ST. LOUIS — Thousands of bulk listings for grocery store stock appeared this week on a local auction site, under the address of a recently shuttered Fields Foods store.
Ten bags of chocolate chips were listed for 80 cents. Forty-one bars of soap, for a dime. The going bid on 24 cans of Campbell’s cream of celery soup was a quarter.
Fields Foods, an independent, local grocery chain, closed its remaining stores last month. This week, the stock from the company’s Lafayette Avenue location appeared on the website of BCL Auction.
“It’s an arduous process,†said Paul Zemitzsch, a spokesman for Fields Foods. “The company has to go in and inventory everything. From a can of tuna to a conveyor belt.â€
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“The economy’s good, but retail has been tough,†he added.
The Lafayette Avenue store was the first location Fields Foods opened in 2014, as owner Chris Goodson sought to establish grocery stores in ºüÀêÊÓƵ’ food deserts.
This summer, the business’ struggles became more apparent, and Fields Foods was dogged by lawsuits. Goodson said he planned to sell the chain to an employee-led group. But last month, and again this week, the company said those talks had stalled.
Friday morning, prices for the store’s stock were decidedly modest — though there were still five days left in the bidding.
For the time being, a night owl with 60 cents to spare could take home 50 bottles of 5-Hour Energy. Sixteen canisters of powdered coffee creamer were listed for $1.25.
The auction ends at 8 p.m. Wednesday, the site says. Buyers will have to transport their wares themselves.