Items tagged with 'Price Chopper'
Rumored Price Chopper acquisition is now off, according to trade publications
Back in November Reuters reported that that the Golub Corp was in "advanced talks" about a potential sale of the Price Chopper/Market 32 supermarkets to Albertsons, the huge chain of chain based out west. And now this week the supermarket trade publications are reporting the deal is off.
From Food Trade News:
During the past six months, multiple financial sources told us that interest in the approximately 135-stores chain was far from robust with Albertsons emerging as perhaps the only bidder to acquire the whole company (reportedly minus real estate) for about $1 billion. ...
However, we were told that, just before 2016 ended, Albertsons elected not to pursue the Price Chopper purchase, opting instead to prioritize its effort to take the company public, something it first announced 18 months ago.
And from Supermarket News:
Price Chopper engaged the advisors last year as it sought additional capital investment for the purpose of funding the ongoing transformation of its stores from the Price Chopper banner to the Market 32 concept it introduced in 2014. Price Chopper has said that initiative would cost about $300 million over five years to convert roughly half of its 135 stores.
Sources told SN this week it was likely that Price Chopper would continue to seek avenues for new investment but that a strategic acquisition was unlikely with Albertsons off the table.
Both articles are interesting not just in the alleged specifics about the situation surrounding Price Chopper, but also how the big picture is about the sloshing motion of huge pools of capital. In some sense, Price Chopper -- a billion dollar company -- is just a cork in a vast ocean of money. (Alas, aren't we all.)
The Golub Corp never acknowledged the rumored deal back in November -- Neil Golub called the reports "nonsense articles coming from halfway across the country." And the company no-commented it again today. [Biz Review]
Earlier on AOA: The potential sale of Price Chopper would be a big deal (and not just because of the price)
That time Price Chopper was the first supermarket to install self-checkout
A bit we stumbled over recently while doing history of Price Chopper research: The first supermarket self-checkout station was installed at the Price Chopper in Clifton Park in 1992.
The story of the tech's rollout at Price Chopper was part of a recent NPR Planet Money podcast about the self checkout, which focused the inventor of the devices, a Canadian doctor named Howard Schneider. Here's a clip (from about the 10:30 mark) -- Schneider's just had his pitch somewhat harshly turned down by Stop & Shop and he's discouraged. But he get's a meeting with Price Chopper:
The italics are the hosts talking.
The head person [at Price Chopper] actually saw the machines and he said, "I like it. Let's do it." And after that everyone's very nice.
The CEO says we're not going to buy the machines from you. But you can use one of our stores in Upstate New York as a real world experiment.
And on August 5, 1992, grocery store shoppers what may be, depending on your definition, what we're going to call the first fully-automatic check-out machines.
The potential sale of Price Chopper would be a big deal (and not just because of the price)
The Madison Ave location in Albany, one of the company's small-format stores.
One of the big local news stories this week is the Reuters report that the parent company of Price Chopper is in "advanced talks" for a billion-dollar sale of the supermarket chain to Albertson's, a huge chain of chains headquartered out west.
The Reuters story is based on unnamed sources, and the central players are no-commenting it. (Neil Golub was a little more pointed in not addressing the story.) But the idea that the Golub Corp has been exploring some sort of sale or deal for Price Chopper/Market32 has popped up recently, most notably in a report in the trade journal Supermarket News this past August. And it fits with the overarching trend of consolidation withing the supermarket industry.
So, if a Price Chopper sale is in the works -- and that's still if -- it would be one of the biggest Capital Region news stories in recent years. Here are a few reasons why...
New CEO for Price Chopper/Market 32 parent company
The Golub Corporation -- the privately-held parent company of Price Chopper/Market 32 based in Schenectady -- announced Wednesday that it has a new CEO. And notably, the person is not a Golub.
Scott Grimmett, who had been the company chief operating officer (he was the first non-Golub to hold that role), is succeeding Jerry Golub in the CEO role. Grimmett (that's him on the right) joined the Golub Corp in 2012 after working for Safeway for 37 years. He's been part of the company succession plan since he was hired, according to a press release.
Press release blurbage:
"This is an exciting time for our company," said Neil Golub, chairman of the board. "While international conglomerates and Wall St. continue to consolidate our industry, we are investing in our future as a strong, American-owned, family-built regional chain. The design work that we invested in Market Bistro (circa 2010-2014), coupled with the brand-defining innovation that has given rise to our first few Market 32 concept stores has not only laid the groundwork for our continued growth, but also fueled the acceleration of our plans to modernize our stores under the Market 32 banner. "
Jerry Golub is now vice chair of the company's board and will be leading a committee focused on accelerating the switch from the Price Chopper brand to Market 32, according to the press release.
The Best Dozen: Market Bistro
We've enlisted Daniel B. to survey Capital Region donuts -- and pick his favorites -- for a short series called The Best Dozen.
Donuts don't have to come from a standalone bakery. You can also find them in your local neighborhood grocery store.
The ones at Price Chopper's Market Bistro in Latham make an impression because the store's donut rack includes a variety of signature square donuts in addition to the classics. To the eye the signature donuts are reminiscent of the more famous specimens found at shops such as NYC's Doughnut Plant and elsewhere.
But are the Market Bistro donuts any good? And which ones are worthy to pack into your dozen? Well, there's only one way to find out.
Price Chopper CEO: Albany stores set for updates
The much discussed Delaware Ave store in Albany.
I'm the CEO of a supermarket chain that just announced it's changing its name -- ask me anything.
OK, that's not exactly how Golub Corp CEO Jerry Golub introduced himself on Facebook Friday afternoon. But the huge FB thread -- more than 500 comments -- took on an AMA-style feel with Golub fielding questions and comments about Price Chopper's impending name change and modernization campaign.
This response from Golub, to a question about the company upgrading its stores in urban areas, caught our eye and we thought it'd be interesting bit to people around the city of Albany (emphasis added):
Jerry Golub: We will also be updating our smaller and urban stores. The first will be our Delaware and Madison Avenue stores beginning early next year although they won't be getting the complete Market 32 identity right away. We want to introduce the complete Market 32 concept in the larger stores and then apply it to the smaller stores.
Update: We checked with a Price Chopper rep about the updates planned, and specific details aren't ready to be released yet. But the planned updates were described as part of the chain's overall modernization effort.
A few other exchanges that caught our eye...
Around the virtual water cooler: Price Chopper name change
A rendering shared by Price Chopper on Facebook of the new Market 32 exterior design. (larger)
Everybody eats. And (pretty much) everyone shops for food.
So the news that Price Chopper is changing its name to Market 32 prompted a lot of reactions, even more so because the company is a local institution.
For a while on Tuesday our Twitter feed was jammed with people commenting, criticizing, cracking jokes about the change. It was the topic of the day at the virtual water cooler.
Here's a quick collection of a bunch of those tweets.
Price Chopper is rebranding itself as Market 32
Price Chopper's parent company announced Tuesday morning that it's rebranding as "Market 32," part of larger campaign to modernize its stores. The "32" is reference to the chain being founded in 1932.
The company says the new stores will have "expanded food service options, an enhanced product mix and a re-emphasis on customer service."
From a press release:
"Market 32 represents the next leap forward for our company. We have evolved from the Public Service Market to Central Market to Price Chopper by responding to customers' changing needs over time and Market 32 is the next natural progression for us," said Neil Golub, Price Chopper's executive chairman of the board. "Early learnings gleaned from our Market Bistro concept store have put our next generation in an excellent position to make this move today." ...
"Market 32 combines what we are hearing from our customers and what we are learning at Market Bistro with some of the best thinking in the retail industry, and will focus on delivering a distinctively different shopping experience to our customers. Our stores will meet customers' needs today and for decades to come. Most importantly, though, we will continue to offer great value for great food and service," said Jerel Golub, Price Chopper's president and CEO.
That the Golub Corp, PC's parent company, is looking to up its game chain-wide isn't surprising. The supermarket industry is famously competitive and intense.
Checking out the Price Chopper Market Bistro
The new Price Chopper Market Bistro -- the company's long-planned concept store in Latham -- is just about ready for its grand opening. But you can check out much of what's new right now, as we did this week when we got a tour.
There's been a lot of change in the Capital Region supermarket scene over the last few years -- a lot of new stores, new competitors, new upgrades. But it's not a stretch to say that there is nothing else like Market Bistro in this area.
Here's a quick photo tour and a few bits.
Hey, that lobster looks like it's been... wait, no, it just moved
What are you looking at?
Today's moment of odd seafood: Price Chopper reports it recently received three rare orange lobsters as part its regular shipment of lobster. You know, they kind of looked like they'd been cooked, but... weren't. (Here's a closer look.)
The unusually-hued crustaceans ended up at three stores in New York: Guilderland, Middletown, and Binghamton. The lobsters will be held in the stores until later this week, when the company says they'll be sent to aquariums. (Somewhere an Albany Aquarium proponent is sighing at the missed opportunity.)
Update July 3: More orange lobsters have turned up at Price Choppers -- two in Glens Falls, and one near Syracuse. [Syracuse.com]
Price Chopper gets its lobsters from Canada, via a Cape Cod-based company called, appropriately, Lobster Trap. A PC spokesperson tells us that the company's VP of seafood merchandising has never seen an orange lobster in his 17 years with the supermarket chain -- and their contact at the Lobster Trap has only seen one in 33 years.
State attorney general: Price Chopper double coupon advertising was "deceptive" (updated)
Updated Wednesday morning
State attorney general Eric Schneiderman announced today that his office reached an agreement with Price Chopper over an investigation into what the AG's office says was "deceptive" advertising of the chain's double coupon policy. From the press release:
After implementing a corporate-wide policy that limited the doubling of coupons "up to 99 cents," Price Chopper failed to disclose this restriction in its advertisements leading consumers to believe that $1.00 coupons would be doubled. Prior to this corporate policy, Price Chopper's double coupon policies had previously varied from store to store. A number of stores doubled coupons up to $1.00 whereas others restricted the face value of coupons that could be doubled.
Coupons draw consumers into stores with valuable offers, leading to the purchase of other goods. Restrictions on double coupons, which can make a significant difference in savings, must be clear to consumers who shop on a budget. In just April and May of 2012, Price Chopper shoppers redeemed 34,616,602 coupons valued at $.99 or greater; approximately 8 million of these were valued at $1.00 or more.
The AG's office says that as part of the agreement, Price Chopper is "required to clearly and conspicuously disclose any face value limits on coupon redemption." It will also pay the state $100,000 in penalties and costs.
Price Chopper response
Price Chopper released a response to the AG's announcement Tuesday afternoon, disputing the way the agreement was described:
We were appalled and disappointed by the inflammatory press release distributed earlier today by the New York State Office of the Attorney General (OAG), as its portrayal of Price Chopper's conduct is false, misleading and inaccurate in significant respects, and is not supported by the Assurance of Discontinuance (AOD) to which Price Chopper agreed. In fact, contrary to the Press Release, the AOD makes no assertion that Price Chopper acted intentionally to harm consumers or that its practices caused any losses, let alone millions of lost savings to its customers. We've been in direct contact with the OAG to express our concerns and are awaiting their response.
What the OAG actually asserts in the AOD is that Price Chopper inconsistently denoted in its advertising the dollar value limit of its double coupon policy during select weeks in June 2011, January 2012 and April 2012 in Syracuse and Cortland, NY. Our decision to sign this agreement was reached after considering the likely cost of alternative actions, and because settling the matter will allow us to focus on serving our customers, including offering double coupons up to $.99 in all 130 of our stores.
Update: Here's the "assurance of discontinuation" from the state AG's office, as posted by the Syracuse Post-Standard. It makes the AG's office's issues with Price Chopper a bit more clear. The bulk of its complaint is an allegation that Price Chopper didn't note double coupon restrictions in some of its print ads, and that the policies posted at some stores differed from what was posted on the company's website.
By the way: Here are Price Chopper's coupon policies, as listed on its website. After the jump, links to the coupon policies for other supermarkets in the Capital Region...
Trying the Growler Station at Price Chopper
Tucked between the rotisserie and the deli.
With a new ShopRite right across the street, the Slingerlands Price Chopper has upped its game. Among the upgrades at the remodeled store: a Growler Station Express.
It's pretty much what it sounds like -- a counter in the prepared foods section for getting growlers filled with craft beer. And it's the Chopper's first test of the concept.
So how does it work?
Price Chopper planning its "most ambitious project ever undertaken"
The restaurant area planned for the store.
Price Chopper announced today details for the "concept store" it's building at the location of its Latham store. The Chopper is pitching the project as "the most ambitious project ever undertaken" by the supermarket chain.
From the press release:
The most notable new feature will be a multi-faceted, full-service culinary offer in the form of 16 themed, fast-casual/cooked-fresh-to-order dining experiences, accompanied by in-store seating for 140 guests and seasonal outdoor seating. Among the moderately priced dining areas will be a Ben & Bill's NYC-Style deli; a Chef's Grill where a variety of specialty dishes - from steak to mussels to seafood to antipasto - will be prepared fresh for each guest; a Mexican themed restaurant featuring international flavors; a classic pizzeria, a meat rotisserie offering succulent pork and beef, in addition to poultry; an old-fashioned sub shop; a New England style fish fry restaurant, and a full-service salad and vegetarian/vegan bar, just to name a few. Other specialty restaurant concepts still being finalized will be unveiled in the coming months.
Also planned are a complete cooking school in which local/regional and national chefs and specialty instructors will teach recipes, techniques, trends and meal solutions for classes, parties and special events, the growing and harvesting of some fresh produce right in the store, and the building of a drive-through pharmacy.
More details and concept images are after the jump.
Price Chopper aiming to complete the store sometime in late 2013/early 2014. The company says it will also makeover eight of its other stores in the area over the next two year. Counting recently finished store remodels -- like the one in the Slingerlands -- PC says it will put almost $90 million into upgrading Capital Region stores.
Of course, all this comes in the context of much increased supermarket competition in the Capital Region:
+ ShopRite just opened its third store -- in Slingerlands, right across from a Price Chopper -- has plans for a fourth, and seems intent on going head-to-head with the Chopper.
+ Hannaford has been remodeling stores.
+ The Fresh Market is now here.
+ Trader Joe's opened this year.
+ Honest Weight Food Co-op is moving ahead with its new location.
+ Whole Foods is planning to open at Colonie Center sometime in early 2014.
+ And there's also the unnamed, unconfirmed chain that's reportedly been looking at the Latham Circle Mall site.
The competition is forcing everyone to step up their games.
Supermarket Showdown V
Game changer?
It's Supermarket Week again on AOA. All this week we'll have posts comparing, thinking, and talking about supermarkets. Hey, we all have to eat.
Yes, that grand tradition -- the Supermarket Showdown -- has returned. As we have for the past (gulp) four years, we price checked a basket of items across the local supermarket chains.
New this year: ShopRite.
Can it unseat Walmart, the four-time defending champ? And how have the other two players reacted to its arrival?
Delivery! Comparing ShopRite from Home and Price Chopper Shops4U
ShopRite doesn't hold back on the bagging.
Supermarket Week is back on AOA. All this week we'll have posts comparing, thinking, and talking about supermarkets. Hey, we all have to eat.
I've been hearing a lot lately about home grocery delivery. The new Albany ShopRite offers home delivery, and the Westgate Price Chopper recently rolled out a similar service (and made sure we knew about it -- we received Price Chopper flyers advertising the service in the mail every day for weeks).
I've been intrigued by the idea. After my daughter was born last year many things changed within our family, including my work schedule and our income. I usually do each week's shopping on my Mondays off, with my one-year-old in tow. Sometimes this is awesome. Sometimes it means rushing through the store doing everything I can to stave off a toddler meltdown ("Here, hold this bag of beans. No no, don't eat the bag. Ok, now we have to give it to the lady to scan. She'll give it back! I promise!") And then there's the part where I do a circus routine to get the baby and the groceries in the house.
The idea of having someone else do the shopping -- and deliver the goods to my door -- is very appealing. So recently I gave each service a go.
Bialy at the Eastern Parkway Price Chopper
Sort of like a bagel, but not.
The bialy is dead. Long live the bialy.
Maybe you've read Mimi Sheraton's The Bialy Eaters, in which the food writer travels the world in search of an authentic Bialystocker kuchen. There is actually a town in Poland called Bialystock, and at one point in time it was filled with Jews and bakeries that would churn out these hot, yeasty rolls which have only a passing similarity to bagels in that they are round.
From Ms. Sheraton's research, in the old country these were light and pillowy on the outside, with a crisp compressed center, which was filled with onions, poppy seeds, and bread crumbs. They were dusted with flour, baked in a wood or coal-fired oven, and came out with a thin, burnished brown crust.
After searching the world over, starting at Kossar's in New York City, and traveling to Poland, Israel, France and Argentina she came to a sad conclusion: One cannot find a Bialystocker kuchen like the ones made in that famous village before World War II. Most of the Jews from Bialystock were killed or driven into exile, and with them went the bialy.
That's not to say there aren't some delicious bialys around the world which come close. Oddly, the Capital Region was never mentioned in her book. However, if Mimi Sheraton ever made it out to the Price Chopper on Eastern Parkway, I think she would be quite pleased.
Price Chopper changing Fuel AdvantEdge discount
Updated
Price Chopper announced today that it's discounting its gasoline discount program (press release post jump).
Starting May 13, AdvantEdge card holders will earn a 10 cent/gallon gasoline discount for every $100 they spend. The current rate is 10 cents off per gallon at Sunoco for every $50 spent at Price Chopper. (It's been that way since PC expanded the program to this area in 2009.)
The supermarket chain is trying to frame the gas discount cut as a shift to more discounts on food. It says it's in the process of lowering prices on 10,000 products. Said Price Chopper in response to critical comments on the company's Facebook page:
We have had an overwhelming number of customers tell us that they want to save more money on food. We are lowering prices all over the store and our ads will be hotter than ever. ... We will also be offering even more ways to earn fuel rewards in our ads though the purchases of specific products...Check it out this Sunday!
It's fair to say the change wasn't going over well with people there (understatement).
The gasoline discount isn't some sort of fundamental human right. The company doesn't owe it to anyone. But it did help mitigate Price Chopper's often higher non-sale prices (though not necessarily enough to bring them in line with competitors). It'll be interesting to see if the change actually does result in lower food prices -- and in what way (sales, coupons, whatever).
Checking out the new Albany ShopRite
We can safely report: it's a modern supermarket.
The new Albany ShopRite opens this Thursday. If the opening of the Niskayuna location is any indication, the scene will probably be a zoo. Such is the product of the Capital Region's apparent supermarket obsession.
We were invited to check out the new Albany store today, and went for two reasons: 1) to gawk at perfectly stocked aisles and 2) to maybe find out why ShopRite has decided to build four stores in the Albany area -- and why now.
Wegmans ranked as #1 supermarket. Again.
Not surprising: Wegmans was again the #1 ranked supermarket in Consumer Reports annual survey of its readers with a score of 88.
Number two? Trader Joe's (again) with a score of 86.
A lot of the other local chains didn't score that badly, though their ranks were a bit lower:
Hannaford ranked #19 (score 79) | Aldi #20 (79) | ShopRite #24 (78) | Price Chopper #30 (76) | Walmart #51 (69)
Fresh Market wasn't included in the rankings.
CR says the survey is a measure of "overall satisfaction" -- and differences of fewer than five points in a supermarket score are not meaningful. Also: "These findings represent the experiences of our readers, not necessarily those of the general population."
About Trader Joe's... A few people have asked if there's an opening date, yet. As of two weeks ago, the company said it still didn't have a date.
Earlier on AOA:
+ Albany ShopRite opening in April
+ Trader Joe's confirms Wolf Road location
photo: Flickr user chrstine592
Where the supermarkets are -- and aren't
There's a much bigger, interactive version.
Prompted by a discussion earlier this week about chain supermarkets and food deserts, we figured it'd be interesting to see how supermarkets in the Capital Region are distributed geographically. It might give us a better sense of what sort of supermarket access there is for each part of the area.
The resulting map -- along with another map of officially designated food deserts -- and some quick discussion, after the jump.
The organic milk shortage
A sign on the dairy case at the Hannaford in Albany.
Over the last month or so we've noticed signs popping up on dairy cases at both Hannaford and Price Chopper noting that there's an organic milk shortage. And the shelves in the case have appeared rather bare at times. (We were the ones who took the last half-gallon of organic milk at the Slingerlands Price Chopper the other day. Sorry about that.)
So, what's going on?
A ShopRite for Slingerlands, and a tech park
Right now there's not a lot there besides dirt.
Thursday was the official groundbreaking for the Vista Technology Campus in Slingerlands. A lot of the attention was focused on one of the tenants already signed up: ShopRite. That makes three stores now officially announced/open for the area (there's a fourth planned for Colonie). ShopRite continues what appears to be a strategy to go to head-to-head with Price Chopper -- the Vista ShopRite is pretty much be right across the road from the Slingerlands Chopper. [Spotlight] [YNN]
Planning for the Vista site has been going on for a few years -- but Thursday's announcements would seem to indicate it's picking up momentum. It's a potentially significant development project. The site includes 150 acres of land planned for development. And the developer -- Columbia Development -- says its plan includes up 1.4 million square feet of office, research and manufacturing facilities, medical office, and retail space.
A few quick thoughts about all this...
Price Chopper owner sues ShopRite owner over online ads -- is the supermarket war on?
A screengrab from October 20, 2011. Here's a larger version. (We removed the Google toolbar at the top.)
Updated at 3:30 pm after hearing from Wakefern/ShopRite.
The Golub Corp -- which owns Price Chopper -- is suing the cooperative behind ShopRite over ads the cooperative allegedly bought on Google, the Times Union first reported today. Golub is alleging trademark infringement, false designation of origin and unfair competition. (We pulled the filing -- it's embedded after the jump.)
We noticed the ads last week while looking up some stuff about Price Chopper. A search for "Price Chopper" on October 20 returned the regular search results -- and at the top: a text ad for ShopRite. We took a screengrab (above) and figured we might eventually use it as evidence in what appears to a supermarket war that's starting to heat up.
Golub saw the situation rather differently. From the filing:
Upon information and belief, Defendant Wakefern has infringed Plaintiff Golub's registered mark in interstate commerce by various acts, including purchasing keywords including or relating to the PRICE CHOPPER® mark and engaging in Internet advertising campaigns using the PRICE CHOPPER® mark, to sell, offer for sale and advertise Wakefern's retail grocery goods and/or services. Defendant's use of the PRICE CHOPPER® mark is without permission or authority of Plaintiff Golub and such use by Defendant is likely to cause confusion, to cause mistake and/or to deceive.
Golub alleges Wakefern also bought similar ads on Bing and Yahoo (and it includes screengrabs in the filing).
Price Chopper Shops4U
Price Chopper says it's rolling out an online shopping service called "Shops4U" next week at its Niskayuna store. From the press release:
To access Shops4U, Price Chopper customers simply go to the online ordering tab on www.pricechopper.com and pull down the menu for Shops4U. Once they register, customers can pick and choose from among tens of thousands of food items carried in their local Price Chopper store. Orders can be picked up at the store or delivered to homes, offices or community gathering spaces in the Niskayuna area.
In addition to the online component, Shops4U also allows customers to interact with specially trained Price Chopper teammates who will go through the store to select the best in fresh meat, produce and seafood, along with bakery and packaged grocery items. When a customer places an order online, the pick-up time is indicated. The order will be selected and ready at that time for pick up. The customer need only drive up to the designated pick-up parking spots in front of the Niskayuna store and call the phone number indicated on the sign there. The grocery order will be brought out to the car, where the guest can pay by credit card and drive off, without ever having to leave the car.
Delivery orders will be brought to the home, business or community gathering space by Price Chopper's professional delivery staff within a designated time period.
The service costs $10, plus another $5.99 for delivery (with a discount for the first order, and every fifth order after that). The full press release is pasted after the jump.
The company says it plans to eventually extend the service to all of its stores.
In what is almost surely not a coincidence, Shops4U is rolling out just before the planned grand opening of the new ShopRite in Niskayuna on October 2. And what's one of the services ShopRite's been touting: "ShopRite from Home," an order ahead and delivery service.
We're not buzzing with excitement over ShopRite coming (back) to the Capital Region -- but if it can prompt competition with the players already here (especially on price), that's not a bad thing.
People like shopping... whenever they want
While perusing Progressive Grocer recently*, we came across this interview with Neil Golub, the CEO of the company that owns Price Chopper.
A few bits that were interesting:
+ Ben and Bill Golub, who had been in the wholesale food business in Schenectady, set up their first retail store after checking out a market on Long Island in 1931.
+ The market they set up -- "The Public Service Market" -- opened in Green Island in 1932. (The first Central Market, which would become the name for their chain, opened in Schenectady in 1935.)
+ The company changed the markets' name to Price Chopper in 1973. It also made the switch to being open 24/7. Golub says sales went up 30 percent after making the switch to being always open.
The interviewed is embedded above. And here's more on Price Chopper's history from its website.
(Video of the interview is embedded after the jump. Caution: it auto-plays.)
* What, you're not reading Progressive Grocer?
... said KGB about Drawing: What's something that brought you joy this year?