Jauronimo Posted February 20, 2018 Share Posted February 20, 2018 On 2/18/2018 at 9:23 AM, PromoTheRobot said: I think the key here is Tops was sold to an equity firm, which tells me being a successful supermarket chain might not have been its primary goal. Ever see the movie Wall Street or heard of Mitt Romney and Bain Capital? It's called a private equity firm and I fail to see what a PE firm gains from running an unsuccessful supermarket chain. In my lifetime Tops went from being on equal ground with Wegmans to a distant second place only to have any perceived discount advantage they had relative to Wegmans cannibalized by Wal Mart and Aldi. While its trendy to vilify Wall Street and invoke the tired BS of "vulture capitalism" from past campaigns, that would be incorrect. Quote At the time, the company's debt topped $627 million, built up through a series of leveraged buyouts since Tops was sold by Ahold to Morgan Stanley Private Equity in 2007. It grew again after management bought the supermarket chain from Morgan Stanley in a highly leveraged buyout four years ago. http://buffalonews.com/2018/02/17/report-owners-of-tops-markets-preparing-bankruptcy-filing/ Who owns Tops and who loaded them up with insurmountable debt? Who is taking Tops markets into bankruptcy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Info Posted February 20, 2018 Share Posted February 20, 2018 20 minutes ago, Jauronimo said: Who owns Tops and who loaded them up with insurmountable debt? Who is taking Tops markets into bankruptcy? http://www.topsmarkets.com/AboutUs/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jauronimo Posted February 20, 2018 Share Posted February 20, 2018 8 minutes ago, Mr Info said: http://www.topsmarkets.com/AboutUs/ You really thought I was asking even though I cited the article detailing the executive team's LBO of the company? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gugny Posted February 20, 2018 Share Posted February 20, 2018 36 minutes ago, Jauronimo said: You really thought I was asking even though I cited the article detailing the executive team's LBO of the company? Troll! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Info Posted February 20, 2018 Share Posted February 20, 2018 40 minutes ago, Jauronimo said: You really thought I was asking even though I cited the article detailing the executive team's LBO of the company? The article you linked did not provide the name(s) of those in the LBO and why they were doing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plenzmd1 Posted February 20, 2018 Share Posted February 20, 2018 (edited) BTW, my uncle, Larry Keller, was one of the original guys in Tops. He owned a few in the Falls, as well as 2 or 3 BKwiks . He and Al DiMino(mentioned in the story) were partners and very tight! I spent a week with those guys and Al's son on a week long fishing trip on their Chris Craft Cabin Cruiser through the St Lawrence. I was about 13, had to do all the nasty jobs on the boat, as well as fetch those guys beers and drinks all day! Edited February 20, 2018 by plenzmd1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misterbluesky Posted February 20, 2018 Share Posted February 20, 2018 On 2/19/2018 at 8:14 AM, teef said: i'm shocked that they didn't either. i don't hate tops, but it just can't compete with wegmans. our wegmans is the perinton wegmans, and there's a tops in the plaza over. if i need something quick like beer or cleaning supplies, i'll run into the tops. i just can't stand going into wegmans during the peak hours. it gives me white guy rage. But where do you buy toothpaste..don't tell me you steal it from your office..your supplier might have a issue with that...good luck.eat more dibellas... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanker Posted February 20, 2018 Share Posted February 20, 2018 6 hours ago, Jauronimo said: It's called a private equity firm and I fail to see what a PE firm gains from running an unsuccessful supermarket chain. In my lifetime Tops went from being on equal ground with Wegmans to a distant second place only to have any perceived discount advantage they had relative to Wegmans cannibalized by Wal Mart and Aldi. While its trendy to vilify Wall Street and invoke the tired BS of "vulture capitalism" from past campaigns, that would be incorrect. http://buffalonews.com/2018/02/17/report-owners-of-tops-markets-preparing-bankruptcy-filing/ Who owns Tops and who loaded them up with insurmountable debt? Who is taking Tops markets into bankruptcy? Obviously the rage and outrage will only continue to mount as we learn several years from now from the spouses of former Tops workers who not only lost their jobs when Tops let them go, but a decade later died from cancer because they didn’t have healthcare insurance. But we will have to ignore the fact that they didn’t have gainful employment in the several years after their being tossed in the fungible pile of life, and have to stay focused on the well established fact that Tops owed their employees a job for life...with full benefits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CowgirlsFan Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 Sad for all. Their promotional give away bag vs MIA in 2010 is now my collector item. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misterbluesky Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 Just now, CowgirlsFan said: Sad for all. Their promotional give away bag vs MIA in 2010 is now my collector item. What about the family friendly "Tops" section at New Era Field?..the only place in the stands where kids could enjoy a game,without being subject to filthy language and drunks? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike in Horseheads Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 They officially filed this morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misterbluesky Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 1 hour ago, Mike in Horseheads said: They officially filed this morning. Did you see the breakdown of their debt? It was in the BN . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ned Flanders Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 On 2/19/2018 at 9:04 AM, JR in Pittsburgh said: by the way, you ever remember the grocery store called Apple’s? They had one for a short time in the plaza over from the perinton wegman’s. We had an Apple's in Brockport when I was going to school there in the early 1980s. What I remember most about them is that they took every bottle you brought in, even the Canadians, which no other local store would touch. One time, we took back enough bottles to buy a Trivial Pursuit game, which at the time was about $40...which comes out to be 800 bottles at a nickel each...probably a weekend's worth... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plenzmd1 Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 I know nothing about Tops or the grocery business, so take this at face value. But i see that Tops and it's union was very concerned about about Tops ability to continue to fund the pension contributions. Always amazes me when i see companies still fund pensions. I think the only time i see pensions still employer funded is in union shops. Again, no clue if true or not, but could part of the reason Tops finds it so hard to compete vs Wegmans is unionized shop.vs a non Unionized Wegmans? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teef Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 1 hour ago, Ned Flanders said: We had an Apple's in Brockport when I was going to school there in the early 1980s. What I remember most about them is that they took every bottle you brought in, even the Canadians, which no other local store would touch. One time, we took back enough bottles to buy a Trivial Pursuit game, which at the time was about $40...which comes out to be 800 bottles at a nickel each...probably a weekend's worth... i returned a bunch of bottles once, but it was to buy pot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marv's Neighbor Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 No matter what anyone feels about TOPS, I have to feel for the employees. CH11's never have a happy ending for the employees. Ask any; airline, steel worker, auto worker etc., how they made out? I had to "start over" at 56, after 35 years with a company. It wasn't easy, but I did find another job, and worked for another 12 years, before retiring again. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teef Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 i thought i saw that they'll be closing 15 stores in the monroe county, (rochester) area. i didn't even know there was 15 stores in this area. that being said, i'm a bit disappointed the one by me is going away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalo_Gal Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 I still miss Wilson Farms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PolishDave Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 19 hours ago, plenzmd1 said: I know nothing about Tops or the grocery business, so take this at face value. But i see that Tops and it's union was very concerned about about Tops ability to continue to fund the pension contributions. Always amazes me when i see companies still fund pensions. I think the only time i see pensions still employer funded is in union shops. Again, no clue if true or not, but could part of the reason Tops finds it so hard to compete vs Wegmans is unionized shop.vs a non Unionized Wegmans? Union pensions = legal Ponzi schemes 12 hours ago, Marv's Neighbor said: No matter what anyone feels about TOPS, I have to feel for the employees. CH11's never have a happy ending for the employees. Ask any; airline, steel worker, auto worker etc., how they made out? I had to "start over" at 56, after 35 years with a company. It wasn't easy, but I did find another job, and worked for another 12 years, before retiring again. It sucks losing a job. In this day and age it is very risky if you don't keep learning new skills and developing yourself. You pretty much have to prepare for your eventual firing because it is going to happen at some point. That is of course unless you work for local, county, state or Federal government. In that case, get yourself the best recliner you can find and enjoy sleeping your way through life on the back of (actually) hard working taxpayers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FappyTheClown Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 I worked at Tops in my late teens. Good times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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