NEWS WATCH: DOMINICK'S TO CLOSE 12 STORES AS CHAIN REGROUPS...RITE AID CHAIRMAN RECEIVES KROGER SEVERANCE PAY...HARRIS TEETER TO ENTER WASHINGTON, D.C., MARKET

DOMINICK'S TO CLOSE 12 STORES AS CHAIN REGROUPS

last week it will close 12 underperforming supermarkets -- four in Chicago and the rest in its suburbs -- on March 13. Some store closures had been expected as the chain seeks to regroup under the management of its newly appointed president, Randall Onstead. Safeway, Pleasanton, Calif., Dominick's parent company, said it would record a $50 million to $55 million pretax charge for lease exit costs associated with the closures in its first-quarter 2004 financial results. Under the terms of contracts with two United Food and Commercial Workers union locals, most employees will have the opportunity to seek positions at other Dominick's stores. Dominick's continues to operate 101 supermarkets in the Chicago market.

RITE AID CHAIRMAN RECEIVES KROGER SEVERANCE PAY

CAMP HILL, Pa. -- Rite Aid here said Robert Miller, its chairman, has prevailed in his effort to collect $6.1 million in severance pay from his previous employer, Kroger Co., Cincinnati. Miller, who had been Kroger's vice chairman and chief operating officer when he was hired by Rite Aid in December 1999, had to sue his former employer in U.S. District Court because Kroger said it did not owe him any severance if he left to join another company in the same business as Kroger, according to a Rite Aid spokeswoman. Rite Aid had advanced the sum to Miller two years ago as part of his initial compensation package. Mary Sammons, Rite Aid's chief executive officer, still has a pending case against Kroger, where she was CEO of the company's Fred Meyer Stores division before joining Rite Aid at the same time as Miller. Kroger declined to comment on either case.

HARRIS TEETER TO ENTER WASHINGTON, D.C., MARKET

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Harris Teeter, the supermarket subsidiary of Ruddick Corp. here, said last week it is preparing to enter the Washington, D.C., market. The company said it is in lease negotiations for a 40,000-square-foot space in the Adams Morgan section of the capital. Harris Teeter already operates six stores in Washington's northern Virginia suburbs. The company is also the finalist for the redevelopment of the site of a former wax museum in the city, according to published reports.

UNITS OF GREY GLOBAL, CROSSMARK FORM JOINT VENTURE

NEW YORK -- Grey Global Group here said it had formed a joint venture with Crossmark, Dallas, that will combine Crossmark's marketing division, Crosscut, with Grey's advertising and promotions specialist, J. Brown/LMC Group. The joint venture, called the J. Brown Agency, is designed to unite the promotional expertise of J. Brown with the in-store expertise of Crossmark, one of the world's largest sales agencies. J. Brown offers such services as interactive marketing, direct-response advertising, event marketing, in-store promotions and sampling, and media planning and buying.

'REINVENTING CPG' SUMMIT TO FEATURE RETAIL SPEAKERS

CHICAGO -- Top-level executives from 7-Eleven, Wal-Mart Stores and CVS are slated to be general session speakers at the Reinventing CPG 2004 Summit, which will be held Feb. 22 to 24 in San Diego. Breakouts will feature a presentation from A&P. Both general and breakout sessions will involve numerous speakers from consumer packaged goods manufacturers and others. The event will focus on business transformation issues facing CPG and retail sectors. It is sponsored by Information Resources Inc. and Symphony Technology Group. For additional information, log on to www.cpgsummit.com or call 312-474-2638.