Tops, Price Chopper Set For Merger
Can Both Cooperstown Supermarkets Survive?
By Jim Kevlin • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com
Pete Gambino exits the Cooperstown store.
It looks like the Cooperstown area, which hosts both a Price Chopper and a Tops Friendly Market, will be an oddity with the merger of the two supermarket companies that was announced Monday, Feb. 9.
The two companies have “a footprint that’s almost perfectly contiguous,” with minimal overlap, Price Chopper/Market 32 President/CEO Scott Grimmett told the Albany Times Union.
With Price Chopper at Chestnut and Walnut in the village, and Tops 3.8 miles away in Cooperstown Commons, that wouldn’t be the case in Baseball Town, particularly since the corporate merger appears to end all competition in Otsego County north of Greater Oneonta, where the Price Chopper in Emmons competes with Hannaford, Aldi’s, BJ’s and Walmart.
“Right now, there are no plans to close any stores,” said Jonathan Pierce of Pierce Communications, Albany, which is handling press queries.
The only other supermarket in Northern Otsego is in Richfield Springs, also a Price Chopper.
Pierce said the merger is being examined by the Federal Trade Commission to assess its impact on the competitive picture.
