MONTVALE, NJ - The grocery retailer A&P has announced they are now looking for buyers for 137 of its 301 stores. This comes just 2 years after the company tried to sell itself in 2013, the New York Post reports, but allegedly the company came up short. 

Reportedly, UFCW representatives on Monday told its members that it had confirmed that A&P is, “actively seeking potential buyers for part or all of the company” and “several companies are interested in buying A&P in whole or in part.”

A&P’s banners include Food Emporium, Pathmark, Waldbaums, and A&P stores. Out of the 137 stores on the list, most are scattered throughout Connecticut, New Jersey and New York and includes both well-performing stores and poor-performing ones, the New York Post reveals. The ranges for the closing locations vary anywhere from $50 million revenue a year, to only 7.9 million in sales a year.

A&P confirmed that they had been reviewing its strategic options since March, saying, “The review includes raising new capital from investors, considering new business-partner relationships and exploring the sale of certain assets of the company.”

The New York Post cites both competition from rivals like Whole Foods, and Trader Joe’s, as well struggling management as major reasons for the companies waning success.

“They are deeply in debt and struggling to produce a profit,” said supermarket Consultant Burt Flickinger. Flickinger lists that Stop & Shop, ShopRite, and Key Food could be contenders to buy the stores.

A&P told The New York Post that currently, “no decisions have been made” and that there is “no timetable set for the completion of the process.”

A&P