employees. In the Columbus market, prices did not uniformly drop and competitors, including [[Kroger]] and [[Meijer]] regularly beat Big Bear in third party cost comparisons.

In 1998, Penn Traffic sold its Dairydairy operationoperations, Sani-Dairy in [[Johnstown, Pennsylvania]], to Dean Foods. The dairy provided fluid milk, sour cream, ice cream, novelties, and cottage cheese to Penn Traffic stores and to private label customers.

In 2003, the company filed for bankruptcy again, this time resulting in the loss of Big Bear, one of their largest grocery chains. The move did not come as a surprise to industry insiders as Big Bear was Penn Traffic's albatross; the chain was often high volume low profit company and officials realized this too late to save the crown jewel P&C Foods. Joseph V. Fischer wasresigned creditedone formonth a positive turn in momentum and had movedinto the companysecond in[[Chapter a11, positiveTitle direction.11, JosephUnited V.States FischerCode|Chapter resigned11 one month into the second chapter 11filing]], and was replaced by Steven G. Panagos, a well known corporate turnaround specialist. Steven Panagos successfully sold the Big Bear division, shuttered unprofitable stores, cut overhead and gave the underfunded pension plan back to the PBGC. Penn Traffic successfully emerged from bankruptcy a smaller, but healthier company. PostFollowing the chapterChapter 11 filing, Robert Chapman was named the new CEO of Penn Traffic. Penn Traffic was movednamed to the [[S&P 500]] in March 2003 only to have a scandal later that year negatively effect all of Fischer diligence.

In early 2008, Penn Traffic closed its private bakery, Penny Curtiss., The bakery provided bread products for its own stores and other supermarket chains. Penn Traffic citedciting the loss of the local [[Aldi]] stores contract in August 2007 as the primary reason for the bakery's closing. The company said the bakery was contributing less than 4% of Penn Traffic's total annual revenue.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.penntraffic.com/Financials/NewsReleasePDF/080102NewsRelease.pdf |title=Penn Traffic Corp. Financials}}{{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

In December 2008 The, Penn Traffic Company entered into a definitive agreement to sell its wholesale business segment to C&S Wholesale Grocers Inc.

As of January 9, 2010, Penn Traffic was entertaining three separate bids: $54 million from [[Price Chopper Supermarkets(Northeastern United States)|Price Chopper]] for 22 P&C Foods stores, a private bid of $36.5 million from a team of professional liquidators for all of P&C's assets and $85 million from [[Tops Markets]] for all of Penn Traffic's stores.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2010/01/a_recap_and_more_news_penn_tra.html |title=Penn Traffic's bankruptcy case updated |newspaper=[[Syracuse Post-Standard]] |date=January 9, 2010 |first=Bob |last=Niedt}}</ref>