VICTORY GETS $2.5 MILLION CREDIT LINE

LISA A. TIBBITTS

UTICA, N.Y. -- Victory Markets here has obtained a $2.5 million line of credit from one of its wholesalers, C&S Wholesale Grocers, Brattleboro, Vt.

The agreement was disclosed last week during a preliminary hearing in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of New York here. Clark Ogle, president and chief executive officer, told SN the money will be used to pay for the company's general cash needs as it operates under Chapter 11 protection. "That [line of credit] will give us the capital we need to keep the issue moving," he said.

Mark Gross, an attorney with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, New York, which represents C&S, declined to comment.

According to the Chapter 11 petition, Victory had $152 million in assets and $177.6 million in liabilities when it filed for bankruptcy protection last month.

The company's top-three creditors are Shawmut Bank, Boston, owed $60 million; Aetna Casualty & Surety Co., Hartford, Conn., $595,770; and Connecticut National Bank, Hartford, $540,000.

During the hearing, Jeffrey Dove, an attorney with Menter, Rudin & Trivelpiece of Syracuse, N.Y., representing Victory, said that the company's two primary wholesalers, C&S and Supervalu, Minneapolis, continue to supply it with products.

A visit by SN to a Great American store on Genesee Street here last week showed that, with a few exceptions, the store did appear to be fully stocked. Only the bakery and the frozens departments seemed to be low on merchandise, with several out-of-stocks apparent. In addition, a great deal of sale merchandise appeared to be out-of-stock.