Dive Brief:
- Royal Ahold, which owns 775 supermarkets in the U.S., is buying Eastside Marketplace, an upscale grocer in Providence, RI.
- The purchase, terms of which were not disclosed, was made by the same Ahold unit that runs the Stop & Shop chain across New England. But Ahold says Eastside Marketplace will operate independently and under its own banner.
- Eastside Marketplace is a cultural institution in Rhode Island, where it has been a pioneer in organic foods since opening in 1981.
Dive Insight:
Royal Ahold's North American unit, Ahold USA, is a major player in retail in the Northeast. It's Stop & Shop and Giant store brands are everywhere in the upper right corner of the U.S. map. But Ahold's stores are solidly middle of the road. Eastside, on the other hand, is an upscale purveyor of fine foods.
It's too early to tell if Ahold plans to expand the Eastside name, but it wouldn't surprise anyone now if Eastside becomes Ahold's answer to the rise of Whole Foods and other high-end operators.