New Ownership Group Remodels Gelson’s

As TPG Capital settles in as the new owner of Gelson’s Markets since officially taking over in February, the Pacific Palisades location is seeing several interior changes, including to its service deli and to Wolfgang Puck Express.

The remodeling had been planned, but was delayed, due to the search for a buyer in 2013, according to Gelson’s Director of Marketing Yvonne Manganaro. Its former parent company, Compton-based Arden Group, began exploring a possible sale last June and eventually brokered a $394 million deal with TPG, based in Fort Worth, Texas.

“They’ve been really exciting to work with,” Manganaro said. “They are quite focused on growing and protecting the Gelson’s brand name.”

TPG manages the 17 Southern California stores from its San Francisco offices and is primarily invested in healthcare, retail and telecommunications, with almost $60 billion in assets under its control, she said. Prior to closing the sale, TPG conducted a study with a consulting company to determine Gelson’s growth potential and identified 15 additional locations that would be a good fit.

“So based on the strong financials for the existing stores and the plan for growth, they purchased the company and took us private,” Manganaro said. “Since then they want to make sure we do things to maintain the existing store base fresh while we look for opportunities.”

After Gelson’s opened its newest store in Long Beach last November – its first new store in 12 years – Manganaro said the interior design package used was agreed to be mirrored for the other planned remodels, such as the Palisades.

In the last few weeks, structural changes have been made to create a better workflow in the back room and kitchen area, as well as rebuilding the cooler. On the front end for consumers, additional grab-and-go refrigerator space was added to provide more selection.

Manganaro added that cosmetic improvements were made to its service deli and Wolfgang Puck Express and work is currently being done on the coffee bar and the meat and seafood department. In June, the floral department will undergo a facelift.

“The Pacific Palisades store is one of our busiest operations,” Manganaro added. “There are so many families in the Pacific Palisades area looking for the convenience of a healthy prepared meal, and we just couldn’t keep up with the volume demand.”

Exterior renovations at the Palisades Gelson’s are tentatively scheduled for 2015.