No Winn in Texas

Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. (Jacksonville, Fla.) has announced that it's closing all 76 of its supermarkets in Texas (71) and Oklahoma (five), laying off 5300 workers. The company is also closing its distribution center in Ft. Worth, Texas.

“The exiting of our Texas and Oklahoma operations will allow us to focus our management talent and capital in our core markets where we get a higher return for our shareholders,” said president and ceo Al Rowland. If no buyers are found for the stores, they will be shuttered.

Winn-Dixie tried to sell these locations to Kroger in 1999, but the Federal Trade Commission would not approve of the deal on antitrust grounds, claiming that Kroger would have too much market power in sections of Texas.