Tops' Sales Topple

WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y.--Third-quarter sales dropped at Tops Markets LLC, with same-store sales declining 6.5 percent and comparable store sales falling 5.8 percent, according to Royal Ahold, the grocer's parent company.

Royal Ahold attributes Tops’ market share to the sale of its convenience store chains--including Wilson Farms and SugarCreek Stores -- and a weak economic environment in northeast Ohio, reported Buffalo, N.Y.’s Business First .

Nine Tops stores in the Ohio region have closed and the company has been selling off stores in eastern New York with deals now in place to sell 21 of 31 outlets, according to the report.

One day after agreeing to settle a lawsuit filed by shareholders for $1.1 billion, Royal Ahold stated it lost $280.7 million overall in the period. The Dutch company took a charge of $687 million in the quarter to settle the accounting litigation that dated to 2003, reported Business First .

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