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MATTHEWS, N.C. -- If Harris-Teeter here had designs on expanding throughout the Southeast, Winn-Dixie Stores might have been able to make its creditors very happy.
Winn-Dixie said Harris-Teeter, a division of Ruddick Corp., Charlotte, N.C., has bid $16.75 million for nine Winn-Dixie locations in North Carolina, or an average of about $1.86 million per store. Bids for the remaining 70 stores that Winn-Dixie is seeking to sell at an auction this week averaged only about $313,000 per store.
Analysts said Harris-Teeter's upscale positioning and regional strength may justify the high price it is paying to bolster its presence in its core markets, however.
"The price may be high if you view it in the context of the kind of business Winn-Dixie was doing, but Harris-Teeter's business...