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Schnuck Markets not reopening store shut amid COVID-19 outbreak

Regional grocer opts not to renew lease following temporary closure

Russell Redman

April 10, 2020

2 Min Read
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Schnucks operates 112 stores in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Iowa and has 13,500 employees.Schnuck Markets

Schnuck Markets plans to permanently close a supermarket in Alton, Ill., after it was temporarily shut amid the company’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.

St. Louis-based Schnucks said yesterday that its Oakwood store at 1721 Homer Adams Parkway in Alton won’t be reopened after its lease expires in June. The location initially was closed on March 16 so associates could assist at other Schnucks stores experiencing “significant increases in customer traffic” amid the COVID-19 outbreak, according to the company.

A converted Shop ’n Save supermarket, the 51,000-square-foot store Oakwood store has seen poor sales since its October 2018 acquisition from Supervalu, Schnucks noted. As a result, the company decided not to renew the store’s lease. The 45 employees at the location will continue to work at other Schnucks stores in the area and retain the same rate of pay, the retailer said.

“Even prior to the pandemic, shoppers in the River Bend area had overwhelmingly chosen instead to visit our nearby Alton store, which is only a mile-and-a-half away, and our Godfrey location, which is less than two miles away,” Schnucks Chairman and CEO Todd Schnuck. “With that data, and knowing that the lease expiration was approaching, we made the decision to close the store and focus on those Metro East stores that customers have shown us they prefer.”

Related:Schnuck Markets ‘rounds up’ at the register for coronavirus relief

Metro East customers will still be able to shop at 15 other Schnucks stores in the surrounding area, the retailer said. Those stores employ approximately 1,600 associates combined.

Last November, Schnucks shut three supermarkets in the St. Louis metropolitan area — including locations in St. Peters and O’Fallon, Mo., and Edwardsville, Ill. — that it said underperformed, in part, due to cannibalization from nearby Schnucks stores. The move also was part of a broader effort by the chain to optimize the its brick-and-mortar locations.

Then last month, Schnucks announced the sale of its 110 retail pharmacies, along with its specialty pharmacy business, to CVS Health. Under the deal, CVS agreed to operate 99 of the locations under the CVS Pharmacy banner inside Schnucks stores, with the remaining 11 Schnucks pharmacies transferring their prescription files to nearby CVS drugstores.

Earlier in March, Schnucks acquired a 38,000-square-foot IGA supermarket in Mahomet, Ill., marking its fourth store in the Champaign-Urbana metro area. The store reopened under the Schnucks banner on April 1.

Overall, Schnucks operates 112 stores in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Iowa and has 13,500 employees.

Related:CVS to acquire Schnucks' pharmacy business

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About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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