Save A Lot Stores Closing in Florida
Discount grocery chain Save A Lot has closed three northeast Florida stores since December, according to a published report. Two of the stores were in Jacksonville, with another in Orange Park.
According to the Jacksonville Daily Record, a fourth Save A Lot store, also in Jacksonville, is slated to close Feb. 22. The banner has at least nine stores still operating in the region.
"The landscape is changing with shopping behaviors and a new generation coming into the fold with more buying power," Austin Kay, VP and retail specialist with Jacksonville-based commercial real estate agency NAI Hallmark, which represents one of the shopping centers where a Save A Lot used to operate, told the Record.
St. Louis-based Save A Lot said last month that it had reached an agreement with a substantial majority of its lenders to recapitalize the business and deleverage its balance sheet. According to the company, an infusion of $138 million in new capital will support its operations and the acceleration of its business transformation plan. The process is expected to wrap up during the first quarter.
The chain was also reported to be considering a sale of its assets last year.
Save-A-Lot's store closings coincide with the bankruptcies and store closures of Lucky’s Market and Earth Fare, both of which operate in Florida, as well as of New York metro-area grocer Fairway Market.
All of these store closures in Florida are giving major regional players Southeastern Grocers, Publix Super Markets and Aldi, all of whom are buying stores from Lucky’s, an opportunity to grow their respective footprints even more.
In other Save A Lot news, one the banner’s stores is shuttering in Chicago’s Auburn Gresham neighborhood, with the owner attributing the move to “inventory shrinkage and unmet sales quotas,” according to a published report. Other recent closings have been reported in Delaware, Indiana and North Carolina.
Save A Lot is one of the largest discount grocery store chains in the United States, with more than 1,100 corporate and licensed stores in 33 states and 14 wholesale distribution centers.
