A&P responded by strengthening its private label program and overhauling its remaining U.S. units. Most stores smaller than were expanded, closed, or replaced with units from to . The new stores included pharmacies, larger bakeries, and more general merchandise. A&P continued to suffer in the South and abandoned most of the region by pulling out of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, the Carolinas, Tennessee, and Virginia. Most of these stores were sold to Kroger. As a result, A&P was reduced to four regions: the Northeast, the Midwest (Michigan and Wisconsin), New Orleans, and Ontario. To reinforce the New Orleans division, A&P purchased six Schwegmann supermarkets; however, A&P was now reduced to 600 stores. Christian W.E. Haub, the youngest son of Erivan, became co-CEO in 1994 and CEO in 1997 when Wood retired from that post. In 2001, Wood also retired as chairman, with Haub assuming that title as well. 2001–2015: Final years as a supermarket chain Nationwide, Walmart gained a dominant position in the grocery industry, forcing much of the competition to downsize, though in A&P's core Northeast region, Walmart still had not become a major grocery competitor. In 2003, after declaring its largest loss, A&P closed Kohl's Food Stores and A&P's remaining stores in Vermont and New Hampshire, reducing it to just over 500 stores. Also in 2003, A&P spun off the Eight O'Clock Coffee division (its last manufacturing operation) to Gryphon Investors for $107 million. (In 2006, Gryphon sold Eight O'Clock Coffee to Tata Global Beverages for $220 million). In 2005, A&P sold its 237-store Canadian division (consisting of A&P, Dominion, Ultra Food and Drug stores, as well as the Canadian Food Basics units) to Montreal-based Metro Inc. for Can$1.7 billion in cash plus shares of Metro. By 2009, the A&P name disappeared from these stores. In 2007, A&P closed its New Orleans division, limiting A&P's footprint to the Northeast. Also in 2007, A&P acquired Pathmark, a long-time Northeastern rival, for $1.4 billion. With this purchase, A&P again became the largest supermarket operator in the New York City area. At the same time, Tengelmann reduced its shares to 38.5%, while the private equity firm Yucaipa, as major shareholder of Pathmark, acquired 27.5% of A&P's shares. In 2012, A&P emerged from bankruptcy by becoming a private company, as Tengelmann ended its holding, and briefly returned to modest profitability in 2013 and 2014. This allowed A&P to regain its position as