Penn Traffic Gets New Life
By George Anderson
Robert Chapman, president and chief executive officer of Penn Traffic described the grocery chain’s emergence from Chapter 11 as a “new life” for the company adding that today it “is a leaner, strong competitor with bright prospects.”
A bankruptcy court approved the company’s reorganization plan in a ruling last month.
As part of the reorganization, Penn Traffic closed on a sale/leaseback deal for its five distribution facilities with Equity Industrial Partners Corp. for $37 million. Penn Traffic will lease the DCs from Equity Industrial for 15 years.
Penn Traffic operates 109 supermarkets in Pennsylvania, upstate New York, Vermont and New Hampshire as well as a wholesale food distribution business serving 79 licensed franchises
and 40 independent operators.
Moderator’s Comment: Emerging from Chapter 11, is Penn Traffic “a leaner, strong competitor with bright prospects” as portrayed by company president
and CEO Robert Chapman? What will it need to do to succeed in the markets it serves (upstate New York, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and Vermont)? –
George Anderson – Moderator
Let’s see, how many times now has Penn Traffic filed for bankruptcy? Haven’t we heard this story before? They should have a real easy time competing against Wal-Mart Supercenter, Wegmans, Hannaford, Aldi, and Price Chopper. You have to admire them for still being around, but my guess is they will fall back into bankruptcy again in a few years.