Mexican retailer Grupo Gigante Grupo Gigante SA de CV, which has its U.S. headquarters in Santa Ana, is selling its 200-plus stores in Mexico and Southern California.
Organizacion Soriana SAB, Mexico’s second largest retailer, is paying $1.35 billion for the stores, including Gigante’s Anaheim supermarket.
The deal includes six other Southern California Gigante stores. It’s unclear yet what the sale means for the regional stores. Soriana doesn’t have any U.S. stores.
Based in Monterrey, Soriana has yearly sales of about $5.5 billion and is second only to Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in Mexico.
Gigante, Mexico’s No. 4 retailer, opened its first U.S. store in Pico Rivera in 1999.
In 2002, the company fought the city of Anaheim to open its only Orange County store.
Anaheim Planning Commission officials at first rejected Gigante’s application for a liquor license for its store on Euclid Avenue and the Santa Ana (I-5) Freeway. Eventually the City Council voted to grant the license amid media attention and public pressure.
A bigger expansion in OC and the rest of the Southland hasn’t realized for Gigante.
In November, the company said it was looking at its options and attracted interest from Chile’s Cencosud SA and Wal-Mart de Mexico SAB de C.V.
