NEW YORK CITY, NY - The Big Apple is known to be several rings of heated competition in the grocery sector. That competition seems to have pushed 85-plus-year-old Fairway Market into yet another sale, according to a Bloomberg report.
While the news source said the grocer has not yet replied to requests for comment, its sponsors have begun the formal process of seeking bidders just three years after it rose out of bankruptcy with new ownership and, shortly after, a new President and CEO.
Fairway’s sponsors include Brigade Capital Management LP and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., and the chain has already received interest from “potential strategic and financial buyers,” inside sources who asked not to be identified because the process isn’t public, shared with Bloomberg.
Still fresh in the minds of the industry is Fairway’s victorious climb out of its 2016 bankruptcy with a new strategy, leadership, and even plans for new stores. But the heavy competition continues in the New York market, and direct competition comes in the form of increasing delivery partnerships and continued growth from retailers like Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods.
For parties interested in the grocer that has been a part of the New York landscape since 1933, Fairway holds prime locations in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Its years in the area have created a loyal following of shoppers, and Bloomberg reports the stores still see long lines that can wind back into the store and aisles.
We will continue to report as this story develops further.
