Winn-Dixie to sell or close 35 stores in anticipation of bankruptcy emergence

By Caroline Salls

Pittsburgh, Feb. 28 - Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc. has decided to sell or close 35 stores following a review of its entire store portfolio, according to a company news release.

The store sales and closures will be made for the company's expected summer 2006 emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and is intended to enhance Winn-Dixie's financial performance and help position it for profitability.

The company will close nine stores in the Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., designated market area; seven in the Orlando-Daytona, Fla., designated market area; five in the Tampa-St. Petersburg, Fla., designated market area; four in the Fort Myers-Naples, Fla., designated market area; two in the Albany, Ga., designated market area; two in the West Palm Beach-Ft. Pierce, Fla., designated market area and one each in the Jacksonville, Fla., Columbus, Ala., Birmingham, Ala., Tallahassee, Ga., Lafayette, La., and Baton Rouge, La., designated market areas.

The company said it is conducting an active marketing effort to identify potential buyers for the targeted stores, and stores that cannot be sold will be closed.

Winn-Dixie currently operates 585 stores in Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia, Mississippi and the Bahamas.

"Over the past several months, we have thoroughly reviewed our store base in an effort to ensure Winn-Dixie is able to emerge from Chapter 11 as a healthier and more competitive company," president and chief executive officer Peter Lynch said in the release.

"We have now completed this review and identified 35 stores to be sold or closed because they do not meet our financial requirements going forward. We believe the 550 stores in our continuing footprint will provide us with the most solid possible foundation on which to build a more profitable future for Winn-Dixie.

"At this time, we do not expect any other store closings as part of our Chapter 11 reorganization process," Lynch added in the release.

Winn-Dixie, a Jacksonville, Fla., supermarket company, filed for Chapter 11 on Feb. 21, 2005 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. The case was later transferred to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida. Its Chapter 11 case number is 05-03817.

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