Retailer announces $114 million capital spending plan

CARLISLE, Pa. — GIANT Food Stores plans to spend $114 million on capital projects in Pennsylvania over the next 18 months.

In an announcement made with the state officials at the Pennsylvania Farm Show on Thursday, the retailer detailed plans to build a GIANT DIRECT ecommerce fulfillment center, open two new stores, and remodel 35 existing stores in 2020 and 2021.

“We’re doubling down on growth and innovation for our customers, building on the incredible momentum of 2019, and continuing to invest in our great Commonwealth,” said GIANT president Nicholas Bertram. “The accelerated growth of GIANT DIRECT has set the stage for additional investment opportunities that extend our ecommerce geographic reach. At the same time, our GIANT Heirloom Market format has enabled us to reach an entirely new demographic in Philadelphia.”

Bertram notes that 2019 was a year of unprecedented growth for GIANT, which opened 17 new stores and launched two new brands. Last January saw the debut of the new GIANT Heirloom Market format in the Graduate Hospital neighborhood of Philadelphia, which was followed later in the year by the opening of locations in University City and Northern Liberties. In February, GIANT opened a first-of-its kind GIANT DIRECT ecommerce hub in Lancaster, Pa., and began to rollout the GIANT DIRECT brand to its stores. Since then the company has increased its number of GIANT DIRECT grocery pick-up locations from zero to 125. GIANT also introduced its “PA Preferred” shelf tag program, designed to help customers easily identify the more than 1,200 Pennsylvania products available in its stores year-round.

“It is so important when Pennsylvania businesses, especially retailers and producers, support each other and form partnerships for mutual growth,” Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf said in a statement. “I thank GIANT for helping the state’s farmers and food suppliers grow their businesses by showcasing PA Preferred products at its stores. This expansion will not only create jobs but will also provide access to local PA Preferred products to new areas throughout the state.”

Highlights of GIANT’s capital spending plan include:

• A new GIANT DIRECT fulfillment center in Philadelphia. Located at 3501 Island Avenue, the 124,000-square-foot facility will provide more capacity, better distribution and room to grow home delivery and in-store pick-up. GIANT will partner with Peapod Digital Labs, an Ahold Delhaize USA company, to drive the development of the facility.
• The opening of a 52,000-square-foot GIANT supermarket in the retailer’s home market of Harrisburg, Pa. Located at 6301 Grayson Road in Swatara Township. Construction will begin in early 2020 and the new store will bring approximately 150 new jobs to the community..
• A new GIANT supermarekt in Monroe County. The new, ground-up 66,000 square foot store will be built in Pocono Summit, Pa., at the southwest corner of Interstate 380 and state Route 940. The new store will expand the GIANT brand along the Interstate 380 corridor and within Monroe County. The store is scheduled to open in 2021.

“The $114 million that GIANT is pledging to invest over the next two years is going to have a big impact on our economy,” said Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) secretary Dennis Davin. “GIANT has been a Pennsylvania company since it was founded in Carlisle almost 100 years ago, and it’s great news to see them growing at an incredibly rapid rate, creating jobs, and helping provide food access in our communities.”

The capital investment announced by GIANT on Thursday is in addition to two previously announced projects — the retailer’s fourth GIANT Heirloom Market, which is slated to open in Philadelphia’s Queen Village neighborhood, and the flagship urban GIANT supermarket that is slated to open in the new Riverwalk development along the banks of the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia. Both stores are expected to open this year.