ST ANN, Mo. — St. Ann-based Save A Lot has sold 51 company-operated stores in the Tampa, Florida, market to a current retail partner, the grocer’s latest move in a wholesale transition plan.
The retail partner, Fresh Encounter, had been operating the Save A Lot stores under a licensing agreement. It will now take over as owner of the stores, while continuing to operate under the Save A Lot name. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
For Save A Lot, the sale is part of an ongoing strategy to recapitalize the company and deleverage its balance sheet by selling more 300 corporate-owned stores to new owners. With the latest deal, Save A Lot has completed seven transactions totaling 82 corporate-operated stores. Officials hope to complete the program in 2021 with the goal of selling the corporate-owned stores to both new and existing retail partners.
“Through the re-licensing transactions we are executing across our footprint, we believe that we will be even better positioned to continue to serve the communities in which we operate,” Kenneth McGrath, CEO at Save A Lot, which serves as a licensor and wholesaler to more than 200 independent owners, said in a news release. “We currently have a dedicated group of retail partners that we support and we look forward to helping other entrepreneurs own, operate and succeed in their own business.”
The company said it will continue to operate 21 corporate stores in St. Louis to develop and launch new products and innovations.
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