Strack & Van Til to sell 22 stores, close remaining nine

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Strack & Van Til to sell 22 stores, close remaining nine

Post by cathandler »

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Re: Strack & Van Til to sell 22 stores, close remaining nine

Post by pseudo3d »

Sounds like they don't have anyone lined up to buy the stores yet, so it's anyone's guess of where those 22 stores are going. I wouldn't be surprised if Albertsons bought them and the remaining nine just happened to be overlap stores (the dogs were closed last month). Actually I might be a little surprised if it was Jewel, as they only bought, what, ten Dominick's? If it's multiple buyers, then I can see Kroger entering the race, but not Roundy's (Kroger does operate in north Indiana I believe). Third guess is Central Co-op or other members buying stores, as selling to Kroger or Albertsons means that Central Co-Op WILL lose out.
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Re: Strack & Van Til to sell 22 stores, close remaining nine

Post by pseudo3d »

pseudo3d wrote:
Sounds like they don't have anyone lined up to buy the stores yet, so it's anyone's guess of where those 22 stores are going. I wouldn't be surprised if Albertsons bought them and the remaining nine just happened to be overlap stores (the dogs were closed last month). Actually I might be a little surprised if it was Jewel, as they only bought, what, ten Dominick's? If it's multiple buyers, then I can see Kroger entering the race, but not Roundy's (Kroger does operate in north Indiana I believe). Third guess is Central Co-op or other members buying stores, as selling to Kroger or Albertsons means that Central Co-Op WILL lose out.
Edit: didn't realize Central WAS the company
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Re: Strack & Van Til to sell 22 stores, close remaining nine

Post by cathandler »

pseudo3d wrote:
pseudo3d wrote:
cathandler wrote:End of the line for Northwest Indiana institution
Edit: didn't realize Central WAS the company
And of course Roundy's IS Kroger...more insight from the Trib, including union troubles for Central:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ ... story.html
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Re: Strack & Van Til to sell 22 stores, close remaining nine

Post by pseudo3d »

cathandler wrote:
pseudo3d wrote:
pseudo3d wrote:
And of course Roundy's IS Kroger...
I know that. I just don't think the Roundy's division (subsidiary?) would take any. However, there is are traditional Kroger stores not too far away from Chicagoland (like one in Bourbonnais, IL, or one in La Porte, IN). I really don't think any S&VT stores will become Mariano's, that's what I'm saying (at least outside the dense Chicago area).

The fact that the union is involved makes it more likely that they'll sell to Jewel or Kroger than any non-union one-offs.
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Re: Strack & Van Til to sell 22 stores, close remaining nine

Post by cathandler »

pseudo3d wrote:
cathandler wrote:
pseudo3d wrote:
And of course Roundy's IS Kroger...
I know that. I just don't think the Roundy's division (subsidiary?) would take any.
Gotcha. I think you're right about the Roundy's division; Mariano's is struggling with same-store sales issues, with cannibalization a prime concern. Kroger is in the midst of a turnaround situation with Roundy's, so I doubt they're looking to increase the degree of difficulty by taking over yet another flagging group of stores. Albertsons has been in the conversation with Price Chopper and Sprouts, so they appear to be in acquisition mode, though they're being very selective. Perhaps one or more independents could be in the running for the 22 units that aren't closing, which would maintain at least some of Central's volume and address the union issues to some extent.
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Re: Strack & Van Til to sell 22 stores, close remaining nine

Post by pseudo3d »

cathandler wrote:
pseudo3d wrote:
cathandler wrote: And of course Roundy's IS Kroger...
I know that. I just don't think the Roundy's division (subsidiary?) would take any.
Gotcha. I think you're right about the Roundy's division; Mariano's is struggling with same-store sales issues, with cannibalization a prime concern. Kroger is in the midst of a turnaround situation with Roundy's, so I doubt they're looking to increase the degree of difficulty by taking over yet another flagging group of stores. Albertsons has been in the conversation with Price Chopper and Sprouts, so they appear to be in acquisition mode, though they're being very selective. Perhaps one or more independents could be in the running for the 22 units that aren't closing, which would maintain at least some of Central's volume and address the union issues to some extent.
They officially gave up on Price Chopper a while back and Sprouts is either in remission or they've given up on it, there's been no news in a month (in comparison with Safeway, which never ceased coverage until they were acquired). Recently with the news that Albertsons would take over a vacant Shopko (the whole 109k sq. ft. space, no less), they made some comment about wanting to add more stores to areas they were already in, and a large portion of S&VT is in the greater Chicagoland area...
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Re: Strack & Van Til to sell 22 stores, close remaining nine

Post by storewanderer »

Based on this quote: "Strack & Van Til had just announced the closure of five stores in March, and now says it will close underperforming Ultras in Gary, the Merrill Point shopping center in Merrillville, Lansing, Crestwood, Wheaton, Joliet, Chicago Heights, Calumet Park and Forest Park as a condition of the sale."

Why would, "as a condition of the sale" these other stores need to be closed? Probably because the sale is to a competitor who already has stores nearby these stores... or in the case of some of the closing stores, may be in neighborhoods that nobody wants anything to do with...

I did also not know Kroger had Ruler Foods in or near Chicagoland. This means there are actually four Kroger divisions operating in/within an hour of Chicagoland: Roundys (Marianos), Jay C (Ruler), Food 4 Less (Ralphs), and Central (La Porte and Bourbonnais).
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Re: Strack & Van Til to sell 22 stores, close remaining nine

Post by cathandler »

Apparently Central (the parent co-op) is being sold, based on the union lawsuit. It wouldn't surprise me if Supervalu is in the mix, as they are doubling down on wholesaling.
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Re: Strack & Van Til to sell 22 stores, close remaining nine

Post by pseudo3d »

storewanderer wrote:Based on this quote: "Strack & Van Til had just announced the closure of five stores in March, and now says it will close underperforming Ultras in Gary, the Merrill Point shopping center in Merrillville, Lansing, Crestwood, Wheaton, Joliet, Chicago Heights, Calumet Park and Forest Park as a condition of the sale."

Why would, "as a condition of the sale" these other stores need to be closed? Probably because the sale is to a competitor who already has stores nearby these stores... or in the case of some of the closing stores, may be in neighborhoods that nobody wants anything to do with...

I did also not know Kroger had Ruler Foods in or near Chicagoland. This means there are actually four Kroger divisions operating in/within an hour of Chicagoland: Roundys (Marianos), Jay C (Ruler), Food 4 Less (Ralphs), and Central (La Porte and Bourbonnais).
I'm 90% sure Albertsons is behind all of this. In this article [http://www.nwitimes.com/business/retail ... 13370.html], one interesting tidbit came out.
Union officials later found out Central entered into a letter of intent for a sale to an unknown buyer earlier this month, but said the company has kept them in the dark.


Buyer singular, might I add.
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