AM:PM. Newly kosher
Photo: Omar Hacohen
Exclusive: AM:PM stops selling non-Kosher food
Urban supermarket chain purchased by Alon Group; new owner orders all non-Kosher food products be taken off shelves. Some worry next step for AM:PM will be to close doors on Shabbat
The supermarket chain AM:PM, which was recently purchased by Dor Alon Energy company (a major shareholder of Blue Square – Israel Ltd.), took all of its non-Kosher products off the shelves on Sunday.
Customers who were looking to buy Maadaney Mizra products or seafood products such as shrimp and calamari no longer found what they were looking for at the store’s chains.
A call to the chain’s ordering center also revealed that starting Sunday, no non-Kosher food products could be ordered.
AM:PM made this move after business moguls Matthew Bronfman and Shalom Fischer sold their share in the chain about a week ago to Dudi Weisman. Twenty-six and a half percent of Bronfman and Fischer’s stocks were sold to Dor Alon for USD 52.6 million.
Aides close to Bronfman estimated that Bronfman and Fischer decided to sell their shares in AM:PM, which opens on Saturday’s, following the deal in which the chain was purchased by Alon Group.
Following the acquisition, there were those who spoke out against Weisman for purchasing a chain which operates on Saturdays. It appeared that Dor Alon made the decision to discontinue sales of non-Kosher products in AM:PM for fear of hurting Blue Square sales.
The question remained whether Wiesman would close the doors on AM:PM stores on Saturdays, obtain a Kosher certificate, and turn the supermarket chain into an indistinguishable and inseparable part of Blue Square.
The Alon Group purchased AM:PM a little over two months ago for NIS 143 million (USD 34 million). The chain, which used to be owned by Guy Edry, and Ran and Gal Belinks, operates 21 urban 24/7 stores mainly in the Tel Aviv area.
Initial information received via Red Email
