Kings Bankruptcy

https://on.mktw.net/31mUAGm
 
Kings Markets files for bankruptcy today.  

whoa

It’s a means to a sale, not to liquidation.

There are usually *some* store closures associated with bankruptcy news like this. I kinda doubt Maplewood Kings will close, due to its primo location. But you never know.

Any chance Kings owns that building? Might increase the chances of it staying there, when many other locations are likely rented buildings. I am fascinated they didn’t do well over the last six months, as I know many people who aren’t regulars but do Kings runs for convenience as of late. 

The Maplewood Kings store is too small to make money. The big chains have all looked at buying Kings over the last 15-20 years but decided it was a no go. Wakefern, the Shop Rite cooperative is the major supplier of product to Kings.

It’s a small store but it’s able to charge higher prices due to its location. I often have sticker shock when I’m in there but I still buy the couple things I need because I’m willing to pay up for the convenience. I don’t know the store’s P&L, but just because it’s small doesn’t mean it can’t make money. 

Smedley said:

It’s a small store but it’s able to charge higher prices due to its location. I often have sticker shock when I’m in there but I still buy the couple things I need because I’m willing to pay up for the convenience. I don’t know the store’s P&L, but just because it’s small doesn’t mean it can’t make money. 

 The fact that you are on!y buying a couple of things pretty much sums it up.

I guess. But they have been there for a long time so they must be doing something right. I can’t imagine they’ve kept the store open all these years if they haven’t been making money.

At some point in some past, the Maplewood store apparently was documented on bank loan paperwork as having the highest sales per square foot in the chain. But there are more amusing reasons to revisit this six-year-old discussion:

https://maplewood.worldwebs.com/forums/discussion/boycott-kings?page=next&limit=

COVID-19 concerns have led to a marked increase in home delivery.  Kings has been slow to provide this service.

DaveSchmidt said:

At some point in some past, the Maplewood store apparently was documented on bank loan paperwork as having the highest sales per square foot in the chain. But there are more amusing reasons to revisit this six-year-old discussion:

https://maplewood.worldwebs.com/forums/discussion/boycott-kings?page=next&limit=

No flashbacks, please.

Smedley said:

I guess. But they have been there for a long time so they must be doing something right. I can’t imagine they’ve kept the store open all these years if they haven’t been making money.

That means that they were doing something right. It might have been possible to be profitable with a small footprint and small convenience purchases in the past, but not so much these days.

I've never found them to have a great selection or price or anything really that got me to go in there. All of the kinds of grocers I could think of to go into a space that size would probably not work. The little specialty, gourmet, or hippie/co-op type places I used to shop in years ago have all been swallowed up by Whole Foods. I hate shopping at WF and would love a nice little grocer like they had back when. But evidence suggests that those kinds of places don't work any more.

Sigh.

joan_crystal said:

COVID-19 concerns have led to a marked increase in home delivery.  Kings has been slow to provide this service.

 I think you've hit the nail on the head. Other companies already had home delivery/curbside pickup in full swing. I don't know if Kings had any online ordering infrastructure in place at the start of the lockdown.

For the last 15 years or so the Kings Chain has been making just above the break even point. 

This looks like it may be the beginning of a long discussion

The Maplewood Kings is one of the most profitable of the chain.  IMO it is because they do not have a parking lot to pay for.  This store has been receiving the township's largess for a long time.  I don't know of any other supermarket without a parking lot.

BTW,  have you ever seen the tractor-trailer trucks making deliveries to this store?  It takes a real professional to back those trucks into the confined driveway.

nohero said:

No flashbacks, please.

 Might trigger PTSD.

mrmaplewood said:

I don't know of any other supermarket without a parking lot.

Ashley has a garage but no lot; Kings has no garage but free parking in the area. Neither one is what I’d call a supermarket, though, so I agree with you there. 

mrmaplewood said:

The Maplewood Kings is one of the most profitable of the chain.  IMO it is because they do not have a parking lot to pay for.  This store has been receiving the township's largess for a long time.  I don't know of any other supermarket without a parking lot.

BTW,  have you ever seen the tractor-trailer trucks making deliveries to this store?  It takes a real professional to back those trucks into the confined driveway.

 Not just paying for a parking lot, but also maintenance.  While a landlord might be responsible for paving and repairs  (I have no idea because I’ve never been a commercial tenant) I did work for a street sweeping company and supermarkets were our bread and butter accounts.  Those stores almost always have a street sweeper in there 7 days a week 365 days a year.  I would assume they’re also paying for their own snow removal.  Sometimes the bill would be sent to the management company for the property, but the most common scenario was the store being the one to contract us and pay.  The bill for sweeping and plowing alone might not be huge, but add it to the increased rent of having a parking lot and it does add up.

Smedley said:

It’s a small store but it’s able to charge higher prices due to its location. I often have sticker shock when I’m in there but I still buy the couple things I need because I’m willing to pay up for the convenience. I don’t know the store’s P&L, but just because it’s small doesn’t mean it can’t make money. 

The prices in our Maplewood Kings and the one in Short Hills are pretty much the same.  Short Hills is larger and has a better selection, but not lower prices.  

I've also been in the Kings In Garwood/Westfield area...and prices are also high..used to be a Pathmark a couple blocks away, but the Kings had always done okay.