NEW YORK – U.S. grocery store operator A&P is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy with plans to sell off stores as it faces increasingly tough competition.
This marks the second time in five years that the Montvale, New Jersey-based company has filed for bankruptcy. This time around, it said it has more than 100,000 creditors along with more than $1 billion in liabilities and over $1 billion in assets.
The company plans to sell as many of its 296 stores as possible and said in a filing with U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York that it has bidders for 120 of those operations with expected proceeds of $600 million.
The grocery chain has faced tougher competition from companies like Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Target Corp. expanding their grocery options.
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The business has grown even more crowded and competitive with companies like Whole Foods Market Inc. and Fairway Group Holdings Corp. catering to a more health-conscious market.
The company’s formal name is the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. It was formed in 1859 as The Great American Tea Co. and renamed to its current form in 1869. A&P operates in Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland under various names, including PathMark and Waldbaum’s.
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