JACKSONVILLE, FL – With the likes of Amazon and other big box retailers setting the pace for the rapidly changing climate of the grocery business, many older and smaller chains are having to adapt, and in some cases, outside of their means. According to a Bloomberg report, Bi-Lo owned supermarket chain Winn-Dixie as well as Tops Friendly Markets are readying bankruptcy filings for as soon as March.
After also declaring bankruptcy in 2005 and 2009, Bi-Lo is currently under more than $1 billion worth of debt after its 2005 buyout by Lone Star Funds. According to insiders, the company may still restructure its debt out of court to stay afloat, but is currently planning to shut almost 200 stores along with preparing a filing in March.
While buyouts by Morgan Stanley, and later by the company’s own managers who helped finance at least $375 million in dividends, left Tops Fresh Markets struggling to keep up with its own debt payments. And combined with the industry’s intense competition and rising prices, the owner of Tops has been forced to potentially seek court protection from creditors sometime this month.
Will supermarket chains like Winn-Dixie and Tops Fresh Markets be able to compete with mega-retailers altering the grocery business? AndNowUKnow will continue to report as the story unfolds.
