Albertson's saying good-bye to Memphis; closing, selling Seessel's stores

Albertson's, Inc., is completely exiting the Memphis and Nashville markets and closing the Mid-South Division office.

An internal communication obtained by Memphis Business Journal says five stores in the Mid-South Division "will be closed very soon, and the remaining stores in Memphis and Nashville will hopefully be sold in the near future."

A Seessel's source says the five stores include three in Memphis: 920 W. Poplar Ave., Collierville; 6616 Winchester Road; and 3545 Austin Peay Highway. The two remaining stores are in Cape Girardeau, Mo., and Hot Springs, Ark.

Speculation has been fevered concerning Albertson's plans for the Memphis stores. Prospective buyers named in connection with the Memphis Seessel's stores have included Art Seessel, great-great grandson of the founder, and St. Louis-based Schnuck Markets, Inc.

The internal document says the company must "prune these underperforming assets so we can focus our resources in strategic growth opportunities."

The document says that the company is also leaving the San Antonio market and closing that division office. Nine stores will be closed in that market, and the company hopes to sell the remaining 20. The Austin stores will join the Dallas Division team.

The company is leaving the Houston market and closing that division office. The company will close 10 stores and hopes to sell the remaining 32. The Louisiana stores in that division will join the Florida Division team.

The company says that as a result of the market exits, there will be some layoffs in the Houston and Tulsa distribution centers.

Albertson's announced last July that it would close 165 low-performing stores in 25 states and cut 15-20% of its administrative and corporate-level jobs.

Seessel's was founded by Henry Seessel in 1858.

Great-great-grandsons Art and Jerry Seessel sold the company in 1987 to French firm American Banaco, Inc., but bought them back a year later. The brothers then sold the stores to Bruno's, Inc., in 1996. In 1998, Albertson's bought Seessel's for $88 million from Bruno's.

Contact staff writer Tara Milligan at 259-1728 or tmilligan@bizjournals.com.

Contact staff writer Tara Milligan at 259-1728 or tmilligan@bizjournals.com.