Firm Eyes Albertsons Sites: Report
nt firm Archon Group here is seeking to acquire 15 former Albertsons stores in the San Antonio market, according to reports. Both Archon and Albertsons, Boise, Idaho, declined to comment on the matter last week. According to local reports, the two parties were close to reaching an agreement. Albertsons closed 23 stores in the market earlier this year, five of which were acquired by San Antonio-based H.E. Butt Grocery Co. and three of which were sold to other parties.
Court Clears Wal-Mart's Amigo Acquisition
BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- A U.S. District Court judge late last month reversed the ruling of Puerto Rico's justice department that had attempted to block the acquisition of supermarket chain Supermercados Amigo by Wal-Mart Stores here. Wal-Mart completed the $225 million purchase of the 32-unit chain Dec. 5, but Puerto Rico's justice department attempted to invalidate the merger on the grounds that it violated the territory's antitrust laws. Wal-Mart has 19 stores in Puerto Rico, including eight Sam's Clubs.
Raley's Files Suit Against California City
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Raley's here said it has filed a $5 million suit seeking past tax abatements in state Superior Court against the city of West Sacramento. Matthew Jacobs, the Sacramento attorney representing Raley's, told SN the suit stems from tax abatements for infrastructure improvements Raley's had made since the 1980s on land adjacent to its corporate headquarters. In the mid-1990s, when the city was trying to attract The Money Store to build its headquarters on the site, Raley's agreed to give 80% of its tax abatements to The Money Store as long as it kept its headquarters in West Sacramento for at least five years, according to Jacobs. However, almost as soon as The Money Store headquarters building opened in 1998, the firm was acquired by First Union Bank, Charlotte, N.C., which moved all its operations out of the structure.
Shaw's Selects Final Four in Ad-Agency Review
WEST BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- Shaw's Supermarkets here has selected four finalists among the ad agencies vying for its account, according to the firm that is conducting the review. Included in the review are the chain's current agency, Allen & Gerritsen, Watertown, Mass.; Connelly Partners/CGN, Boston; Duffy & Shanely, Providence, R.I.; and Bouchez Kent & Co., New York. A decision is expected by early February. Pile and Co., Boston, is managing the review.
Arkansas Bill Would Eliminate Tax on Groceries
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- State Sen. Bobby Glover, D-Carlisle, has introduced a bill that would phase out the sales tax on food beginning July 1, 2006. Senate Bill 7, introduced late last month, would reduce the current 5.125% state sales tax on food-stamp-eligible groceries by 1% per year for each of the first five years and then by the remaining 0.125% in the sixth year, 2011. The measure is narrower than a previously proposed amendment to eliminate state sales tax on food and medicine that was voted down last year.
