El Super Buys So. Cal. Fiestas

ELLIOT ZWIEBACH

PARAMOUNT, Calif. — Bodega Latina Corp. here, doing business as El Super, said last week it has entered into a definitive asset purchase agreement for 11 stores and the lease assignment of a warehouse from Fiesta Mexicana Market LP and Fiesta Warehouse, respectively.

The transaction, for an unspecified amount of cash, is scheduled to close early next month, with conversion of the stores to the El Super banner scheduled for the fourth quarter, Carlos Smith, president and chief executive officer, told SN.

El Super operates 22 stores in California, Nevada and Arizona, with an estimated annual volume of just over $700 million. Smith said it plans to operate 10 of the stores; the company has not decided whether to operate the 11th store, which is closed, he noted. Eight of the stores are located in the Inland Empire, with one in Orange County and two in central California (Fresno and Salinas).

According to Smith, El Super will move its produce and grocery operations from a refrigerated facility in Vernon, Calif., and a third-party warehouse in Pomona, Calif., to Fiesta's 300,000-square-foot distribution center in Ontario, Calif.

Both companies operate warehouse-type stores catering to the Hispanic community. The El Super locations range from 45,000 to 52,000 square feet, with a small unit of 33,000 square feet and a large unit of 70,000 square feet; the Fiestas range from 30,000 to 52,000 square feet.