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IN BRIEF

Weis to spend $109M on stores

Robert F. Weis, chairman of Weis Markets, told investors the Sunbury, Pa.-based grocery chain will invest $109.4 million through its capital-expansion program to build eight superstores (including five replacement units), expand 11 stores and remodel 11 others. Weis Markets sales rose 2.7 percent last year, to $2.1 billion, while same-store sales rose 3 percent. Net income, meanwhile, climbed 4.8 percent. A new store design the chain introduced last year in Bloomsburg and Pennsburg, Pa., and White Marsh, Md., has been a success, says President and CEO S. Norman Rich. “Our new store prototype will be at the heart of our efforts,” he said. “It is a customer-friendly store design with larger perishable departments, more prepared foods and increased variety. It is also a versatile design that allows us to tailor a store to the unique needs of an individual market.” Weis Markets operates 157 stores in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Virginia and West Virginia. The company also owns and operates 33 SuperPetz units in 11 states.

Watch out supermarkets — 7-Eleven getting fresh

In March, 7-Eleven launched daily delivery of fresh-prepared foods to 348 of its stores in the Puget Sound and Portland area of Oregon. The Dallas-based convenience retailer has added fresh-made pastries, gourmet sandwiches, wraps and entrées to its merchandise mix in these stores. Besides these, the 7-Elevens sell dairy, 100 percent juices, produce and other perishables. The chain says it has completely upgraded its infrastructure, building new store displays and establishing a bakery, a commissary and a distribution center with a 22-truck fleet. A store can place an order and have the items on its shelves in less than 24 hours, the company says. With 2004 sales of $41 billion, 7-Eleven operates or franchises approximately 5,800 stores in the U.S. and Canada and licenses roughly 22,000 in 17 other countries.

Winn-Dixie’s new Ch. 11 venue

Jacksonville, Fla.-based Winn-Dixie Stores says the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of New York agreed to transfer its case to the Jacksonville Division of the Middle District of Florida. The ruling followed a hearing at which Winn-Dixie’s creditors, including the official committee of unsecured creditors, argued to keep the case in New York. Winn-Dixie and 23 of its U.S. subsidiaries filed for Chapter 11 in February.

Ron Burkle grocery shopping again

Billionaire investor Ron Burkle has been indulging his taste for supermarkets again. Burkle’s Los Angeles-based investment firm, The Yucaipa Cos., has invested $20 million in natural-foods grocery chain Wild Oats and $150 million in conventional grocery chain Pathmark Stores. During a conference call, Burkle told investors that he had persuaded the Pathmark board not to sell the company. “This seemed like a horrible time to sell and a great time to invest,” he said. Yucaipa acquires a 40 percent stake in Cartaret, N.J.-based Pathmark, which operates 142 stores in the Northeast. The firm also gets five seats on Pathmark’s 11-seat board. Pathmark CEO Eileen Scott says the $150 million will be used to upgrade old stores and open new ones. Burkle said in an SEC filing that Yucaipa would take a more hands-off approach to its 9 percent stake in Wild Oats, which operates 108 stores in the U.S. and Canada. Pathmark Stores filed for Chapter 11 protection in 2000 and then went public in September of the same year.

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