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Can Big Y break into eastern Massachusetts?
The regional supermarket is pushing into new territory, gambling that its momentum and loyal following will translate across I-495.
It was a rainy mid-afternoon in April when customers trickled into the Big Y in Westborough, making their way to the produce aisle, stocking up on meat and seafood, and grabbing lunch to go.
The store, which opened less than a year ago, still has its new-car feel, and customers were taking note.
“It’s clean, and the aisles are wide,” said Denise Lincoln, of Northborough, who has shopped there since opening day. “It’s easy to navigate.”
Anne Duffy, of Shrewsbury, agreed. “It reminds me of Roche Bros. It has a lot of high-quality items,” she said, noting that while she also shops at Market Basket, Big Y is more convenient and less crowded. But loyalty? “It’s too soon to tell. It’s two different things.”
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Winning that kind of loyalty is exactly what Big Y is hoping for. Shoppers across Western Massachusetts have long embraced the third-generation, Springfield-based grocer.
After saturating its home turf, it expanded into Connecticut, and now it’s making its most ambitious move yet — a push into the markets east of I-495.
The company’s goal is bold: 100 stores by its 100th anniversary. Now celebrating its 90th year with 77 stores, Big Y is accelerating its growth.
A new store in Saugus, inside a former Amazon Fresh, opens this year. Another is planned for Pembroke, replacing a former Stop & Shop. Next year, locations in Fairhaven and North Dartmouth will follow, both filling the shells of former Big Lots and Christmas Tree Shops.
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The grocer is stepping into a crowded field, taking on Stop & Shop, Wegmans, Roche Bros., Aldi, Trader Joe’s, Shaw’s, Star Market, and the region’s famously loyal favorite, Market Basket.
However, the family behind Big Y says they are willing to make the bet.
As Matt D’Amour, vice president of real estate and store development, put it, while many competitors leaned into delivery and reduced in-store interaction following COVID, Big Y doubled down on the customer experience.
“I think that left a void, quite frankly, that we’re happy to fill,” he said.
‘They stick to their knitting’
Big Y is one of the few remaining family-owned grocery chains in the region, said Kevin Griffin, the executive director of the Northeast Wholesale Food Distributors Association.
“They stick to their knitting, and they are very well respected, very well run, and they’re in competition with some of the big guys,” he said, adding they haven’t seen the type of drama that has plagued Market Basket.
Expanding eastward in the state has been on Big Y’s radar for decades, Griffin said. The store is taking its time and looking for the right opportunities, such as taking over former grocery retail locations that only require a quick rehab.
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Plus, they are not investor-owned, meaning they are not beholden to shareholders.
“You get the Stop & Shops of the world, and they do a fine job, and they’re behemoths,” Griffin said. But, “like any public company, right? You gotta grow or die.”
Big Y has taken a long-term approach, opening a few stores at a time.
“That’s strategic growth,” Griffin said.
Gaining loyalty
Breaking into a new market won’t be easy for Big Y.
“Every now and then, you get a regional player, and it just clicks,” said Susan Fournier, Allen Questrom professor and dean at the Boston University Questrom School of Business. “But the game is, can you expand that beyond? Can you grow? You might die a miserable death in between because sometimes it doesn’t work.”
Fournier said grocery shopping depends not just on price but on an “emotional bond.”
“Shaw’s, Stop & Shop — those guys seem to be losing their way,” she said. “They’re big and soulless.”
Big Y, she added, has an advantage as a family-owned chain run by people who understand how financially stressed customers feel.
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However, margins in the grocery industry are thin, leaving little money for marketing or brand-building, she noted. And another challenge looms: The rise of grocery delivery, which younger shoppers may be reluctant to abandon.
Still, for customers who shop in person, often weekly or several times a week, grocery stores remain central to their routines.
But building a following in a new region won’t come quickly.
“They are going to have to start from square zero to get people on board,” Fournier said. “That’s not an easy game.”
‘In it for the long haul’
As many competitors chase quarterly earnings, emphasize delivery, or lean into new technology, D’Amour, of Big Y, says those trends are only part of the business.
He argues Big Y is moving in the opposite direction, relying on knowledgeable, longtime employees whose commitment helps the brand resonate more than ever.
That focus, D’Amour said, reflects the company’s roots. Big Y was founded in 1936 by brothers Paul and Gerald D’Amour, who named the store after a Chicopee intersection where two roads formed a “Y.”
Now, the company is preparing for its fourth generation, with the next wave of D’Amour family members soon graduating from college and entering the business.
“We’re not just a retailer, not just transactional,” D’Amour said. “We’re in it for the long haul. God willing, my kids will be in it someday, and hopefully someday their kids will help run the business.”
Repeat customers
Back in Westborough, cashier Tamara Parseghian rang up a customer, some of whom she already greets by name.
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She said plenty of regulars have migrated from Wegmans, Stop & Shop, and Price Chopper, drawn in by Big Y’s look and feel.
“Market Basket is somewhat of a factory,” Parseghian said. “We’re more customer service.”
She added, “It takes a while to get your name out there, but we’re getting there.”
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