Breaking: HEB buys 6 Minyard Sun Fresh stores in DFW

Arizona, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. No non-grocery posts.
Post Reply
architect
Assistant Store Manager
Assistant Store Manager
Posts: 843
Joined: December 8th, 2015, 3:41 pm
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 7 times
Status: Offline

Breaking: HEB buys 6 Minyard Sun Fresh stores in DFW

Post by architect »

Just announced: HEB has purchased six Minyard Sun Fresh stores; including locations in McKinney and Grapevine, along with four Dallas stores at Mockingbird/Abrams, Uptown, Northwest Highway/Ferndale, and Northwest Highway/Midway. This is an interesting purchase indeed, as HEB has not announced plans for when these stores might be converted, and to what format they will be converted to. The Grapevine store is located particularly close to another site which they have purchased further south on 121, but maybe the anticipate that the market would be ripe for two stores in the area? Also, both the Mockingbird/Abrams and Northwest Highway/Midway stores are quite small, and may need to be significantly renovated and expanded to reach HEB's typical store caliber. I'm excited to see what's in store!
pseudo3d
Posts: 3831
Joined: November 12th, 2015, 7:01 pm
Has thanked: 5 times
Been thanked: 72 times
Status: Offline

Re: Breaking: HEB buys 6 Minyard Sun Fresh stores in DFW

Post by pseudo3d »

Wow, H-E-B buying the remainder of Sun Fresh caught me off guard. Guess it was going to happen since some people predicted that H-E-B might want in on the stores (back in 2012, I predicted a total pull-out of DFW Albertsons going to H-E-B). Either way, it looks like H-E-B will definitely close all of them for months for renovations at least (right now, they don't even know what they want with them--they could squat on the property for years).

Converting Albertsons stores to H-E-B is nothing new (they've done it in SA, Austin, and Houston), though the results often turn out to be disappointing, based on the "So Okay It's Average And I Can Totally Tell What Albertsons Package It Used" Clear Lake store and "Weird And Creepy And You Should Be Ashamed For Letting It Get This Way" Gessner store.

I really think that the Albertsons stores would make fine H-E-B stores if operated correctly, and it's the acquired stores that are the most attractive H-E-B stores exterior-wise.
architect
Assistant Store Manager
Assistant Store Manager
Posts: 843
Joined: December 8th, 2015, 3:41 pm
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 7 times
Status: Offline

Re: Breaking: HEB buys 6 Minyard Sun Fresh stores in DFW

Post by architect »

pseudo3d wrote:Wow, H-E-B buying the remainder of Sun Fresh caught me off guard. Guess it was going to happen since some people predicted that H-E-B might want in on the stores (back in 2012, I predicted a total pull-out of DFW Albertsons going to H-E-B). Either way, it looks like H-E-B will definitely close all of them for months for renovations at least (right now, they don't even know what they want with them--they could squat on the property for years).

Converting Albertsons stores to H-E-B is nothing new (they've done it in SA, Austin, and Houston), though the results often turn out to be disappointing, based on the "So Okay It's Average And I Can Totally Tell What Albertsons Package It Used" Clear Lake store and "Weird And Creepy And You Should Be Ashamed For Letting It Get This Way" Gessner store.

I really think that the Albertsons stores would make fine H-E-B stores if operated correctly, and it's the acquired stores that are the most attractive H-E-B stores exterior-wise.
Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised to see at least the Mockingbird/Abrams and Northwest Highway/Midway stores closed for an extended period, and possibly even rebuilt completely. Both of these stores are undersized and need some major capital investment, with both sites possibly even being expanded into their adjacent shopping centers. The Northwest Highway/Ferndale, McKinney and Grapevine stores could all be converted to HEB's relatively quickly, considering that all three stores are of a good size and are in good physical condition. Uptown could also quickly reopen as an HEB, but over the long haul, I see the company redeveloping the site and possibly building a multi-level store (possibly as part of a larger mixed-use development). That land is simply too valuable for a traditional big-box grocer.

Considering the grocery market dynamics in DFW, HEB will (or at least should) be careful not to operate half-baked stores. As a result, in cases where sub-standard stores are acquired, I expect that we will see substantial investment before an HEB sign is ever hung over the door. Particularly with Albertsons conversions, I have seen HEB do an excellent job (West Lake Hills) and a terrible job (Clear Lake, 183/Spicewood Springs in Austin).
pseudo3d
Posts: 3831
Joined: November 12th, 2015, 7:01 pm
Has thanked: 5 times
Been thanked: 72 times
Status: Offline

Re: Breaking: HEB buys 6 Minyard Sun Fresh stores in DFW

Post by pseudo3d »

It looks like 7007 Arapaho (former Albertsons) wasn't sold as well another store (which I'm not sure where it was). I wonder what their fate will be...?
lake
Service Clerk
Service Clerk
Posts: 112
Joined: May 11th, 2016, 10:54 pm
Status: Offline

Re: Breaking: HEB buys 6 Minyard Sun Fresh stores in DFW

Post by lake »

So Fiesta acquired these stores and sold off the ones that didn't make sense for their format to HEB? How many Minyards are still owned by Fiesta?
pseudo3d
Posts: 3831
Joined: November 12th, 2015, 7:01 pm
Has thanked: 5 times
Been thanked: 72 times
Status: Offline

Re: Breaking: HEB buys 6 Minyard Sun Fresh stores in DFW

Post by pseudo3d »

lake wrote:So Fiesta acquired these stores and sold off the ones that didn't make sense for their format to HEB? How many Minyards are still owned by Fiesta?
Fiesta bought the remaining original "Minyard Food Stores" but only two Minyard Sun Fresh stores.
lake
Service Clerk
Service Clerk
Posts: 112
Joined: May 11th, 2016, 10:54 pm
Status: Offline

Re: Breaking: HEB buys 6 Minyard Sun Fresh stores in DFW

Post by lake »

pseudo3d wrote:
lake wrote:So Fiesta acquired these stores and sold off the ones that didn't make sense for their format to HEB? How many Minyards are still owned by Fiesta?
Fiesta bought the remaining original "Minyard Food Stores" but only two Minyard Sun Fresh stores.
Ah, so there's some currently unclaimed right now. I wonder if Albertsons/Tom Thumb would come back and take these back up as they did in the Northwest?
architect
Assistant Store Manager
Assistant Store Manager
Posts: 843
Joined: December 8th, 2015, 3:41 pm
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 7 times
Status: Offline

Re: Breaking: HEB buys 6 Minyard Sun Fresh stores in DFW

Post by architect »

pseudo3d wrote:It looks like 7007 Arapaho (former Albertsons) wasn't sold as well another store (which I'm not sure where it was). I wonder what their fate will be...?
Out of the Sun Fresh stores currently operating, the only ones not being sold to HEB are the Forest/Marsh store (sold to Fiesta, still operating but in early stages of conversion; photos to be posted soon) and the Hillcrest/Arapaho store. My guess with the Arapaho store is that Sun Fresh will use this store to clear out their remaining warehouse inventory, then close the store. Actually, I am surprised that HEB did not buy this location too. Although the physical store is in poor condition (very similar to the Mockingbird/Abrams store), the demographics in the area are strong and the adjacent shopping center is ripe for redevelopment, which could give HEB a large site (which is hard to come by in Far North Dallas) if the property owners were willing to sell.

In addition to the stores currently operating, Sun Fresh operated stores in Plano (former Tom Thumb, now Kroger), Rowlett (former Albertsons, currently vacant), Bedford (former Tom Thumb, closed and since sold to Fiesta) and Roanoke (former Albertsons, currently vacant, the store was supposedly being sold to Kroger but the latest rumors are indicating that they may have backed out).
storewanderer
Posts: 14273
Joined: February 23rd, 2009, 3:54 pm
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 289 times
Contact:
Status: Offline

Re: Breaking: HEB buys 6 Minyard Sun Fresh stores in DFW

Post by storewanderer »

Well that is certainly an interesting form of "checkmate" for Albertsons in their attempt to sell the stores to a weak operator. Sell to a weak operator and that weak operator ends up going bust and selling them to the strongest possible operator.

Too bad it is just 6 stores but that could be enough to cause them some unanticipated headaches.

Would have loved to see this happen to some of the Haggens, too bad there are no strong players in those markets.

So how is this HEB buy of these stores going to impact Albertsons? Are these mostly "infill" type locations where land is not so easy to come by, or?
architect
Assistant Store Manager
Assistant Store Manager
Posts: 843
Joined: December 8th, 2015, 3:41 pm
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 7 times
Status: Offline

Re: Breaking: HEB buys 6 Minyard Sun Fresh stores in DFW

Post by architect »

storewanderer wrote:Well that is certainly an interesting form of "checkmate" for Albertsons in their attempt to sell the stores to a weak operator. Sell to a weak operator and that weak operator ends up going bust and selling them to the strongest possible operator.

Too bad it is just 6 stores but that could be enough to cause them some unanticipated headaches.

Would have loved to see this happen to some of the Haggens, too bad there are no strong players in those markets.

So how is this HEB buy of these stores going to impact Albertsons? Are these mostly "infill" type locations where land is not so easy to come by, or?
Out of the stores HEB is purchasing, the Uptown, Mockingbird/Abrams, Northwest Highway/Ferndale and Northwest Highway/Midway stores are all in entrenched areas where the primary traditional grocers are Tom Thumb and Kroger to a lesser extent (much lower store count). Land is scarce in these areas, or at least the amount of land needed to build a typical ground-up HEB. Somewhat ironically, Tom Thumb (Albertsons) stands to lose the most in these areas, as many of their stores in these most established parts of Dallas are small, and pricing is terrible. The McKinney store has vacant land in the vicinity, but the store is in an established upscale part of the city which should be a great grab for HEB. The Grapevine store is the odd location of the bunch, as HEB has already purchased land to the south in the Glade Parks development, along 121 between Glade and Cheek Sparger. Most of the retail in the area is concentrated around these two exits, with Hall-Johnson being a much more secondary exit. If the Sun Fresh store is converted as an HEB, it could cannibalize sales at the Glade Parks store if it is also built.

Out of the stores HEB is acquiring, the Northwest Highway/Ferndale, Mockingbird/Abrams and Uptown stores are clearly the biggest prizes. The Northwest Highway/Midway location would also make the list, but the current Sun Fresh store operating there is undersized, and the dimensions of the site would make it difficult to demolish the existing facility and build a large store (not to mention the fact that the rest of the shopping center is very successful).
Post Reply