From the San Francisco Chronicle –

The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co., the 101-year-old U.S. operator of almost 400 supermarkets under names including Waldbaum’s, The Food Emporium and Pathmark, sought bankruptcy protection after failing to successfully compete with wholesale clubs and drugstores.

The retailer, which also runs stores under its own name, Super Fresh and Food Basics, had $8.8 billion in sales for the year ended in February, according to its website. Yesterday, it listed assets of $2.5 billion and debt of $3.2 billion in a Chapter 11 filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in White Plains, New York. A shift in consumer spending at wholesale clubs, supercenters and drugstores hurt sales in the quarter ended Sept. 11, A&P said in a regulatory filing.

“We have taken this difficult but necessary step to enable A&P to fully implement our comprehensive financial and operational restructuring,” Chief Executive Officer Sam Martin said in a statement yesterday. “We could not complete our turnaround without availing ourselves of Chapter 11.”

The Great Recession claims another victim. The downward pressure of the unemployed as well as the long term declining manufacturing base will continue to claim victims.

James Pilant