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Daily Record Financial News &

Monday, March 19, 2018

Vol. 105, No. 086 • One Section

35¢ www.jaxdailyrecord.com

Slew of store closings to challenge market EASY TO FILL? Southeastern Grocers will close the the Winn-Dixie at 9866 Baymeadows Road, a vacancy one real estate broker says the landlord won’t have trouble filling.

LEAVING A BIG HOLE Toys R Us is closing more than 700 U.S. locations including the combination Toys R Us and Babies R Us store at The Markets at Town Center.

Experts say workers should easily find other jobs, while vacant stores present opportunities.

By Andrew Warfield Associate Editor The closing of all Toys R Us and Babies R Us stores nationwide and four local Southeastern Grocers locations due to bankruptcy reorganization will mean more available retail space in the Jacksonville area. It also will potentially put hundreds

of their employees out of work. The 70-year-old Toys R Us announced last week it will close its more than 700 U.S. locations, resulting in the loss of 33,000 jobs. Then late Thursday, Southeastern Grocers announced it will close 94 stores, including two Northeast Florida Winn-Dixie stores and two Harveys Supermarkets as part of a prepackaged

Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. Industry experts suggest the actions by Southeastern Grocers may have a larger impact locally than Toys R Us, in that the latter affects fewer workers and no local corporate positions. “The retail market, especially in Jacksonville, is so hot that every store Store Closings

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Photos by Monty Zickuhr

CSX has resolved its problems with service, CEO tells investors

“I have nothing today to apologize for,” James Foote says. CSX Corp. freight customers had a reason to complain about service disruptions as the Jacksonville-based railroad overhauled operations last summer, CEO James Foote admits. However, while there still is more work to be done, he said he thinks operations have improved enough that customers should be

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satisfied. “I have nothing today to apologize for,” Fo o te said We d n e s d a y at an investor conference in Foote New York held by J.P. Morgan. CSX’s implementation of the Precision Scheduled Railroading plan started by Foote’s predecessor, Hunter Harrison, got off to a bumpy start last year with numerous complaints about service. “Our customers were right to express their frustration with us,” Foote said at the conference, which was broadcast over the internet. He expects service metrics to

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Whole Foods plans $643K renovation of Mandarin store

continue improving, but he also says they already have reached a high level. “We’re running better today than I think anybody else in North America,” Foote said. Foote said CSX has been communicating with freight customers and with federal regulators about its operational improvements. “All of the customers understand what it is we’re trying to accomplish and they want us to be a better-run railroad,” he said. CSX cut 4,600 jobs last year, including consultant positions, and expects to cut 6,200 more over the next three years. At last week’s conference, Foote was asked again about morale Basch

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Supermarket, built in 2008, will get new food cases and more. Whole Foods Market proposes to renovate its only Jacksonville location, updating much of the Mandarin store’s food-service areas in an almost $643,000 project. The city is reviewing plans for the project to include replacing the bakery, deli and pizza service cases; replacing and installing a new hot bar, salad bar and soup bar, including refrigeration,

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plumbing and electrical service; and renovating the scullery with a new cooler and equipment. The plans include renovating the employee breakroom with new finishes and furniture. O’Barr Construction LLC of Bowie, Maryland, is the contractor listed on the permit application. SBLM Architects PC of Miami is the architect. Built in 2008, the almost 51,000-square-foot supermarket is at 10601 San Jose Blvd. in the Mandarin Landing shopping center. Seattle-based Amazon.com Inc. bought Whole Foods Inc. in August for $13.7 billion and has been making changes. Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods operated about 470 stores Mathis

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