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PITTSBURGH — Giant Eagle Inc. has purchased pharmacies and prescription files in acquiring five former Penn Traffic Co. stores in Pennsylvania from Tops Markets.
Under the agreement announced this week, the food and drug retailer is acquiring BiLo Foods stores in Brookville, DuBois, Johnstown and St. Marys, Pa. and one Quality Market in Titusville, Pa. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.
Giant Eagle said it’s buying the pharmacy records for the Brookville, DuBois and Johnstown locations and plans to operate the pharmacies at Brookville and DuBois. The pharmacy files from the Johnstown location are being transferred to Giant Eagle’s nearby store on Goucher Street.
"Given our nearly 80-year history as a leading regional food retailer with strong western Pennsylvania roots, we were approached by Tops Markets more than a month ago regarding these locations," Giant Eagle special counsel Dan Shapira said in a statement. "Tops informed us that these stores were outside of their geographic footprint and as such would ultimately be closed and the employees terminated. We believe there is an opportunity to refurbish these stores and bring to consumers of the area an overall improved shopping experience.
"We are thrilled to be able to not only preserve these grocery shopping options for area residents, but also to deliver the type of high quality offerings that our customers have come to expect from us," Shapira added.
Giant Eagle said it’s evaluating all opportunities regarding the acquired stores, including reaching out to its independent owners to gauge interest in the operation of some of the locations. The retailer has over 220 stores (including more than 60 independently owned and operated locations) in western Pennsylvania, central and northern Ohio, northern West Virginia and western Maryland. More than 200 of the stores have pharmacies.
Giant Eagle noted that Johnstown, Brookville and DuBois pharmacy customers can look forward to its top-notch customer service and accuracy in meeting prescription needs. The company recently received the Cheers Award from the Institute for Safe Medication Practices for its high standards in the prevention of medication errors and adverse drug events.
