SUPERVALU CENTER IN SCOTT CITY WILL CLOSE

SCOTT CITY -- Another 160 people in Southeast Missouri will be without jobs when an area grocery distributor closes this spring.

The Supervalu Distribution Center announced Thursday it will close its Scott City operation after nearly 40 years in business. The center should close sometime between April and May. It has operated in Scott City since 1962.

Supervalu is one of a number of area businesses to announce closings in the region. Overall, more than 2,000 jobs have been eliminated by the closings.

Companies like Florsheim Shoe Co. in Cape Girardeau, Columbia Sportswear in Chaffee and the Huffy bicycle plant at Farmington were some of the larger employers that announced closings in 1999.

Supervalu announced its closing in a press release Thursday afternoon. Employees learned about the closing earlier in the day from the regional president of the company.

"Supervalu and Scott City employees tried extremely hard to make this distribution center financially successful," Jim Campbell, the Midwest region president of the company, said in the press release. A similar letter was distributed to employees.

The company distributes food to supermarkets like Shop n Save, Save-A-Lot, Shoppers Food Warehouse, Biggs and Scott's Foods. The Save-A-Lot operations, which operate a store in Cape Girardeau, serves 823 grocery stores nationwide. Supervalu is also the primary food supplier to more than 3,500 stores in the United States.

Financial analysis showed that volume and the potential for growth cannot support the center, company officials said. Supervalu is headquartered in Minneapolis.

Campbell said the company will begin shifting its operations to other distribution centers. The company will continue to work with customers in Scott City to meet retailer needs. However, shipments coming to the center could end within two weeks.

"We fully expect to retain our customers throughout the transition," he said.

Economy IGA Foodliner manager Glen Kroenung said his store buys "almost all our groceries" from Supervalu, but the Scott City store will remain in "business as usual."

Although the store has to find another source for its grocery items, prices or brands offered shouldn't be affected, he said.

Supervalu said its decision to close the center will best serve its customers over the long term.

"The decision also fits Supervalu's strategic efforts to consolidate facilities where possible to ensure that we continue to operate at peak efficiency in a highly competitive industry," Campbell said.

Regardless of where jobs are lost, it is always a shame when a business closes, said Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce President John Mehner.

"It's always bad, but there will be available jobs," he said. People can easily find new jobs or get retraining by the state Department of Economic Development and its division for work-force development.

The area has a 2 percent unemployment rate, so there are "more people in the job market for available labor," he said.

The company will help employees with job searches and possible relocation to other divisions within the company. Supervalu officials will work directly with union leadership and negotiators to handle the transition for union employees.

Supervalu began its Scott City operations as Wetterau Inc. The two businesses merged in the mid-1990s. Supervalu was then the No. 2 food wholesaler and Wetterau ranked No. 4. Now the company is the nation's largest food distributor and the 10th largest supermarket retailer.

In 1996, the company experienced some reorganization in hopes of decreasing costs and improving service. Several of the distribution zones were consolidated within the five-state area of operation. At that time Supervalu in Scott City had 200 employees.

More recently, a grocery store that had received its groceries from Supervalu closed. Mr. K's Food Center, which was one of Cape Girardeau's largest grocery stores, closed in April. The store had operated in a building owned by Supervalu.