NEWS WATCH: LOWES, SOUTHERN FAMILY PLAN N.C. CLOSINGS...SOBEYS TO BUY 25-STORE OPERATOR/DISTRIBUTOR...SAVE-A-LOT TO EXPAND IN PACIFIC NORTHWEST

Lowes, Southern Family Plan N.C. Closings

hains, Lowes Foods here and Southern Family Markets, Birmingham, Ala., separately said they would close stores in North Carolina. Lowes will close a store in Henderson on Aug. 19, and stores in Cary and Apex by Sept. 2, a spokeswoman told SN. Separately, Southern Family said it intends to completely exit the state, closing nine stores and seeking to sell eight others. "We must act quickly to streamline our operations in these very competitive markets," Bill White, president, said in a statement. Southern Family, an affiliate of Keene, N.H.-based C&S Wholesale Grocers, was founded last year when C&S agreed to purchase 104 stores formerly belonging to Bi-Lo.

Sobeys to Buy 25-Store Operator/Distributor

STELLARTON, Nova Scotia - Sobeys said last week that it has agreed to acquire Achille de la Chevrotiere LtTe, a distributor and supermarket operator in northern Ontario and Quebec, for $73.2 million (U.S.), subject to adjustment at closing. The business includes 25 supermarkets, other wholesale supply agreements and a distribution facility in Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec, which generated aggregate sales of about $241 million (U.S.) in the most recent year. A Sobeys spokesman told SN that the company planned to convert the 25 stores to the IGA, IGA Extra and MarchT Bonichoix banners, depending on the individual locations.

Save-A-Lot to Expand in Pacific Northwest

MINNEAPOLIS - Supervalu said last week it plans to enter the Pacific Northwest in mid-September with four Save-A-Lot locations - one corporate and the others franchised to three different operators. Two stores are in the Portland, Ore., area and the others are in Tacoma and Pasco, Wash. The company had hoped to have additional Save-A-Lot locations operated by Tidyman's, Spokane, Wash., but the eight-store operator said in June it had decided to sell its business. "We continue to be very focused on opportunities in the West Coast market," a Supervalu spokeswoman told SN. The Save-A-Lots in the Pacific Northwest will be supplied by a new warehouse in Portland.

Marsh Posts 1st-Quarter Profit Gains; Sales Dip

INDIANAPOLIS - Marsh Supermarkets last week reported first-quarter net income of $1.1 million, up 66% over year-ago results. Revenues for the 12-week period, which ended June 24, were down 2% to $401.6 million, as comparable-store sales fell 2.6% (4.9% excluding gas). In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission related to the pending acquisition of the company by an affiliate of Sun Capital, Boca Raton, Fla., Marsh said it projected slight sales gains in each of the next five years, to $1.844 billion in 2011, or a 6% increase over estimated sales for 2006. It projected same-store sales declines of 1.3% in 2007 for its supermarkets and gains of 2.5% at its Village Pantry convenience stores, excluding gas.

Ruling Allows Winn-Dixie to Seek Plan Approval

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Winn-Dixie Stores said that the U.S. Bankruptcy Court has approved the company's disclosure statement in connection with its efforts to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company said it would begin soliciting approval for its reorganization plan and could emerge from bankruptcy by early November. A confirmation hearing for the court to consider approval of the plan is scheduled for Oct. 13. H. Jay Skelton, chairman of Winn-Dixie, said in a prepared statement that the creditors' committee assisted in brokering a compromise of the "substantive consolidation" dispute that allowed the plan to move forward. The chain operates 527 supermarkets in Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia and Mississippi.