MILAN, Ill. -- Eagle Food Centers here has approved two sites in the Chicagoland marketing area -- and is actively looking at three additional sites there -- that could be open by April 1998, Bob Kelly, chairman, president and chief executive officer, told the company's annual meeting here last week.
ice president and chief financial officer, told shareholders the company will allocate $10 million to capital expenditures next year -- a drop of slightly more than 20% from the $12.7 million spent this year. However, Dotterer said the company plans to invest "a much greater amount" than $10 million in 1998 as it becomes more aggressive in opening new stores.
In his presentation Kelly told shareholders Eagle is on the verge of implementing a new merchandising system "that will allow us to enter the millennium with systems advancements and updated technology to prepare us to serve our customers in the most efficient and cost-effective way."
He said the first phase of implementation -- involving store ordering, buying and inventory systems -- is scheduled to begin July 14, with the second phase -- "turning on our perishables warehousing systems" -- set for the first week of August.
The third phase, set for mid-September at the chain's grocery and health and beauty care warehouses, will make Eagle one of the first grocery warehouses in the United States operating on client-server technology, Kelly said.
Once the store-level systems have been implemented in July, Kelly said, Eagle "will immediately begin training on time-and-attendance and direct-store-delivery receiving procedures," with the final rollout involving labor scheduling due in October.
