When you run a major business, you want to make sure your real estate can be expanded safely. If you expand into the wrong area or market your brand incorrectly, it can be the end of the line for your company. Your attorney can help you with contracts and negotiations leading to the purchase of new real estate; sometimes, companies that are going bankruptcy sell, and this can be an opportunity to purchase a good property in a great location at auction prices.
With six ventures in Orange County alone, you may be familiar with the Haggen brand grocery stores. These stores expanded rapidly across the west, but that has meant a dip in income that now affects several of the stores.
A Dec. 9 report indicates that the grocer has gone bankrupt; it filed for bankruptcy and executives now hope to sell the stores as a unit of 33. The core stores, two of which are based in Washington state and Oregon, will be auctioned in February 2016.
Haggen has been a staple in the west for 82 years. Anyone who purchases the commercial real estate could choose to continue running the grocer as it is with the name in tact, but it’s not clear if that will happen. The company only expanded into California in 2015, when a majority investor decided to expand the brand. Unfortunately, that move may have cost the chain its presence.
In California, high prices and complaints from customers caused a problem for the brand, and auctions for the properties began in October 2015. At least 32 of the stores are expected to be turned into Smart & Final Extra stores thanks to the commerce-based business purchasing 32 stores. Gelson’s, another well-known grocer, will also be taking over two stores in Laguna Beach and Ladera Ranch.
Source: Orange County Register, “Is The Haggen brand a goner? Grocer to auction core stores,” Hannah Madans, Dec. 09, 2015