SPARTAN ELIMINATES 34 CSM POSITIONS AT FOOD TOWN STORES

DAVID GHITELMAN

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Spartan Stores here said last week that it has eliminated the customer service manager position at its Food Town stores, a Toledo, Ohio-area banner with approximately 40 units, a move that has resulted in the dismissal of 34 managers.

Jeanne Norcross, a Spartan spokeswoman, told SN, "We took a look at the customer service management position we created a year ago and decided there was no future need for this position.

"We looked at our entire pool of management personnel and determined it would be more appropriate to have a store director and assistant store director in management positions and to more fully use front-line associates to do customer service."

Norcross also said Spartan begun making the 12 store closings it first announced in late July. The closings include six Food Town stores and four Pharm stores (the company's deep-discount pharmacy banner), all 10 in the Toledo area, as well as a Family Fare Supermarket, Lowell, Mich., and a Glen's Market, Mount Pleasant, Mich.