ALBERTSON'S, Boise, Idaho, is reportedly contemplating opening its first store in Missouri -- a 67,000-square-foot store in Springfield, in the southwest part of the state. Local sources told SN the chain is seeking city council approval to make road improvements prior to breaking ground on the store. Albertson's officials told SN last week they were unable to confirm the reports.
eplacement plan, which runs through Feb. 4, 2001, is substantially identical to the existing plan, the company noted, except for modifications to the exercise and redemption prices of the new rights and the term of the plan.
GROCERY MANUFACTURERS OF AMERICA, Washington, criticized various proposals to expand New York state's bottle deposit law. The GMA's vice president of state affairs, Chip Kunde, told a symposium hosted by the Federation of New York Solid Waste Associations that increased curbside recycling would be a more efficient means to reduce solid waste problems.
WHOLE FOODS MARKET, Austin, Texas, last week acquired Allegro Coffee Co., Boulder, Colo., in a stock transaction worth about $8.38 million.
ADVANTAGE SALES & MARKETING, Irvine, Calif.-based food broker, said last week it has signed a definitive agreement to merge with Billing-Horn, Cerritos, Calif., which would operate as a separate business unit called Advantage Billings. The merger, scheduled to close Dec. 31, would create the largest retail food brokerage in the southern California-southern Nevada markets, according to Sonny King, chairman and chief executive officer of Advantage.
DAIRY FARM INTERNATIONAL, Hong Kong, last week said it will close its Taiwanese drug store chain, Mannings, in January. The company closed 20 units this year, leaving 39 still in operation. Officials said the chain has lost $8 million on sales of $40 million this year. Dairy Farm's 97-store Wellcome supermarket chain will not be affected, the company said.
