Albertsons, LLC To Close 11 Stores

[Alpha8472]

Albertsons, LLC is closing 8 Florida stores and 3 in Colorado. They are also selling the Florida Distribution Center. If they are selling the Florida Distribution Center it probably means the end is coming for the rest of the Florida stores.

http://supermarketnews.com/news/albertsons_llc_0108/

[krogerclerk]

The article says the 3 Colorado stores are being sold to an out of state firm. At face value, that rules out King Soopers, but it's technically an out of state company too, since it's a subsidiary of Kroger of Cincinnati, OH via Dillons of Hutchinson, KS. Safeway is also out of state. Basically the unnamed buyer could be any company that's not Colorado based. While the Denver area was hurt by the housing bubble bursting, Denver is one of the few major cities that has had job growth over the last 2 years. ABS is in 4th place after King Soopers/City Market, Safeway and Walmart statewide

At this point, it's obvious that ABS is slowly pulling the plug on the FL stores as it finds buyers. With 20 stores scattered in the 3rd most populous state, the chain is no longer a major player. The remaining stores are loosing business as the closings create the image of a company in decline. Winn-Dixie has passed on locations due to not wanting to boost its capital expenditures in the current environment, as the company lost money during the last half of 2009. Sweetbay is slowly closing stores, so it's not a candidate for any locations at this point. Publix is still absorbing the previous set of ex-Albertsons. Both WD and Sweetbay had hoped displaced ABS shoppers would migrate to their stores, which appears to have happened, but not in large numbers, most stayed with the location, after Publix reopened the store. Florida not only had its real estate market collapse, the state experienced more out-migration than in-migration in 2009.

[tesg]

It's also possible that said 'out-of-state buyer' (for the Colorado stores) isn't a grocery retailer, and has other plans for the property.