BUSINESS GIANTS: WAL-MART, SHOPKO, GIANT RETAILERS, TO OPEN IN LOCAL MARKET AREA THIS MONTH

ShopKo Stores Inc. is preparing for grand opening at West Park Mall in Cape Girardeau.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will open it newest Supercenter at Jackson this month.

A telecommunications service company, which has requested anonymity, is considering a Cape Girardeau location.

A grocery chain, which has already committed to its first Missouri store at Sikeston, has indicated an interest in Cape Girardeau.

A large appliance sales company is looking at a local site.

And, a 36,000-square-foot building, suitable for retail or other store, has become available for lease or sale, at 121 S. Sprigg -- formerly Del-Farm and later Schnucks.

The Schnucks lease on the building has expired, said Jane Hollo of Collier's Turley, Martin Tucker, real estate firm at St. Louis. The real estate firm has been talking with some grocers interested in the mid-town site.

All this bodes well for Cape Girardeau County, the largest retail shopping and business hub between the St. Louis and Memphis metropolitan areas.

The two openings this month translate into more than 200,000 square feet of retail space and between 250 and 300 employees. The telecommunications company is expected to make a decision within 30 to 45 days, which will add another 250 employees to the count.

A lot is happening in the Cape Girardeau-Cape Girardeau County area.

In addition to the two new giant retailers, a number of small businesses -- at least 10 in March -- have opened, and construction of residences is increasing, with 10 home starts at an estimated cost of $1.4 million in March.

Almost everybody is working or will be soon.

The labor force in Cape Giardeau is listed at 36,774, with 35,914 with jobs, leaving 860 unemployed for a 2.3 percent unemployment rate. Unemployment is down everywhere in Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois as jobs are available. Perry County unemployment is one of the lowest in the state, at 2 percent. Scott County shows 3.9 percent unemployment, Bollinger 4.5 percent and Mississippi County, 5.2 percent. Most area counties are less than 6 percent unemployment, with only two more than 6 percent -- Madison at 6.2 and Pemiscot at 6.9.

The doors to the latest Wal-Mart Supercenter will open to the public April 21.

The new 109,000-square-foot store is two miles from Interstate 55 on Jackson Boulevard and includes 36 general merchandise departments, including a full-line grocery store, vision center, pharmacy and other departments.

When the doors open, they will never close.

The new supercenter will employ up to 150 workers.

The new store will be a 24-hour facility, said Rick Boyd, who has been named manager of the supercenter. It will be one of more than 110 Wal-Mart operations in Missouri. The company has more than 2,300 stores nationally. Other divisions of the company include more than 400 Sam's Clubs and four Hypermart USAs. Headquartered at Bentonville, Ark., the firm operates 17 major distribution centers across the country.

The first Wal-Mart Discount City was opened in Rogers, Ark., in 1962 by Sam and Bud Walton, co-founders of the company. Two years later, a second Wal-Mart opened in Harrison, Ark. The Waltons had previously opened Walton's Ben Franklin Stores at Newport, Ark., and Versailles, Mo.

The Waltons had a total of 15 Ben Franklin franchise stores before opening the first Wal-Mart operation. By the end of the 1960s, the brothers had 18 Wal-Mart and 15 Ben Franklin stores. The company became incorporated as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in 1969 and has continued to grow.

ShopKo is preparing for its grand opening at 300 West Park Mall April 30 through May 2.

"We're estatic about opening our new Cape Girardeau store," said Julie Roe, manager of public relations for ShopKo Stores Inc., headquartered at Green Bay, Wis.

ShopKo will employ from 100 to 150 people its new store. formerly occupied Venture Stores.

"The majority of the hires will from the local area," said Roe.

ShopKo last week announced its local store management team.

It includes Jim DePaul, store team leader, a St. Louis native who started with ShopKo last August; David Stevens, pharmacy team leader, who joins the Cape Girardeau ShopKo Pharmacy from Wal-Mart, where he has served as pharmacy manager three years; and Beth Lawley, optical team leader, who joins the local ShopKo Pharmacy from ShopKo in Neenah, Wis., where she has been optical manager 10 years.

ShopKo Stores Inc., a specialty discount retailer operating 147 stores in 16 states, will open 13 stores this year, including an 81,300-square-foot store at 5101 Hinkleville Road in Paducah and an 81,400-square-foot store at Joplin.

Cape Girardeau and Paducah represent new territory for ShopKo, said company officials.

ShopKo will be a great addition here, said Jim Govro, West Park Mall manager. "The company will add to our one-stop shopping concept at the mall."

ShopKo provides a variety of products and services. It focuses on casual apparel, household items, family basics, leisure and seasonal products and health items, including in-store pharmacies and optical centers.

The telecommunications company will announce its plans with a month to six weeks, said Mitch Robinson, executive director of the Cape Girardeau Area Industrial Recruitment Association. "We sent them results of an employment survey we conducted, indicating that as many as 600 workers were interested in telecommunications jobs.

This labor was a concern of the company.

But there are still workers out there, said Robinson. And have workers to fill the type of jobs offered by the teleservice company -- flexible full-time and part-time employment in the $7-an-hour range, ideal for students or as second jobs.

Albertson's Grocery, the largest grocery chain in the United States, will open a new store at Sikeston, possibly within the next year. The Albertson project is part of a redevelopment project by Novus Development Company of Kirkwood, at the corner of Main and Malone in Sikeston.

Albertson's will operate a 40,000-square-foot grocery store at Sikeston. Albertson's has also indicated an interest in the Cape Girardeau market.