SIEFERT'S FOUNDER PURCHASES CLOTHING CHAIN; LOCAL STORE TO REOPEN IN MID-NOVEMBER

James Seifert is coming out of retirement.

The 65-year-old co-founder of the women's specialty store chain that was purchased by Grafton Group Ltd. in 1979 is taking over 38 store leases from the defunct Seifert's chain, which was placed in Chapter 11 bankruptcy last month.

Seifert's in West Park Mall closed earlier this month and will reopen in mid-November.

Seifert and his family won a bidding war for 27 stores on Aug. 25, when a bankruptcy judge approve the sale of 27 stores. The court approved the sale of 11 more stores, including the one here, on Sept. 7.

"The Cape Girardeau store will be closed for a couple of months," said D'Anne Hotchkiss, spokesperson for Ellsworth Kaye Marketing Communications, which will be handling the Seifert account.

The Seifert story dates to 1951, when the first store opened at Ottumwa, Iowa. A second store was opened in Washington, Iowa, in 1954. By 1978, the company had 50 stores, and co-founder William Seifert was looking to retirement. The chain was put on the sale block, and Grafton Group Ltd. of Canada purchased the company for $20 million. James Seifert remained chief executive officer.

The company continued to prosper. By 1987, Seifert's achieved record profits and revenues. Acquisitions and store openings had boosted the company to 200 stores. Two years later James Seifert retired.

With Seifert gone, the company began to fall sharply. Grafton started closing stores: as many as 40 at a time. By August, only 38 Seifert's stores remained open.

Seifert will be chairman of James F. Seifert and Sons L.C., and will be actively involved in the startup of the new company. Involved in the operation will be Seifert's sons, James Seifert Jr. and John Seifert, and son-in-law, Michael McCue.

"You will see Seifert's go back to what it was 10 years ago," said James Seifert. "I was really enjoying retirement and want to get back to retirement, but I have made a commitment to my boys that I will be heavily involved during the first year of operations."

Seifert and his family purchased 27 of the stores from the creditors of the bankrupt Seifert's Group, Inc.

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McDonald's Corp. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. have formed a quasi-partnership.

Wal-Mart, the retail giant of general merchandise, and McDonald's, the king of fast foods, have been experimenting with joining forces since January. So far, they like what they have seen.

It all started in Visalia, Calif., an agricultural center in the heart of that state's Central Valley, where a McDonald's opened inside a Wal-Mart store. Since then, the alliance has been expanded to include more than 25 stores, most recently with a cluster in the St. Louis area.

Such an agreement has not been discussed for Cape Girardeau, said Wal-Mart officials. "I have not been contacted concerning such an alliance," said Terry Godwin, manager of the Wal-Mart Supercenter here.

"The alliance is experimental at this stage," said a spokesman from Wal-Mart headquarters in Bentonville, Ark. "There are no immediate plans for specific future sites."

However, industry experts say it would be no surprise to see the relationship blossom rapidly because it comes as a growing number of retailers and fast-food chains link up.

A number of fast-food operations, including McDonald's, have found success in mall settings. Other combinations such as Kmart and Little Caesar's Pizza, Bradlees and Pizza Hut, and Caldor's and Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs have teamed up successfully.

The Wal-Mart and McDonald's alliance offers the restaurateur both a semi-captive audience and new places to sell its products. The benefit to the retailer is turning over space to a nationally known restaurant chain can produce a jump in revenues per square foot of store space.

"The agreement is sort of a partnership," said Don Shinkle, a Wal-Mart official.

For companies the size of McDonald's, with more than 9,000 restaurants in the U.S. and 13,500 worldwide, and Wal-Mart, which has nearly 2,000 general merchandise stores and 310 warehouse discount stores, the scale of the joint ventures to date is barely a blip on the corporate radar.

The key to "co-branding," as the practice is called, is whether there is enough traffic to cover the restaurant's costs. Restaurant experts say it has a very good chance of working in stores that attract great numbers of people like Wal-Mart.

Food service inside mass retail establishments has a long history: remember the luncheon counters at Woolworth's operations.

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Three Cape Girardeau insurance agencies have combined to form The Insurance Center in the Eagle Peak Building, 760 S. Kingshighway, Suite E.

The center provides a full-service office for business and commercial, home, auto, bonds and group and individual-life and health insurance, said Mary Kistner, a spokesperson for the new office.

Joining in the center are:

-- Rock Finch and Doug Temples of Finch-Temples Insurance.

-- Norman W. McElreath and Kistner of McElreath Realty and Insurance.

-- Gary Van Weelden and Jack Riley of Van Weelden-Riley Insurance Agency Inc.

"As an independent office, The Insurance Center agents offer a number of companies and wide variety of products for every insurance need," said Kistner. "We are pleased to share our combined experience of more than 130 years in professional service to our clients."

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SCOTT CITY Brawley's Auto Sales, featuring auto detailing and a 24-hour wrecker service, has opened at Scott City.

The new business is at 200 E. Hickory, at the corner of Hickory and Second streets.

"We have used cars and trucks, and will also take on consignment vehicles," said Richard Brawley, owner. "We also have storage space available for recreational vehicles."

Brawley, of Scott City, has been involved in auto sales for more than 15 years.

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Margie's Pie and Cake Factory has moved to 946 W. Cape Rock Drive.

"We do mostly special orders now," said Margie McAnally, owner. "We will continue to bake pies and cakes and do catering. We will also have a few cookies and our Mississippi mud cake available for over-the-counter retail at most times."

McAnally opened the Pie and Cake Factory in downtown Cape Girardeau in 1986. She moved to 1001 Independence in January 1990.

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Class Act Gymnastics will hold an open house Friday and Saturday.

The new business will start holding classes today in its new air-conditioned facility at 2109 Boulder Crest.

Shawn and Lynn McNally, who have served as gymnastics instructors at the Cape Girardeau Vocational-Technical School, are owners of the business, which will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and 9 a.m. to noon Saturdays.

Shawn McNally has more than 14 years of experience in teaching gymnastics and Lynn McNally has six years of experience. Both are USGFA-certified coaches.

The McNallys previously owned Class Computers here.

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PADUCAH, Ky. A new Drury Inn Hotel has opened at Paducah, creating approximately 30 to 35 new jobs.

The five-story hotel on the northeast corner of Interstate 24 and U.S. 60 consists of 118 guests rooms, including 14 two-room suites and 20 one-room suites.

Also included are four conference rooms with meeting space for 20 to 25 people and a large conference room with meeting space for up to 75.

With the opening of the hotel, the former Drury Inn on the southwest corner of the interchange has become a Pear Tree Inn. The Thrifty Inn next door to the Pear Tree will become a Hampton Inn next month.

All are owned by Drury Inns Inc., which operates more than 60 hotels in 11 states. The new hotel represents the third Drury-operated property at Paducah, and brings the total of rooms to 303.

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SIKESTON The Sikeston Trade Market Flea Market will open at Sikeston next month.

"We hope to be open by the first of October," said Allen Mercer, who will manage the facility. "Dealers from Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee have already contacted us."

The new 12,000-square-foot, 100-booth facility is being constructed at 2008 E. Malone Avenue by entrepreneur Art Ziegenhorn.