ALBERTSONS LLC CLOSING NINE COLORADO STORES
BOISE, Idaho — Albertsons LLC here said last week it plans to reset and remerchandise its remaining 31 stores in Colorado following the decision to close nine more underperforming stores in the state. Those stores are scheduled to close during February and March — a move that will eliminate about 750 jobs. The stores include seven units of Albertsons and two of Grocery Warehouse. In July the company closed 13 Albertsons stores and three Grocery Warehouse stores. “At the time we announced the 16 store closures, there were some underperforming stores we didn't close because we thought they could be turned around. [But] we haven't been able to do that in every case,” said chain spokeswoman Christine Wilcox.
LOBLAW PLANS TO CUT CORPORATE STAFF BY 20%
TORONTO — Loblaw Cos. here last week said it would cut between 800 and 1,000 jobs at its headquarters and regional offices over the next nine months as part of an ongoing restructuring. The labor cuts will cost the retailer between $127 million and $170 million in severance and other expenses it will recognize in the first quarter. Perry Ciacco, an analyst at CIBC World Markets here, told SN last week the job cuts were “the beginning of what I think will be the streamlining of a wide range of things in the business — including SKUs, stores, banners and formats.” Loblaw is expected to reveal additional plans of its restructuring effort in an investor presentation on Feb. 21.
E.W. JAMES RETREATING FROM LEXINGTON: REPORT
UNION CITY, Tenn. — E.W. James & Sons here is closing the third and last of its stores in the Lexington, Tenn., area next month, according to company officials quoted in the Lexington Herald-Leader newspaper. All three stores are former Winn-Dixie locations E.W. James took over in November 2004; two of them closed last year. The store set to close next month is to be replaced by a Kroger, the report said. In all, E.W. James purchased 10 former Winn-Dixie locations but has closed seven. E.W. James officials were not available for comment.
CALIFORNIA RETAILERS REDUCE PLASTIC BAG USE
SAN FRANCISCO — Supermarket operators here reduced plastic bag usage by 7.5 million to 8 million units over the past year, the California Grocers Association told SN last week. The final numbers are being tabulated by a consulting firm and will probably not be available for a couple of weeks, Peter Larkin, CGA president, said. The goal of the reduction plan was to lower the number of plastic bags by 10 million — a figure that was based on participation by 57 retailers, Larkin pointed out; however, only 32 of the 57 actually participated and not all of those have submitted their results, he added. The agreement to reduce plastic bag usage on a voluntary basis followed a 2005 proposal by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to put a 17-cent per bag tax on plastic bags.
TEAMSTERS FIELDING NEW OFFERS FROM COSTCO
ISSAQUAH, Wash. — Approximately 13,000 employees at 40 California locations of Costco Warehouse Corp. here will vote over the next couple of weeks on a new multiyear contract with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Talks were continuing last week between Costco and 3,200 Teamsters working at 13 warehouses in New York, New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia. The two sides in California reached tentative agreement on terms last week. Voting is expected to conclude by mid-February, a Teamsters spokesman said. According to the union, the preliminary agreement includes “significant gains” in annual wages; annual increases to semi-annual bonuses; increases to the retirement package; and improved seniority language while maintaining current pension and health care levels.
