VENTURE, SILO CLOSINGS AFFECT AREA ECONOMY

CARBONDALE, Ill. - Venture Stores Inc. will close its department store in the University Mall here next month because of "lower-than-expected" sales.

The store, less than 2 years old, is only the fourth in Venture's 25-year history to close. Venture, headquartered in O'Fallon, Mo., operates 93 discount stores in eight states, including West Park Mall in Cape Girardeau.

Sales have been poor at the Carbondale store since it opened in March 1991, said Jim Miller, Venture's executive vice president for marketing.

Miller said in a news release that the store's 125 employees will stay on the payroll through March 13. The store will close Feb. 13.

Venture is the second-largest retail outlet to announce closing in the Carbondale area this week. Silo Inc., based in Philadelphia, announced Wednesday that it was closing 45 consumer-electronic stores in seven states, including Carbondale.

Venture was one of the anchors of a University Mall expansion completed in spring 1991. Other anchors at the mall include Famous Barr, Montgomery Ward, JCPenney, and Elder-Beerman.

The mall, which opened in 1974, was expanded and renovated in 1991. It is 97 percent occupied.

Robert Perimutter, chairman of Heitman Retail Properties of Chicago, which manages and leases the mall, said he was disappointed with Venture's decision.

"The mall itself had a successful year," said Perimutter. "Four other department stores there are very satisfied with their sales volume. We see this as a reflection of Venture's inability to compete with Wal-Mart, Target and Kmart. It's disappointing they didn't take more time and effort at Carbondale."

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. announced recently that it will open a 200,000-square-foot supercenter three blocks from University Mall. The Illinois Centre Mall opened at nearby Marion, about 15 miles away, in October 1991. The Central Mall includes a Target Store.

Venture will offer workers transfers to other Venture stores. The firm is also providing a placement program and a severance package to workers.

Carbondale's Silo Appliances is on old Route 13 east of University Mall.

Silo also announced the closings of stores at Cape Girardeau and Paducah, Ky., 10 stores in the St. Louis area, and operations in the Memphis and Nashville, Tenn. areas. The closings will affect about 165 full- and part-time employees in the St. Louis area, and 10 in Cape Girardeau.

A total of 570 employees nationally will lose their jobs with the 45 closings, although some will have the opportunity to transfer to other stores in the country, said Michael J. Randels, Silo's senior vice president for human resources.

Silo employs 3,400 workers in 190 other stores and offices.

On Wednesday, Silo company officials characterized the closings as an attempt to improve market share and bolster its financial performance.

"No company ever likes to withdraw from a market and the customers it serves," said Silo President Robert Sirkis. "We had to make some difficult decisions about where to focus our resources."

Silo is a subsidiary of retailer Dixons Group PLC headquartered in London.

Last year Silo lost $38 million on sales of about $1 billion. In the first half of the current fiscal year, ending Nov. 14, it had operating losses of $26.2 million.

The company attributed its losses to a steep decline in sales of audio equipment and appliances, which Randels said was caused by a weak economy and strong competition from rivals.

The company said it plans to improve market share by enlarging its remaining stores, remodeling existing outlets and opening stores in higher-visibility locations. The company opened two stores in Los Angeles in November and plans to add four more in Chicago this spring.

The stores targeted for closing are among the company's smaller outlets, Randels said.

In areas where stores close, customers will still be able to get service under the company's product warranties by calling Silo's national 800 number.