ALLENDALE TOWNSHIP, Mich. -- Spartan Stores Inc. is set to begin construction on a new Family Fare Supermarket in Allendale, Township, Mich., that will be the prototype for future stores, reported The Grand Rapids Press.
The Family Fare will incorporate all features to be seen in future stores: a Quick Stop gas station with convenience store and a drive-up pharmacy, company spokesperson Jeanne Norcross told the paper.
A groundbreaking ceremony for the nearly 49,000-square-foot supermarket took place on Thursday at Allendale Christian [image-nocss] School. The project includes 12,000 square feet of other retail space, added the report.
As reported in CSP Daily News in October 2006, during its fiscal 2006, the company opened three fuel centers in Michigan operating under the banners Family Fare Quick Stop and Glen's Quick Stop. Spartan Stores currently operates a total of six fuel centers. Prototypical Quick Stop stores are approximately 900 square feet in size and are located adjacent to its supermarkets.
The school, which is to be demolished, is the site of the new store. A new, $4.2 million school to be built behind the new Family Fare, and both will open in fall 2007.
The existing Family Fare store there is on property leased to Spartan Stores by Pierc Roon, who is Allendale Township treasure, said the report. The lease runs until July 2008, and Spartan Stores has not indicated when it will vacate, Roon told the newspaper.
The new store will have 60% more retail space and feature Energy Star certificationa government-backed program with energy-efficiency specifications for lighting and heating.
Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Spartan Stores Inc. has also announced that is board has approved executive management promotions and changes to its management structure.
Dennis Eidson, executive vice president of marketing and merchandising, has been appointed to the newly created position of executive vice president and COO. In this position, he will lead the marketing, merchandising and retail operations for Spartan Stores' entire network of 87 retail stores and independent distribution customers.
The new structure integrates oversight responsibility for enterprisewide marketing and merchandising, and retail operations under a single position. The change provides comprehensive oversight of the company's entire retail and distribution operations, provides for more efficient and effective planning and strategy execution and will help expedite the decision-making process on critical retail functions.
Reporting directly to Eidson will be Ted Adornato, executive vice president of retail operations, Alan Hartline, senior vice president of corporate merchandising. Hartline, formerly vice president of center store merchandising, was appointed to the newly created position of senior vice president corporate of merchandising. In the new position, Hartline will lead merchandising strategies for the company's retail and distribution divisions. Reporting directly to Hartline will be Brian Haaraoja in his new position as vice president of center store merchandising.
The newly created positions and reporting structure will allow us to better accommodate our continued growth, said Craig C. Sturken, Spartan's chairman, president and CEO. "Moreover, the changes will help streamline the critical strategic decision-making process and provide a more fully-integrated management structure and oversight that incorporates all key elements of our business. The new management structure allows us to be a more nimble distribution and retail organization, which enhances our ability to respond quickly and effectively to changes in consumer behavior.
Spartan Stores is a major grocery distributor with warehouse facilities in Grand Rapids and Plymouth, Mich. It distributes more than 40,000 private-label and national brand products to 350 independent grocery stores in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana. Spartan Stores also owns and operates 68 retail supermarkets and 19 deep-discount food and drug stores in Michigan and Ohio, including Family Fare Supermarkets, Glen's Markets, D&W Fresh Markets and The Pharm.
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