The parent company and most of its affiliates operating the Baton Rouge-based Shoppers Value grocery store chain across south Louisiana have filed for chapter 11 protection and reorganization, The Advocate (La.) reported. “They plan to reorganize and continue operations,” said William K. Steffes, an attorney with Steffes, Vingiello & McKenzie, LLC. Initial court filings were made in mid-November, with additional stores within the chain joining the bankruptcy proceeding this week, citing debt tied to the purchase and rebranding of six former Winn-Dixie locations in 2018, five of which have since closed. Shoppers Value's business model is touted as a 10 percent retail mark-up at the register on top of the wholesale price it pays for products, according to its website. The parent company owns and operates 12 grocery stores — more than half of which are in Baton Rouge — and one Food Depot in Bogalusa. It employs more than 600 workers, records show.
