NEWS WATCH: MARSH ACQUIRES ANOTHER SITE FOR ARTHUR'S MARKET...SOBEYS TO SHUTTER WAREHOUSE, SHIFT TO EXPANDED SITE...SEARS FINALIZES PURCHASE OF 50 KMARTS; FORMAT SET

MARSH ACQUIRES ANOTHER SITE FOR ARTHUR'S MARKET

d last week it has acquired another site for its Arthur's Fresh Market concept. The store will occupy the former site of Atlas Supermarkets Northside in an upper-income residential area, according to a prepared statement from Marsh. The new store "will retain a small-neighborhood feel, while offering the freshest products and superior customer service," said Arthur A. Marsh, executive vice president, in the statement. The first Arthur's -- a 21,000-square-foot venue emphasizing perishables and prepared foods -- opened in July in Syracuse, Ind. Another is set to begin construction soon in New Palestine, Ind.

SOBEYS TO SHUTTER WAREHOUSE, SHIFT TO EXPANDED SITE

STELLARTON, Nova Scotia -- Sobeys here said it would close its distribution center in West Royalty, Prince Edward Island, next year and shift the business to its facility in Oromocto, New Brunswick, beginning in July. The Oromocto DC is undergoing a 75,000-square-foot expansion.

SEARS FINALIZES PURCHASE OF 50 KMARTS; FORMAT SET

TROY, Mich. -- Kmart Holding Corp. here last week said it has finalized the previously disclosed sale of 50 stores to Sears, Roebuck and Co., Hoffman Estates, Ill., for $575.9 million. Sears previously said it would acquire up to 51 Kmart locations, which it plans to convert into a "new midsized format" that will incorporate consumables and will feature a racetrack layout with front-end cash-registers. Kmart will continue to operate most of the stores sold to Sears until March or April 2005. They include eight stores each in California and Florida, seven in New Jersey, and the rest scattered throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Sears expects to convert the stores by the end of next year. Sears also said it would acquire six additional off-mall locations from Wal-Mart Stores, Bentonville, Ark.

PENN TRAFFIC POSTS LOSS ON $99 MILLION IN SALES

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Penn Traffic Co. here said last week sales for the four weeks ended Aug. 28 were $99.2 million, and for the 65 weeks since the company filed for Chapter 11 protection, $1.6 billion. The company had a loss of $553,000 for the month of August and a loss of $158 million for the 65-week period, while operating income was $2.3 million for August and $6.2 million for the 65 weeks. Penn Traffic, which has been operating under Chapter 11 since May 30, 2003, filed a plan of reorganization with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in August. The company said it postponed a hearing to approve the plan from Sept. 23 until Oct. 21 to give it more time to consider a potential sale-leaseback proposal "and the significant change it would have on [the company's] capital structure upon emergence from Chapter 11."