Pathmark Food Stores closing

I guess many of us have heard the news, Parthmark is closing more stores calling them not "profitable".

As they go the way of SuperFresh and a few more it seems quite obvious to me WHY they are not profitable anymore. They operate on a 1 to 3% profit margin to start with, the unions fight to keep liveable wage standards for the employees, and with any corporation they try and keep labor costs below 20%. I ran into this back in the 1980's as an Auto Service Manager for the K Mart Corporation (Airport Circle).

Most of these food stores have been bought up by mega corporations like Associated Foods and the like.

The problem as I see it is the simple fact these corporations have over extended themselves. Outfits like Bottomline, Save A Lot are beating the pants off the old standards (Acme, A & P, etc.). You see these food stores want to be the end all, be all to their shoppers. They have Pharmacies, Flower Stores and just about anything else besides selling food. The next thing you know they will be selling Chain Saws, Lawn Chairs and BBQ Grills. THAT is what is killing their bottomline profit margins.

Basically they have forgotten their "roots" in the food industry and are trying to act like a Home Depot, Ace Hardware or some other such thing.

I've been shopping for years at Save A Lot, why? Because I can spend $100 a week at places like Pathmark, Shoprite, SuperFresh, A & P, Acme getting the basic needs for me. Or, I can got to Bottomline Foods, Save A Lot and spend $60 to $70 for the same foods. It's called no frills shopping. Do the math in these days of tight budgets, high unemployment and a slow economy.

I'd say these monster food store corporations need to learn a lesson......GET BACK TO THE BASICS!

But what do I know? I'm just a dumb ole truck driver...on a budget. I go where I get the most bang for my buck. I'd say Pathmark and their ilk have brought it upon themselves.