Southeast Missouri Business NEWS & VIEWS...
CAPE AREA "STORE WARS?"
Schnuck's Expansion in Cape Girardeau
New Albertson's Store in Cape Girardeau
Albertson's VS. Schnucks?
The Cape Girardeau area was prepared for what some believe to be the “store wars” of the grocery chain retailers. Albertson’s Inc, the Boise, Idaho based national chain opened a 58,000 square foot full service grocery store at the corner of Independence and Kingshighway in Cape.
Almost directly across the street, Schnuck”s the successful St. Louis based regional grocery store chain responded with an substantial addition and revamping of their present store and a complete face lift of the exterior. Schnuck’s ended up being about 3,000 square feet larger than the new Albertson’s, technically making it the largest food store in the Southeast Missouri region. The St. Louis based retailer has been in the Cape market since the 1976 and has been known as one of the companies top producing outlying units.
Albertson’s with nearly 2,500 stores presently in operation has been on a very aggressive building program nationally, and the Cape store is their first addition to Eastern Missouri. Tom Kelsey, broker with Lorimont Place, Ltd. who handled the site acquisition said the company took nearly a year to complete not only the specific site evaluation, but also did extensive independent studies to determine that the Cape area would be a viable new market for them.
Shop-N-Save, more of a warehouse food concept, owned by food distributor Supervalu entered the Cape market with a brand new store built from the ground up a half a dozen years ago. Located in the West side of the city, near West Park Mall the unit closed unexpectedly after just a few years of operation, citing unacceptable sales figures compared to original projections. Some in the food industry business attributed the dismal sales figures to a location not easily accessible and not close enough to the household base in Cape. This property has recently been sold to a Cape Girardeau based church.
Vacant Former Shop N Save Store in Cape
Albertson’s closed it's Cape Girardeau store just 14 months after opening. The closing came along with approximately 400 other Albertson's closings throughout the Midwest and Southeast United States.
Ironically, Schnucks bought most of the former Albertson's stores in the greater Memphis area run as Cecil's Stores. Plans are to convert these units to Schnuck's Stores in the very near future.
Meanwhile the former Albertson's property in Cape Girardeau has been sold to a Nashville developer who plans on either leasing or selling the property. Word has leaked out that Kroger is apparently a possible prospect to take the facility for a new Cape Girardeau grocery outlet.
The "store wars" may continue in the Cape Girardeau market.
To Contact Tom Kelsey: tom@tomkelsey.com
News Page Who Is Tom Kelsey? Recent Sales & Leases
Home Available Property Contact Info Links Free Booklet