NEWS ROUNDUP 1994-03-28 (2)

Riser to Acquire 3 Acme Units

Riser Foods here has agreed to acquire three Cleveland-area Acme stores from Fred W. Albrecht Grocery Co., Akron, Ohio, for an undisclosed amount.

The acquisition is expected to be completed in May.

All three stores will be converted to Riser's Stop-N-Shop banner. The smallest unit -- a 42,000-square-foot store -- will be spun off to an independent and supplied by Riser's wholesale division, Ron Ocasek, Riser's chief financial officer, told SN last week.

One of the stores Riser will operate is a 75,000-square-foot unit. Another store, in a 163,000-square-foot building, includes the 82,000-square-foot supermarket portion of an Acme SuperCenter, a combination food and discount store. Albrecht is seeking a compatible tenant to take over the other 81,000 square feet of the building, Ocasek said.

Albrecht officials previously said the chain was considering selling the stores to concentrate on its core market in Akron. Riser operates 44 retail stores in northeast Ohio.

Wal-Mart Agrees to Pricing Rules

LANSING, Mich. -- Wal-Mart Stores has agreed not to use unfair or deceptive practices in comparative price advertising at its Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores in Michigan.

The agreement with the state attorney general's office here comes as a response to a complaint filed by Kmart Corp., Troy, Mich.; Target Stores, Minneapolis, and Meijer Inc., Grand Rapids, Mich.

The three retailers claimed Wal-Mart's comparisons were misleading. In signing the agreement, Wal-Mart did not admit to any violations.

Wal-Mart, Bentonville, Ark., agreed to identify the date on which comparisons were made; not to lower an item's price solely to achieve a favorable price comparison; not to use market-basket comparisons unless the Wal-Mart employees responsible for pricing do not know which items have been selected for the survey, and not to compare multiple-item package prices with individual item prices when the multiple package is not available to others in the market.

Hy-Vee to Move Headquarters

CHARITON, Iowa -- Hy-Vee Food Stores here plans to relocate its corporate headquarters to West Des Moines in the spring of 1995.

The move to West Des Moines, which is 60 miles north of here, will put Hy-Vee closer to the geographic center of its operating territory.

Construction will begin later this year on the new facility, which will include an 80,000-square-foot office building and a training center of between 30,000 square feet and 40,000 square feet.

The move will involve only the company's executive offices and administrative personnel. The current offices, adjacent to the chain's distribution complex, will be used for distribution functions.

Hy-Vee has been headquartered here since 1945.

Annual Cornell Session Slated

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cornell University's 29th annual Food Executive Program will be held on the campus here July 17 to 28.

Featured speakers will include Tim Hammonds, president of the Food Marketing Institute; Kenneth Blanchard, author of "The One-Minute Manager," and Willard Bishop, an industry consultant.