One of Union’s in-store Martin’s branches (Evelyn Rupert)
A local bank is on the hunt for real estate as a grocery mega-merger is displacing several of its Richmond-area branches.
Union Bank & Trust is being forced to vacate six of its in-store branches located in Martin’s stores that are soon to be converted into Publix locations.
Four of those Union outposts are being relocated to retail space within the same shopping centers, while two will be consolidated into existing nearby branches.
Elizabeth Bentley, Union’s chief retail officer, said the bank has already signed leases for two of the four that will relocate: the branches currently inside the Martin’s stores in the Short Pump Crossing and Colonial Square shopping centers will move into spaces a few doors down.
Bentley said the company is still in negotiations to move its branches in the Martin’s stores at the Village Shopping Center and West Park Shopping Center to other spaces in those two West End strips.
The two Union branches that will close are inside Martin’s stores at 2250 John Rolfe Pkwy and 10150 Brook Road. Deposits from the John Rolfe branch will be consolidated to the Pump Road location, while deposits from Brook Road will be sent to a nearby Union branch in the Atlee area.
Around $226 million in deposits are held in the six branches combined, according to the FDIC. Employees of all six of the affected branches will move to other locations.
Bentley said the four new leases and the two consolidations will likely be a temporary fix for Union.
“It’s an interim step for us,” she said. “Short Pump is a market where we have a loyal, robust customer base. In the longer term we’ll build a free-standing facility out there.
The same goes for the Brook Road area: “We are looking in that market for more of a longer term option and potentially building a stand-alone location,” she said.
The shakeup was caused by the summertime merger of grocery giants Ahold and Delhaize, respective parent companies to Martin’s and Food Lion. Their marriage forced the sale of dozens of stores around the country to satisfy antitrust regulations. That swath included 10 Martin’s stores in the Richmond market, which were purchased by supermarket competitor Publix.
Union has branches in six of those 10, as well as in six Martin’s stores that were not purchased by Publix.
Union’s presence in Martin’s stores dates back to the days of Ukrop’s, the Richmond grocery chain that sold to Martin’s in 2009. Union predecessor First Market Bank had branches in those Ukrop’s stores and the relationship survived that merger.
Union spokesman Bill Cimino said initially after the Ahold Delhaize merger, the bank was confident it would be part of the new Publix stores and that its leases would roll over in a similar manner to the Ukrop’s/Martin’s deal.
Union said it was notified in early August by Ahold that the grocer was exercising its termination clause in their lease. Asked about ending the relationship with Union, a Publix spokesperson referred questions to Martin’s, which didn’t respond to inquiry by press time.
Bentley said Union moved quickly in its search for alternatives, with the John Rolfe location set to close in early December and the others in late January 2017.
“We went to work right away,” Bentley said. “We’ve had a small team focused on this that really has allowed us to get it done quickly.”
Union didn’t go so far as to say it was caught off guard by Publix’s decision, but Bentley said she wished it had been given more time.
“Whenever you have a landlord, you always hope for good communication back and forth and I think in this case it was lacking,” she said. “The confidentiality around this (Ahold Delhaize) deal was so tight they just weren’t communicating their thoughts and plans early enough.”
Union currently has 115 branches around the state, including about three dozen in the Richmond market.
As for the six Union branches in the Martin’s stores that aren’t part of the Publix deal, Bentley said the bank hasn’t been notified of any pending changes to those locations.
“It’s business as usual for us in those locations,” Bentley said.
Still, the bank will keep its eyes peeled in light of the Publix situation.
“With this change of events, we are being a little more proactive now,” she said.
One of Union’s in-store Martin’s branches (Evelyn Rupert)
A local bank is on the hunt for real estate as a grocery mega-merger is displacing several of its Richmond-area branches.
Union Bank & Trust is being forced to vacate six of its in-store branches located in Martin’s stores that are soon to be converted into Publix locations.
Four of those Union outposts are being relocated to retail space within the same shopping centers, while two will be consolidated into existing nearby branches.
Elizabeth Bentley, Union’s chief retail officer, said the bank has already signed leases for two of the four that will relocate: the branches currently inside the Martin’s stores in the Short Pump Crossing and Colonial Square shopping centers will move into spaces a few doors down.
Bentley said the company is still in negotiations to move its branches in the Martin’s stores at the Village Shopping Center and West Park Shopping Center to other spaces in those two West End strips.
The two Union branches that will close are inside Martin’s stores at 2250 John Rolfe Pkwy and 10150 Brook Road. Deposits from the John Rolfe branch will be consolidated to the Pump Road location, while deposits from Brook Road will be sent to a nearby Union branch in the Atlee area.
Around $226 million in deposits are held in the six branches combined, according to the FDIC. Employees of all six of the affected branches will move to other locations.
Bentley said the four new leases and the two consolidations will likely be a temporary fix for Union.
“It’s an interim step for us,” she said. “Short Pump is a market where we have a loyal, robust customer base. In the longer term we’ll build a free-standing facility out there.
The same goes for the Brook Road area: “We are looking in that market for more of a longer term option and potentially building a stand-alone location,” she said.
The shakeup was caused by the summertime merger of grocery giants Ahold and Delhaize, respective parent companies to Martin’s and Food Lion. Their marriage forced the sale of dozens of stores around the country to satisfy antitrust regulations. That swath included 10 Martin’s stores in the Richmond market, which were purchased by supermarket competitor Publix.
Union has branches in six of those 10, as well as in six Martin’s stores that were not purchased by Publix.
Union’s presence in Martin’s stores dates back to the days of Ukrop’s, the Richmond grocery chain that sold to Martin’s in 2009. Union predecessor First Market Bank had branches in those Ukrop’s stores and the relationship survived that merger.
Union spokesman Bill Cimino said initially after the Ahold Delhaize merger, the bank was confident it would be part of the new Publix stores and that its leases would roll over in a similar manner to the Ukrop’s/Martin’s deal.
Union said it was notified in early August by Ahold that the grocer was exercising its termination clause in their lease. Asked about ending the relationship with Union, a Publix spokesperson referred questions to Martin’s, which didn’t respond to inquiry by press time.
Bentley said Union moved quickly in its search for alternatives, with the John Rolfe location set to close in early December and the others in late January 2017.
“We went to work right away,” Bentley said. “We’ve had a small team focused on this that really has allowed us to get it done quickly.”
Union didn’t go so far as to say it was caught off guard by Publix’s decision, but Bentley said she wished it had been given more time.
“Whenever you have a landlord, you always hope for good communication back and forth and I think in this case it was lacking,” she said. “The confidentiality around this (Ahold Delhaize) deal was so tight they just weren’t communicating their thoughts and plans early enough.”
Union currently has 115 branches around the state, including about three dozen in the Richmond market.
As for the six Union branches in the Martin’s stores that aren’t part of the Publix deal, Bentley said the bank hasn’t been notified of any pending changes to those locations.
“It’s business as usual for us in those locations,” Bentley said.
Still, the bank will keep its eyes peeled in light of the Publix situation.
“With this change of events, we are being a little more proactive now,” she said.
The move makes sense for Publix; I feel like it doesn’t really make sense for a store to lease space to another tenant inside their store anymore. I’m not sure that Union should be moving so quickly to open locations inside these shopping centers either. This could be a good opportunity to eliminate overlap. The need for brick and mortar banks is fading just like the need for brick and mortar retail locations with the prevalence of technology nowadays. Pretty much anything can be done online/phone except for getting cash and the last few times I went into a bank… Read more »
I frequent the Union Bank at the Village Shopping Center Martins. The banking experience there and personal service has been appreciated, especially with my children and their accounts with Union. Having a human instead of an ATM to bank with has been a very instructional life lesson for them and I’d like to continue that relationship in close proximity to where we shop (for what that’s worth).
I’m pretty sure they’re going to find something close in that area for the simple fact that there’s a lot of wealth in that area, which means there’s a lot of money to be made there. Might not be in the Village Shopping Center but probably somewhere down Patterson Ave.
Obviously Mr. Hapablap is not a small business owner. I am a business owner and the need for Brick & Mortar is not fading away in the business arena.
When I go into the branches there is always a line to wait in, so others must still see the need for the brick & mortar as well.
True, I’m not a business owner, I’ve been working in banking for the last 20+ years here in the Richmond area. So I’ve seen the numbers and watched them dwindle. There is always going to be a need for brick and mortar when it comes to cash handling but the need for everyday use is dwindling and the numbers show it. Most of today’s customers who actually do come in to open an account are never seen again unless there is an issue and with online account opening and lending, some customers never come into a branch. The need will… Read more »
Bert is totally correct.
I’m a business owner and I never go into the bank. Unless I’m getting a cashier’s check or something, I upload most of my check deposits from my phone app and do most everything from ATM. Going into a bank branch is the least productive thing I can do with my day.