Lisa Stugat waits for her deli order at the newly renovated York Road Plaza Giant supermarket while her sons, Tyler, 15 months, and Matthew,3, sit in the shopping cart. The Towson store and a Giant in Catonsville were overhauled as part of a company plan to renovate 100 of the food stores nationwide. (Photo by Steve Ruark)
Overhaul of York Road Plaza Giant complete
New store planned for Timonium Shopping Center
By Virginia Terhune
Posted 6/27/08
As far as Giant Foods plan to renovate its stores, it’s two down and an unknown number to go in Baltimore County.
On June 27, Giant marked the end of two major overhauls of stores in Catonsville and Towson with a day of free food samples, prizes and other activities for children in each of the stores.
The renovations were part of Giant’s plan announced in October of 2007 to spend $100 million over three years to remodel 100 stores as a way to keep its position as the largest supermarket chain in the mid-Atlantic region.
The stores in Towson, in York Road Plaza near the city line, and Catonsville, in Giant Plaza at Rolling Road and Route 40, were the first in Baltimore County to undergo the three-month process, said company spokesman Jamie Miller.
The stores stayed open during the work.
Miller declined to disclose the cost per store, except to say the renovations are multimillion-dollar projects.
Miller also declined to say which of Giant’s 14 other stores in the county are slated for overhauls.
The other Giant stores are in Arbutus, Reisterstown, Owings Mills, Gwynn Oak, Pikesville, Hunt Valley, Fullerton, Rosedale, White Marsh and Dundalk.
“Until we physically start, we don’t want to say for competitive reasons,” he said.
Job creation
One outcome of the renovations so far has been new jobs.
The Catonsville store, already a high-volume location, plans to hire 40 more people in anticipation of increased business due to the remodeling, Miller said.
Some of the new hires will work in the store’s new Starbucks kiosk, a feature in some of Giant’s larger remodeled stores, he said.
The York Road Plaza store in Towson store plans to hire 18 people, most of whom will work in its Starbucks kiosk, Miller said.
Announced in October, the goal of the Project Refresh renovation program is to improve perishable food sections and modernize the stores to improve customer convenience, according to the company.
Besides the Starbucks kiosks, there are new sections carrying sandwiches, salads and sushi, where time-strapped shoppers can “grab and go,” Miller said.
The organic food and pharmacy areas have been expanded, and stores have been revamped with new ceilings, new lighting and wider aisles.
So far, Giant has renovated 12 stores companywide, Miller said.
Initially, projects took as much as a year to complete, but over time the company has fine-tuned the process so that a renovation, with crews working around the clock, now takes a quarter of that time.
New stores planned
Besides remodeling stores, Giant also plans to build two new ones, replacing smaller ones in Lutherville and Hampden.
The plan is to close the 40,000-square-foot Ridgely Plaza store in Lutherville and build a new store in the Timonium Shopping Center, across York Road from the Maryland State Fairgrounds.
Construction crews have already knocked down the long-vacant Ames department store building in the shopping center, making way for the new store, which will probably total 55,000 to 60,000 square feet, Miller said.
Giant also plans to replace its 33,000-square-foot store in the Rotunda complex in Hampden with a larger store that also will probably total 55,000 to 60,000 square feet, pending redevelopment of the complex with condominiums and a possible hotel.
“The details are still being worked out,” Miller said.
Dutch division
Founded in Washington in 1936, Giant Food was acquired 10 years ago by Royal Ahold, a Dutch company headquartered in Amsterdam. Ahold also owns the Stop & Shop supermarket chain in New York and New England.
Based in Landover, the Giant division employs about 21,000 people in more than 180 supermarkets in Delaware, Maryland, Washington and Virginia.
Although still the largest chain in the mid-Atlantic area, Giant’s market share had dropped 5 percent in recent years. New competitors have moved into the market, including Wegmans Food Markets, which opened its first Maryland store in Hunt Valley in 2005.
Trader Joe’s, which has a store in Towson, opened another store in Pikesville about three years ago and a Fresh Market store recently opened at Quarry Lake complex in Mt. Washington.
Meanwhile, rival chains, such as SuperFresh and Safeway, are also renovating stores to keep up with consumer demand for prepared meals and organic food.
Renovating its stores has not been the only strategy Giant has used to regain market share.
The company has dropped slow-selling items, focusing instead on stocking its most popular products.
It has also permanently lowered prices in certain departments, instead of discounting certain items at certain times.
“We’re reinventing our whole business, offering everyday low prices instead of sales items linked to a bonus card,” Miller said.
On June 27, Giant marked the end of two major overhauls of stores in Catonsville and Towson with a day of free food samples, prizes and other activities for children in each of the stores.
The renovations were part of Giant’s plan announced in October of 2007 to spend $100 million over three years to remodel 100 stores as a way to keep its position as the largest supermarket chain in the mid-Atlantic region.
The stores in Towson, in York Road Plaza near the city line, and Catonsville, in Giant Plaza at Rolling Road and Route 40, were the first in Baltimore County to undergo the three-month process, said company spokesman Jamie Miller.
The stores stayed open during the work.
Miller declined to disclose the cost per store, except to say the renovations are multimillion-dollar projects.
Miller also declined to say which of Giant’s 14 other stores in the county are slated for overhauls.
The other Giant stores are in Arbutus, Reisterstown, Owings Mills, Gwynn Oak, Pikesville, Hunt Valley, Fullerton, Rosedale, White Marsh and Dundalk.
“Until we physically start, we don’t want to say for competitive reasons,” he said.
Job creation
One outcome of the renovations so far has been new jobs.
The Catonsville store, already a high-volume location, plans to hire 40 more people in anticipation of increased business due to the remodeling, Miller said.
Some of the new hires will work in the store’s new Starbucks kiosk, a feature in some of Giant’s larger remodeled stores, he said.
The York Road Plaza store in Towson store plans to hire 18 people, most of whom will work in its Starbucks kiosk, Miller said.
Announced in October, the goal of the Project Refresh renovation program is to improve perishable food sections and modernize the stores to improve customer convenience, according to the company.
Besides the Starbucks kiosks, there are new sections carrying sandwiches, salads and sushi, where time-strapped shoppers can “grab and go,” Miller said.
The organic food and pharmacy areas have been expanded, and stores have been revamped with new ceilings, new lighting and wider aisles.
So far, Giant has renovated 12 stores companywide, Miller said.
Initially, projects took as much as a year to complete, but over time the company has fine-tuned the process so that a renovation, with crews working around the clock, now takes a quarter of that time.
New stores planned
Besides remodeling stores, Giant also plans to build two new ones, replacing smaller ones in Lutherville and Hampden.
The plan is to close the 40,000-square-foot Ridgely Plaza store in Lutherville and build a new store in the Timonium Shopping Center, across York Road from the Maryland State Fairgrounds.
Construction crews have already knocked down the long-vacant Ames department store building in the shopping center, making way for the new store, which will probably total 55,000 to 60,000 square feet, Miller said.
Giant also plans to replace its 33,000-square-foot store in the Rotunda complex in Hampden with a larger store that also will probably total 55,000 to 60,000 square feet, pending redevelopment of the complex with condominiums and a possible hotel.
“The details are still being worked out,” Miller said.
Dutch division
Founded in Washington in 1936, Giant Food was acquired 10 years ago by Royal Ahold, a Dutch company headquartered in Amsterdam. Ahold also owns the Stop & Shop supermarket chain in New York and New England.
Based in Landover, the Giant division employs about 21,000 people in more than 180 supermarkets in Delaware, Maryland, Washington and Virginia.
Although still the largest chain in the mid-Atlantic area, Giant’s market share had dropped 5 percent in recent years. New competitors have moved into the market, including Wegmans Food Markets, which opened its first Maryland store in Hunt Valley in 2005.
Trader Joe’s, which has a store in Towson, opened another store in Pikesville about three years ago and a Fresh Market store recently opened at Quarry Lake complex in Mt. Washington.
Meanwhile, rival chains, such as SuperFresh and Safeway, are also renovating stores to keep up with consumer demand for prepared meals and organic food.
Renovating its stores has not been the only strategy Giant has used to regain market share.
The company has dropped slow-selling items, focusing instead on stocking its most popular products.
It has also permanently lowered prices in certain departments, instead of discounting certain items at certain times.
“We’re reinventing our whole business, offering everyday low prices instead of sales items linked to a bonus card,” Miller said.
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