Harps Foods acquires seven stores in Louisiana and Mississippi

Springdale-based Harps Food Stores announced Monday (Oct. 24) a deal to purchase The Markets, an independent grocery retailer with threelocations in central Louisiana and four stores in southwestern Mississippi.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Harps said the deal is expected to close by the end of the year.

“We are excited to enter into these new markets for Harps in Louisiana and Mississippi,” Kim Eskew, Chairman and CEO of Harps Food Stores, said in a statement. “The Market stores have served these communities with excellence for many years, and we are thrilled to add them to the Harps family.”

Harps said 350 employees at The Markets were told of the pending acquisition last week and to expect minimal change.

“We are excited for the new possibilities for growth and success that Harps can bring to our stores. We wish Harps and the Markets team members many years of success,” said Barry Loy, president of The Markets, founded in 1969 by his father Harley Loy.

Eskew told Talk Business & Politics last year the regional grocery chain was interested in expanding through acquisition to grow its store count behold 135 stores in four states prior to the pending deal.

Harps is the largest employee-owned company in Arkansas and was founded by Harvard and Floy Harp in Springdale in 1930. Since then, the company has grown to employ more than 6,800 employees.