Now that Morgan Stanley Private Equity has closed its deal to acquire the Tops Markets chain from Ahold, the question becomes, "What's next?"
Frank Curci, the former and new CEO of Tops, told The Buffalo News that the company plans to refocus on local needs, add corporate staff, remodel existing stores and increase the number of new locations by more than 10 percent over the next five years.
According to Mr. Curci, Tops suffered in recent years after Ahold moved management of the chain to Giant Carlisle's headquarters. "If we had one weakness in the past couple of years, it was in the centralized organization's lack of focus on individual customers," he said.
To get up-and-running, Tops plans to add about 100 people in finance, information technology, marketing and merchandising to its corporate headquarters.
"Those are the functions that will best enable us to serve our customers better," he said.
Frank DeRiso, president of the United Food & Commercial Workers union Local 1, said he was happy to see Mr. Curci back leading Tops.
"He has previous experience with the Tops organization; he knows Buffalo; and without Ahold, he will be able to use his knowledge and expertise to bring the local flavor back to Tops," Mr. DeRiso said in a statement.
Discussion Question: What do you expect from Tops Markets under Frank Curci's leadership and Morgan Stanley's ownership? How much of a lift will Tops get from moving its corporate operation back to the Buffalo region?