Sweetbay closing stores: Sweetbay supermarket chain to close 33 stores in Florida

Associated Press

TAMPA, Fla. -- The Sweetbay supermarket chain has announced that it will close 33 stores in Florida.

Sweetbay's parent company, the Belgium-based Delhaize Group, said Thursday that it plans to close the stores by mid-February. Of Sweetbay's 33 closings, 12 are in Pinellas and Pasco counties, six are in Tampa, plus several single store closings. So 22 of the 33 are in the Tampa Bay region, with the bulk of the other closings down the coast in the Sarasota and Fort Myers markets.

Sweetbay will still have 72 stores in Florida after the closures.

The Delhaize Group's earnings report showed that fourth quarter revenues for Delhaize America fell 2.1 percent in the fourth quarter, with the company anticipating a 17.5 percent decline in 2012 operating profits