Albertsons buys piece of Texas’ El Rancho Supermercado

Albertsons Cos. has invested an undisclosed amount in Texas-based, Latino-focused El Rancho Supermercado, the grocer announced on Thursday.

The deal gives Albertsons a longer arm into the Hispanic community and will allow the smaller El Rancho to “accelerate growth and expand into new markets throughout Texas,” store president, Salah Nafal said in a joint statement.

“With El Rancho’s own distribution and manufacturing facilities serving their Texas stores, we can share best practices that will reduce costs and benefit our customers,” Bob Miller, chairman and CEO of Albertsons, said in the statement.

El Rancho currently has 16 Texas stores compared to an Albertsons operation that stretches across 35 states and Washington D.C. It will remain an independent company that is headquartered in Garland, Texas.

Based in Boise, Idaho, Albertsons operates under 20 other banners as well as the meal kit company, Plated, which is based in New York City.

Neither store immediately responded to a request for comment on the deal. 

Minneapolis-based wholesaler and retailer, Supervalu, made a similar move in October, agreeing to acquire Associated Grocers of Florida for $180 million. Then the nation’s sixth-largest cooperative wholesaler, Associated Grocers of Florida offered Supervalu a deeper reach into the Hispanic customer base of the Southeastern United States.

It’s a demographic that’s in demand.

CEO of the newly formed Cardenas Markets LLC, John Gomez, described Hispanic shoppers as “vibrant and growing” in August. Gomez said that Cardenas Markets LLC has grown 50% over the previous six months and that it was aiming to become the largest Hispanic retailer in the country.

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