H-E-B Expands in Texas, Buying Three Albertsons

By Camelia Bulea, Associate Editor

San Antonio-based H.E. Butt Grocery, which operates 332 stores in Texas and Mexico, recently acquired three Albertsons stores, located in College Station, Kerrville and New Braunfels. The two parties–H-E-B and Albertsons L.L.C.–are expected to close on the sale by mid-October.

Although financial terms were not disclosed, the San Antonio Business Journal reported that H-E-B plans to convert the Kerville store into an H-E-B store. The company plans to spend $4.5 million to remodel the 49,000-square-foot store and expand its parking lot.

It does not appear that the other two Albertsons stores will be converted into H-E-B stores. The company opened new stores in New Braunfels and College Station last year. The two newly acquired stores will be targeted to retailers new to the communities.

Existing employees could obtain new positions at H-E-B, according ot the business journal.

The same cannot be said about other jobs in San Antonio. The metro area experienced a greater number of job losses in July than in previous months, with its unemployment rate rising to 8.2 percent from June. According to Workforce Solutions Alamo, job losses were caused mainly by seasonal releases in the government sector; those jobs totaled 7,400.

But employment in the Alamo City remains stronger than many other places, and other industries added jobs, including education and health services, which added 800 jobs month-over-month, and mining and logging, which added 100 jobs.