CAMDEN — The steady bang, bang, bang you hear as you walk around Hannaford Supermarket, just off of Route 1 at the Camden-Rockport town line, is not recorded music; rather, it is the sound of progress.

The Scarborough-based company is expanding its Camden store into the plaza’s former Movie Gallery space, increasing square footage from 28,000 square feet to 32.500 square feet. The additional space will house the Hannaford’s produce section and a new entrance to the store. Additional construction will provide a new pharmacy and changes to the front section of the store currently used for checkouts.

With the addition of a pharmacy to its Camden store, Hannaford will put itself in direct competition with the Rite Aid pharmacy at 35 Elm St. in Camden. The nearest pharmacy north is in Belfast. To the south is Kennebec Pharmacy, across from Pen Bay Medical Center, in Rockport. Hannaford has been expanding into the pharmacy business since 1992, adding units to stores without pharmacies, most dramatically in 2006 when it added 120 pharmacies to its stores.

Plans for the construction were filed in the Camden Town Office last March with the understanding that construction would not begin until fall so as not to affect the tourist season.

In addition to the Camden store, the Rockland Hannaford Supermarket will undergo extensive renovation at that site. Those permits were filed last March, as well. According to Michael Norton, a spokesman for Hannaford, the most visible changes for Rockland will be new signage and a décor package.

Norton cited changes for both stores, but did not elaborate as to which store would be receiving what changes. The project comes as land is being cleared in Thomaston in preparation for construction of a new Walmart, which include an expanded grocery.

Hannaford's plans for the stores call for replacing cases and shelving, and floors. There are to be a number of energy efficiency improvements, including heat recovery from the refrigeration systems, as well as LED lighting in cases and energy efficient lighting overhead. Night shades on cases and doors will be added to some cases that do not now conserve energy. There will be new register stands and a new customer service kiosk. Also, there will be an expansion to the pharmacy already in place in Rockland.

Hannaford expects all the changes for both stores will be in place for this summer with a completion date in June.

The project cost for Rockland is estimated at $1.7 million. Norton would not give details on the cost of the Camden store renovation, but did say that both projects represent a multi-million dollar investment in its two stores. 
                                                  — Chris Wolf

Fire departments to burn Lotus building for training

The Camden Fire Department and Hannaford are talking now about using an existing building on the Hannaford lot (133 Elm St.) next to Route 1 as a training burn site for area fire departments. The property is adjacent to the parcel on which the Camden Hannaford Supermarket sits.

The property, acquired by Hannaford in 2007, is assessed by the town at $591,900. It includes a 7,192 square-foot building, constructed in 1970, that currently houses Lotus Restaurant and an apartment. It was remodeled by previous owners to be a spa and salon; a section remained designated as a restaurant.  The building is assessed at $335,300 and sits on 1 acre of land, which is assessed at $252,600.

Camden Fire Chief Chris Farley said Dec. 17, "it is a good building for training. We don't have a local training facility. The burn will include a number of towns, and there will be drills leading up to it."

The woodframe structure sits on a concrete slab and Farley characterized it as being in poor condition.

Camden's town attorney, Bill Kelly, is in the process of reviewing an indemnity agreement with Hannaford. The Camden Select Board must approve the event prior to the fire.

The agreement calls for smoke and fire rescue drills to take place there between Jan. 2 and Feb. 28 in the former salon and spa area, and the controlled burning and destruction of the building to occur between March 1 and March 31.
                                           — Lynda Clancy

Camden has appraised the existing Camden Hannaford store property at $3.5 million.

The Rockland Hannaford store sits in a portion of an 88,252-square-foot building owned by Rockland Plaza Realty Corporation constructed in 1961. Rockland Plaza Realty headquarters are in Chestnut Hill, Mass.  J.C. Penney also occupies part of the building, the total of which is assessed at $3.9 million.

Hannaford was founded in 1883 by Arthur Hannaford as a small produce store along the Portland waterfront. The company is now owned by the American subsidiary of the Belgian Delhaize Group, Delhaize America. There are currently 177 Hannaford stores. Hannaford is now the second-largest supermarket chain in New England, and the largest private employer in the state with more than 7,500 employees, according to the Maine Department of Labor.

Delhaize Group is a Belgian international food retailer in 11 countries on three continents. At the end of the second quarter of 2012, Delhaize Group’s sales network consisted of 3,365 stores. In 2011, Delhaize Group posted $29.4 billion in revenues, according to the company. At the end of June, Delhaize Group employed approximately 158, 000 people. Delhaize Group’s stock is listed on NYSE Euronext Brussels (DELB) and the New York Stock Exchange (DEG).

According to Supermarket News, Delhaize America recently appointed Brad Wise, a senior vice president of human resources for Delhaize America, to be president of Hannaford. The president of Delhaize America, himself recently appointed to his position, has been shaking up the corporate leadership, and there is a revitalization effort under way for the holdings.

While the emphasis has been on improvements, most recent numbers indicate reduced profits for Delhaize chains of Food Lion and Hannaford. According to Supermarket News, profits for the two in the United States were down by 21.7 percent the first quarter of 2012.

A Nov. 7 article in Supermarket News said Delhaize is "increasing price investments and promotional activity at its Hannaford banner, saying that new competition, a tight economy and slow-growing markets has led to declining sales at the New England-based chain."