Save-A-Lot closing west coast stores

Save-A-Lot, under the ownership and guidance of private equity firm Onex since last fall, announced earlier this month that it would close all 13 of its existing stores in California and Nevada, as well as the distribution center servicing them.

Supervalu, the discount grocer's previous owner, saw the west coast as a great opportunity, but current CEO Eric Claus told Supermarket News that the investment required to build brand equity and store density would be better deployed on initiatives where the chain was better established.

Save-A-Lot currently has about 1,400 stores from Colorado and states to the east.

The 13 stores are expected to close in a matter of weeks.

Canadian private equity firm said to be leading bidder for Save-A-Lot

On Friday published reports indicated that Onex, a Toronto-based private equity firm, is the leading bidder to purchase Save-A-Lot from Supervalu. An auction is underway to find a buyer. Prior to the auction, Supervalu had planned to spin off the discount grocer into a publicly traded company controlled by Supervalu shareholders.