Buyers Stepping in for Marsh Stores?

Could Giant Eagle be in the hunt for some Marsh Supermarkets store locations in Indiana?

That’s the rumor, according to The (Muncie, Ind.) Star Press, though Pittsburgh-based Giant Eagle isn’t commenting about its interest in stores being sold off by Indianapolis-based Marsh, currently in bankruptcy protection.

Giant Eagle could be looking to build upon its foothold in suburban Indianapolis. In any case, the retailer is keeping mum on specifics.

"In the 18 months since its opening, the Carmel, Indiana, Market District has become a destination of choice for many area residents," Giant Eagle spokesman Dan Donovan told PG in a statement. "Our primary focus continues to be on making this store, and our five Central Indiana-area GetGo Cafe Plus Market locations, as impactful as possible for our customers.”

Giant Eagle, Progressive Grocer's 2016 Retailer of the Year, operates more than 420 stores throughout Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland and Indiana.

"While we also continuously evaluate opportunities for potential growth throughout all of our marketing areas, at this time there are no confirmed plans to expand our supermarket presence throughout Muncie or greater Indiana," Donovan said.

With its bankruptcy filing preceded by months of store closings, Marsh is actively seeking buyers for its remaining 44 stores, which the retailer says will close unless sold. That store count is just over a third of the locations operated when Marsh, founded in Muncie, Ind., in 1931, was acquired by Sun Capital Partners in 2006.


 

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