460 jobs gone across the stores. Damn.

Kman wrote:460 jobs gone across the stores. Damn.

Some of these closings if not all is their own fault. They remodeled their stores,raised their prices,and customers started looking elsewhere to shop.

Artie wrote:

Kman wrote:460 jobs gone across the stores. Damn.

Some of these closings if not all is their own fault. They remodeled their stores,raised their prices,and customers started looking elsewhere to shop.

It isn't likely that any high level strategy changes were made by most of the folks losing their jobs. But in any case, assigning blame doesn't make the loss of these jobs any less lamentable.

=R=

This is a shame, I liked the Elston store. But I can't imagine they didn't suffer when Mariano's opened a mile away. Where I was located, it was much easier to get to Mariano's than to get to Strack.

Bye-Bye.
As one who lived in Logan Square for many, many years and used to shop there when it was CUB FOODS- I've seen a gradual decline in Stack & VanTil- from it's homogeneous, Jewel-ification, to the watery chicken-parts packages.

"Mike G"- a great hands-on Manager ran the store, quite well for many years, has been gone for 2 years now (took early-retirement to care for his ailing spouse)-
and due to his absence; IMHO- is part of the reason for the stores decline.

There's just no comparison to the International, multi-cultural, low pricing at Pete's Fresh Market on Western @ Madison-
my "go-to" store now.
From fresh curry leaves to Thai Basil, $2.79lb. Boneless-skinless-Chicken-Thighs,
to the widest assortment of Indian Basmati Rice this side of Devon Ave......
Pete's is a chefs dream.
I - for one- won't miss the closing of Strack and Van Til.
And - the way they informed their front-end Managers of the news was a lesson in piss-poor-Management.

The death spiral continues.

The parent company of Region institution Strack & Van Til, Northwest Indiana's largest locally owned grocery store chain, plans to sell off 22 of its stores and close nine Ultra Foods discount supermarkets, company officials said Tuesday.

http://www.nwitimes.com/business/local/ ... 15215.html

Central files Chapter 11, will auction Strack, warehouse

Central Grocers said Thursday that it voluntarily filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code and that it would seek a court-led auction of its assets, including its warehouse and Strack & Van Til retail chain, and wind down its distribution business.

Central said it anticipated entering into a sale agreement with a stalking horse bidder for its 22 remaining Strack & Van Til stores in the near future. Central is also seeking to sell its distribution center in Joliet, Ill.

Other retailers with a significant ownership stake in Central include Treasure Island, Chicago; Sullivan’s, Savanna, Ill.; Fairplay Finer Foods, Chicago; Berkot’s Super Foods, Mokena, Ill.; Tony’s Finer Foods, Chicago; Pete’s Fresh Market, Chicago; Carnicerias Jimenez, Chicago; and La Chiquita Foods, Chicago.

Anyone know what will be the effect on these other stores that are under the Centrella brand?

Because maybe I am not the only one who never heard of this term before:

A stalking horse offer, agreement, or bid is an attempt by a bankrupt debtor to test the market for the debtor's assets in advance of an auction of them. The intent is to maximize the value of its assets or avoid low bids, as part of (or before) a court auction.

Could these companies be involved as part of purchasing cooperative? I just looked it up to see Central Grocers brand name in stores is Centrella. Any store with Centrella products likely has an ownership stake, too, which expands the list to Sunset Foods and Garden Fresh.

Other retailers with a significant ownership stake in Central include Treasure Island, Chicago; Sullivan’s, Savanna, Ill.; Fairplay Finer Foods, Chicago; Berkot’s Super Foods, Mokena, Ill.; Tony’s Finer Foods, Chicago; Pete’s Fresh Market, Chicago; Carnicerias Jimenez, Chicago; and La Chiquita Foods, Chicago.

It would appear this is a bigger deal than just Strack and Van Tils.

Regards,
Cathy2

God forbid Treasure Island goes away. Everything it has always done, it is still doing as well as it ever did, and that means some things that no one else does as well as it does.

I can't read the news item well enough to know if TI is imperiled, but I sure hope not.

riddlemay wrote:God forbid Treasure Island goes away. Everything it has always done, it is still doing as well as it ever did, and that means some things that no one else does as well as it does.

I can't read the news item well enough to know if TI is imperiled, but I sure hope not.

From what I can gather TI has an ownership stake in Central Grocers, the only number I've been able to find is "less than 10%".

More here - http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ ... l#nws=true

riddlemay wrote:God forbid Treasure Island goes away. Everything it has always done, it is still doing as well as it ever did, and that means some things that no one else does as well as it does.

Seat of the pants thinking: I think this may be similar to when True Value Hardware went kaput and suddenly stores morphed into Aces.

It will certainly be an opportunity for another coop or some other system.

Regards,
CAthy2

Artie wrote:Anyone know what will be the effect on these other stores that are under the Centrella brand?

They will switch to other distribution brands like IGA or Piggly Wiggly among others.

Central has offer for 19 Strack & Van Til stores

Central Grocers has an offer from an unnamed strategic competitor to acquire 19 Strack & Van Til stores but was unable to complete an auction of those stores before filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Thursday, the company said in a disclosure statement.

Artie wrote:Central has offer for 19 Strack & Van Til stores

Central Grocers has an offer from an unnamed strategic competitor to acquire 19 Strack & Van Til stores but was unable to complete an auction of those stores before filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Thursday, the company said in a disclosure statement.

Forgive my denseness about this, but just so I get this straight: Central was merely a distributor to all the other chains affected by the bankruptcy, but owned Strack & Van Til?

riddlemay wrote:Forgive my denseness about this, but just so I get this straight: Central was merely a distributor to all the other chains affected by the bankruptcy, but owned Strack & Van Til?

AND Ultra Foods.

The crappy part is that as a co-op, a lot of small stores are essentially invested in them (the Trib's article today was talking about small stores with $10k deposits; larger stores and chains may have bigger investments). A bigger, more solid distributor might work on credit; these guys worked on having a deposit.

Jewel-Osco is buying 19 Strack and Van Til stores...

http://www.jewelosco.com/2017/05/jewel- ... ocers-inc/

http://www.theshelbyreport.com/2017/05/ ... k-van-til/

"The 19 stores will be sold as going concerns. Jewel-Osco has agreed to interview and extend offers of employment to substantially all of the employees of the stores that are part of the transaction, according to the company."

Coogles wrote:Jewel-Osco is buying 19 Strack and Van Til stores...

http://www.jewelosco.com/2017/05/jewel- ... ocers-inc/

http://www.theshelbyreport.com/2017/05/ ... k-van-til/

"The 19 stores will be sold as going concerns. Jewel-Osco has agreed to interview and extend offers of employment to substantially all of the employees of the stores that are part of the transaction, according to the company."

Jewel's $100 million bid not enough for Indiana Strack & Van Til stores

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ ... story.html

Antitrust concerns sunk Jewel’s Strack bid

Three stores in dispute helped family owners prevail, sources say

Federal antitrust concerns unraveled Jewel-Osco’s bid to acquire Strack & Van Til stores in a bankruptcy auction this week, paving the way for the chain’s founding family to swoop in with a surprise, winning offer, sources told SN.

As reported previously, Jewel’s offer of $100 million for 19 Strack & Van Til stores was designated as the “stalking horse” going into the auction, which took place on Tuesday as part of the proceedings of the Central Grocers Chapter 11 case. Jewel’s offer, however, was subject to regulatory approval.

According to a source, Jewel dropped pursuit of three of the properties due to Federal Trade Commission concerns. That helped turn the tide toward Indiana Grocery Group, which made a competing offer for all 19 stores Jewel bid for, in addition to an Ultra Foods store in Merrillville, Ind., that was not part of the Jewel offer, and a commissary in Valapariso, Ind., and Strack’s headquarters building in Highland, Ind.

Artie,

I have really appreciated your keeping track and updating this.

A friend commented about a local store not quite having as much stock as before. I suggested it may be the lack of Centrella brand items not having been fully resourced yet. Pretty much it was indeed this issue.

Regards,
Cathy2

Cathy2 wrote:Artie,

I have really appreciated your keeping track and updating this.

It would have been a devastating loss for NW Indiana,Cathy. It would have left a large portion of the area with Jewel,and only Jewel other than a Whole Foods in Schererville and Walmarts as a full service supermarket so it was near and dear to my heart. I'm glad the original owners were able to prevail.

A friend commented about a local store not quite having as much stock as before. I suggested it may be the lack of Centrella brand items not having been fully resourced yet. Pretty much it was indeed this issue.

I shop at Pete's Fresh Market occasionally,another casualty of Centrella,and I believe I saw "Associated Wholesale Grocers" products on the shelves there.

Artie wrote:Antitrust concerns sunk Jewel’s Strack bid

I've read the article, and I interpret (but am not positive) that this affects only the stores in Indiana--e.g., the store in Chicago on Elston is still going to become a Jewel. But I'd like confirmation on that.

riddlemay wrote:

Artie wrote:Antitrust concerns sunk Jewel’s Strack bid

I've read the article, and I interpret (but am not positive) that this affects only the stores in Indiana--e.g., the store in Chicago on Elston is still going to become a Jewel. But I'd like confirmation on that.

There's an article today that confirms that Strack's bought 20 of the 22 stores and that they have no interest in acquiring or reopening any of the 14 stores that Central Grocers already closed,which I assume includes Elston.
Strack & Van Til purchase saved 220 jobs, 'a huge victory for the Region'

Artie wrote:

Cathy2 wrote:Artie,

A friend commented about a local store not quite having as much stock as before. I suggested it may be the lack of Centrella brand items not having been fully resourced yet. Pretty much it was indeed this issue.

Cathy,I can confirm that Pete's Fresh Market is using Associated after a visit there yesterday and Strack & Van Till will also be using them as their supplier.
Strack & Van Til says new distributor should mean lower-priced items and more organics

Like many of the 400 independent grocers throughout Chicagoland that Central Grocers served, the Highland-based supermarket chain has struck a new deal with Associated Wholesale Grocers. Kansas City-based AWG is the second largest wholesaler in the country and five times bigger than Central Grocers with $10 billion a year in revenue, giving it far more leverage to negotiate good prices.

AWG offers the IGA, Best Choice, Clearly Organic, Always Save and Superior Selections generic brands.

A majority of the former Central Stores have migrated to AWG, which recently opened a massive warehouse in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and serves Chicago grocers like Angelo Caputo’s Fresh Markets and Treasure Island Foods, Strack said.

Indiana Grocery Group bid exceeded initial Jewel-Osco offer by at least $20 million

New court filings show that Indiana Grocery Group's bid won out in an auction because it was worth at least $21.3 million more than Jewel-Osco's initial offer, though the exact sale price has yet to be settled.

Exactly how many bidders took part in the auction hasn't been disclosed by any of the involved parties, but there might have been more than Indiana Grocery Group and Jewel. Trade publications reported that Supervalu, SpartanNash and Associated Wholesale Grocers also were interested at least at one point in Strack & Van Til's remaining stores.

Hombre de Acero wrote:
There's just no comparison to the International, multi-cultural, low pricing at Pete's Fresh Market on Western @ Madison-
my "go-to" store now.
From fresh curry leaves to Thai Basil, $2.79lb. Boneless-skinless-Chicken-Thighs,
to the widest assortment of Indian Basmati Rice this side of Devon Ave......
Pete's is a chefs dream.

Thanks for the heads up on Pete's. It's now my go to market for produce.

The final chapter of Strack & Van Til...
Strack & Van Til sale approved, but two Ultras to close after bidder fails to emerge

This however is a real tragedy. Every one of the Ultra stores were also remodeled and they're pretty much ready to go. Hopefully some of these stores can be occupied by another grocer.
UPDATE: Highland and Kankakee Ultras to close despite millions in renovations

Strack & Van Til switches over to new wholesaler this week

"We temporarily lost variety in our stores," he said. "We lost new items. We're excited to get back to putting new items on our shelves. There's been a lot of work done to get us to this point, and there will be more work in the coming weeks."

AWG is five times larger than Central Grocers was and offers the IGA, Best Choice, Clearly Organic, Always Save and Superior Selections generic brands. Strack & Van Til stores will carry all of those brands to replace Centrella, which Central Grocers had produced.

Strack said AWG will supply more organic items, more lower cost items to compete with discounters like Aldi and Save-A-Lot and more variety.

"They have 4,000 private label items, which is four times what Central Grocers did," he said. "We won't bring them in all at once, but we'll be restocking the shelves as we go."
Strack & Van Til has started to stock AWG perishables and will continue to add its primary grocery lines.

Grocery Wars Turn Small Chains Into Battlefield Casualties

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/26/busi ... hains.html