Penn Traffic Co., Syracuse, N.Y., continues to seek a new president to succeed John T. Dixon, who retired earlier this year, Chairman Gary D. Hirsch said. However, he gave no timetable for naming a successor.
R Associates, FMI's general partner. The partnership then plans to sell up to about 260,000 shares of Fred Meyer stock on the open market early next year. The rest of its shares then would be distributed to the partners, including about 3.65 million shares to Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. and 580,000 shares to KKR Associates. Metropolitan Life would own about 14% of Fred Meyer's shares after the partnership is dissolved, Fred Meyer said. In late September, Fred Meyer repurchased $70 million in stock, or 2.2 million shares, in a 3.85 million-share public offering by FMI Associates, cutting FMI's stake in the company from 37.8% to 17.8%.
Ralphs Grocery Co., Compton, Calif., said it has opened downtown San Diego's first new full-service supermarket in more than 20 years. The 43,000-square-foot store has glass-window sides so pedestrians can see inside plus underground parking accessible by a "people-mover" ramp or an elevator. Ralphs has 35 stores in San Diego County.
Shopping Alternatives, Bethesda, Md., a third-party service provider of home shopping and delivery, has discontinued service to retailers in anticipation of a planned acquisition by Streamline, Westwood, Mass., a consumer-direct company. Shopping Alternatives' president, Kevin Sheehan, would head Streamline Mid Atlantic, the first regional operating company of Streamline. The new company, to be launched in Bethesda Jan. 1, plans to open a dedicated fulfillment center for home delivery of groceries and other products in metro Washington next fall, according to Streamline management. Streamline's business model was the focal point of a major industry study into the consumer-direct concept. Its planned expansion on the East Coast may signal the first time a consumer-direct company selling groceries has broken out of the highly charged Boston market.
