Tops Supermarkets Never Stops Giving You More Providing Shoppers Value For Money

Tops is a subsidiary of Morgan Stanley Private Equity. Tops markets are basically chains of American supermarkets based at Williamsville, New York. The super market chain has its stores scattered in the north- western part of Pennsylvania and also in the Western and central regions of New York.

Armand Castellani was the co- founder of Tops. He took birth in the year 1917 in Europe and in the year 1920 his family migrated to the US and settled in Niagara Falls. The journey began with the opening up of a small grocery store by his father, Ferrante. He assisted his father in the business till he joined the Army in 1941. After the Second World War he returned again to manage his family business and set up the Great Bear Market in Niagara Falls. The Tops Friendly Markets chain came into existence when Castellani joined hands with Thomas Buscaglia, the owner of T.A. Buscaglia Equipment Co., a grocery equipment firm.

This was followed by a collaborative agreement with few other small stores. In the 1950s, the booming local economy led to the expansion of the firm’s operations. Headquarters at Buffalo were set up in 1958 and their first modern supermarket was established in 1960. The new store situated on Portage Road occupied an area of 25,000 square foot. After that the name of the company was changed to Niagara Frontier Services (NFS). The 1960s witnessed the development and propagation of this supermarket chain. There was the growth of franchise systems under the brand name of Tops Super Markets in 1962 and by the end of 1962, Tops employed 300 associates and consisted of 15 franchised stores. In 1968, NFS transformed itself into a public limited company. In 1969, it earned the honor of Retailer of The Year from Brand Names Foundation.

In 1984, Tops implemented the direct debit service and Instabank ATMs to provide better service to the shoppers of Western New York. In the very same year, the National Frozen Food Organization awarded Tops with the first of eight Golden Penguin Awards. In 1991, March, Ahold, a renowned international food retailer acquired Tops which then comprised of 145 stores and 11,000 associates. The year 2001 was marked by the acquisition of 22 former Grand Union Stores in Central New York. By the end of this year, the 150th Tops store was opened in Madison.

It seemed as if the company would never stop anywhere until in the year 2003 when it was scandalized for understating Ahold’s debt in the financial market. It had to sell its convenience stores to to WFI Acquisition Inc. Even it was looking to sell out its 31 stores that it had dreamt of establishing in the Adirondack region. This followed a series of store closings in the following years. In 2006, Ahold decided to quit the North- East Ohio market. Even, 18 stores were sold to Giant Eagle, Tops’s competitor. On October 11, 2007 Ahold decided to sell 71 of its stores to Morgan Stanley Private Equity for $310 million. From December 02, 2007, Tops markets had Morgan Stanley Private Equity as its new owner.

Tops is now focusing on remodeling of its existing stores and even planning to start new ones. It is targeting a growth rate of 10 percent over the next four to five years. The stores decorated in the most sophisticated way puts up the spirit of Western New York. The change of its slogan from "Tops Never Stops ... Saving You More!" to "Tops Never Stops ... Giving You More!" tries to expanin its concept of value for money. Tops Markets