Giant Eagle will use GetGo sale funds for store upgrades

The company’s CEO said updates are being planned for about 25 stores.

By JACK TROY
TribLive

Giant Eagle will use the $1.6 billion sale of GetGo to remodel grocery stores, add new ones, reduce prices and grow its pharmacy presence.

The grocer’s CEO, Bill Artman, detailed Giant Eagle’s plans to TribLive on Monday, just hours after the company announced it officially sold around 270 Get-Go convenience stores to Quebec-based Alimentation Couche-Tard.

“We’re focused now on being the best supermarket and pharmacy operator we can be,” Artman said. “And that’s why we’re really excited about the sale of GetGo — the ability to go reinvest.”

Giant Eagle plans to update about 25 grocery stores, including many in the Pittsburgh market, and start others from scratch. The investments into its physical footprint will cost hundreds of millions of dollars across five years, according to Artman.

Tens of millions of dollars more will go toward reducing prices, continuing an initiative last year to cut costs for customers as grocery competition heats up in the region. Aldi, for instance, has embarked on an aggressive expansion campaign, while Walmart has taken over as the region’s top grocer.

Wegmans plans to open a store in Cranberry, where Giant Eagle is headquartered, in late 2027. It will mark the New York-based chain’s first foray into Southwestern Pennsylvania.

Artman also said it’s “very possible” his company will purchase additional pharmacies from Rite Aid, which is unwinding its business as part of bankruptcy proceedings.

He said that the company is “aware of the situation in Derry,” which will lose its only full-service pharmacy within about a 20-minute drive once the Westmoreland County borough’s Rite Aid closes.

Giant Eagle has purchased prescription files from 83 Rite Aid stores across Pennsylvania and Ohio since late May, which translates to about six million additional prescriptions annually. It also plans to convert two of those locations into Giant Eagle-brand pharmacies.

The standalone pharmacies will be located in Hollidaysburg and Cambridge, Ohio. An overwhelming majority of Giant Eagle pharmacies are integrated into grocery stores.

“They’re going to be primarily pharmacies that offer a whole bunch of health and beauty care items, similar to what you would find at a traditional drug store,” Artman said. “Where we have an opportunity to add potentially some fresh food options, we will do so.”

At existing Giant Eagle pharmacies, Artman acknowledged some customers have faced delays with the influx of new prescriptions. He said the company has hired more than 100 Rite Aid employees to help manage the increased demand, and anticipates lower waits going forward.

Artman also said workers will see some of the windfall in the coming years, pointing to a recently ratified contract with more than 5,000 union employees that offers between 3% and 5% pay raises each of the next four years.

The future of GetGo

The GetGo chain dates back to 2003. Since then, Artman said, Giant Eagle has worked to evolve it from a “gas station that serves food” into a “restaurant concept that sells gas.”

Couche-Tard is well versed in the convenience store business as the owner and operator of Circle K. It is leaving the GetGo brand in tact and, at least at first, making minimal changes.

The myPerks loyalty program, through which customers can redeem discounts on groceries and fuel, will continue across Giant Eagle and GetGo locations without interruption. GetGo’s new operator also retained nearly all team members and will continue to carry Giant Eagle products.

“GetGo has earned a passionate following in the communities it serves thanks to an amazing team delivering a best-in-class food offer, in-store experience and loyalty program,” Alex Miller, president and CEO of Couche-Tard, said in a statement. “We’re excited that they are now part of the Couche-Tard family, and we look forward to investing in the brand, empowering its continued success and collaborating closely with Giant Eagle to create even more value for the customers we serve together.”

The sale was first announced in August but didn’t receive Federal Trade Commission antitrust approval until last week. To get the green light from regulators, Couche-Tard agreed to sell 34 Circle K stores and one Get-Go, in Indiana.