Wayne Chen

The Wayne Chen-led Super Plus Food Store continues its contraction with confirmation that another supermarket in the group has been sold in a continuing search for cash to clear mounting bank debts.

Chen confirmed the sale of the Stony Hill Super Plus store to Oanh Ho, operator of Joong Supermarket and Wholesale with locations in Portmore, St Catherine and Morant Bay in St Thomas.

But he would not say just how much of the debt the sale proceeds would clear, nor just how heavily indebted the grocery chain had become.

Latest sell-off

The latest sell-off has thrown another 30 persons out of work on top of several hundred more sent home in the wake of a total 13 stores shuttered and divested in the last three years.

"What we have been doing is restructuring," Chen told Wednesday Business. The company will continue to offload assets, he said.

In March, Chen had also confirmed the sale of the business' Beverly Vale, St Andrew, head office for $88 million.

The Super Plus chief executive has declined to disclose the total take from assets sale so far.

Three other supermarkets sold

In the last two to three months, the company has sold three other supermarkets, located at Clock Tower in the busy Half-Way Tree shopping district, and at Liguanea in St Andrew, and one in Spanish Town, St Catherine.

The Liguanea business was sold in April to Lloyd Kerr, operator of Empire Supermarket.

And Wednesday Business has learned that the Clock Tower store was sold to the Lym family, operators of the Brooklyn title supermarkets in the Corporate Area, while the owner of the land on which the Spanish Town branch is located has taken control of that property, located in the town centre.

A total of five Super Plus supermarkets have been put up for sale since the start of the year.

The outlet in New Kingston, both the land and building, remains on the market, though Chen says he has had several offers.

The grocery section was closed and the property put up for sale even as other non-food operations continued there.

In an update late Tuesday, Chen said all activities have ceased.

Sources say the property is valued at some US$5 million (J$445 million).

The businessman is not saying if more of the family-owned food stores, which number more than 20 outlets, are to change hands.

"I doubt it very much. I don't want to go and commit myself to a number," said Chen, who owns the supermarket jointly with several siblings and his ex-wife, Ann.

Facing a cash crunch

Super Plus has been facing a cash crunch which, in 2006, led to efforts to restructure the operation.

The recent efforts to scale down the business came after a rapid expansion thrust, and was necessitated, Chen said, by soaring costs and collapsing profits.

Super Plus, at its zenith, claimed to be a $13 billion business in sales, and had about 34 stores in operation.

Eight of 13 supermarkets either shuttered or sold were decommissioned in the past two years.

dionne.rose@gleanerjm.com