Implications of the Chase-Pitkin Closings
On the local front, the fast-growing supermarket chain, Wegmans Food Markets, has decided to close all 14 of its Chase-Pitkin Home & Garden Centers. While many are making a big doom and gloom story out of the situation, I’m optimistic about the opportunities.
Closing the stores is only a minor speed bump for the community. For instance, Chase-Pitkin sold very few locally made items, so this is a closing that will have a very small “ripple-effect” on other local businesses.
Businesses will benefit from a higher quality pool of lower-wage part-time employees. While I am sympathetic to the students, retirees, and second job workers that will be upset as a result of the closings, very few of these people were making careers out of their part-time jobs. With plenty of time to look for another job — and the excellent reputation that Chase-Pitkin employees have — they are likely to find the same or better quality job without too much of a headache.
And outside of workers going through the hassle of changing their jobs, there are very few downsides. Vacant Chase-Pitkin stores are located next to thriving Wegmans markets. They’ll be used by Wegmans for expansion or easily rented — perhaps hiring back some of the displaced workers while they’re at it.
Charitable contributions from Chase-Pitkin will probably be covered by the increased growth and contributions coming from Wegmans. Kids will still get scholarships. And, if the closings make Wegmans a stronger company, that ultimately means more jobs and contibutions in our community.
With the elimination of the last remaining serious competitor to the “big box” stores, the Rochester region’s marketplace will be stabilized and predictable. It may never become a booming market, but it has proven that it is a stable market, regardless of how much Kodak or Xerox shrink their local operations. This means that a company like Costco can simply “run the numbers” on a deal, using proven and reliable traffic data. Getting new projects underway is less of a risk.
So expect to see some new development as new national chains come to town, and as Home Depot and Lowe’s expand their base. They always build new, which is good for the construction industry and the tax base.
I guess we could complain about sprawl but really, we don’t have sprawl compared to other parts of the country. I tend to worry that our local governments will give away too much tax money when they compete against their neighbors in their hopes to attract new development (hint: those incentives are nothing but gravy to corporations like the Home Depot). Overall I see the Chase-Pitkin closings as a neutral or positive event for Rochester.