Industry News: Ross Stores acquires 46 Albertsons Stores
 Discount apparel chain Ross Stores will buy 46 of supermarket chain Albertsons' stores in California, Florida, Texas, Arizona, Colorado and Oklahoma and convert those stores into either Ross Dress For Less or DD’s Discounts stores, the company said. The price tag on the deal wasn’t disclosed, but Ross says it will spend about $2M per unit to convert the stores. Ross will take possession of some of these sites as soon as November 2006, with estimated openings beginning as early as March 2007. Ross says the acquisition of these former Albertsons properties will put the Company's projected total unit growth in the range of 11 percent to 12 percent for the year ending February 2, 2008. Pleasanton, Calif.–based Ross currently operates 766 Ross stores in 27 states and Guam and 26 DD's Discounts locations in California. The acquisition will save Ross the cost of developing new stores, and will place them in established retail markets with high barriers to entry. Property owners in the markets that Ross is entering are likely to benefit from proximity to Ross, the nation's second-largest off-price retailer of brand-name apparel and home accessories. |