Albertson's sells eight stores, closes one in SW Missouri

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Grocery giant Albertson's Inc. continues to shed its underperformers by selling eight stores and closing a ninth one in Southwest Missouri.

Albertson's, which entered the southwest Missouri market just four years ago, said Tuesday that eight stores would be sold to Ramey/Price Cutter.

The deal was to be finalized April 22, with the stores opening that day under Ramey/Price Cutter management.

Four of the stores are in Springfield, and two are in Joplin. The others are in Nixa and Waynesville.

A ninth store, in Republic, will close on March 31.

David Alcorn, Albertson's store manager in Cape Girardeau, said the stores that were to close in southwestern Missouri are in a different division than the Cape Girardeau store.

"I don't have any word about what's going to happen to this store, my last name is not Albertson," he said. "For us, it's business as usual. We're here to stay as far as I'm concerned, but I don't own the store."

The moves are part of an overall restructuring by Boise, Idaho-based Albertson's that began last September to close 165 stores, company spokeswoman Jeannette Duwe said.

725 workers affected

Albertson's has 725 workers at its southwest Missouri stores. Those employees -- including the ones in Republic -- will have to apply for jobs at Ramey/Price Cutter.

Ramey/Price Cutter President and Chief Executive Erick Taylor said he hopes to hire most of the workers.

The transition is good news for local labor unions, said Jim Kabell, president of Teamsters Local 245. Albertson's gets its groceries from its own group of warehouses. Ramey/Price Cutter is a member of Associated Wholesale Grocer cooperative and is supplied by the Springfield AWG warehouse.

That could bring more union jobs as demand increases at the local warehouse, Kabell said.

Albertson's bought the southwestern Missouri stores from grocer David Trottier in 1998. He had operated the stores under the name of "Smitty's."