February 14, 2019 600 AM
ALPINE- Five more Shopko stores across West Texas are closing their doors for good, including the Hometown Shopko in Alpine, the company has announced in its latest round of closures.
Shopko announced the closure of its Presidio store in December with its final day being open on March 2.
In addition the Alpine store, the Wisconsin-based retail company plans to close its West Texas locations in Andrews, Monahans, and Kermit.
Last December, the Presidio International reported the initial stages of Shopko’s closing, including the closure of dozens of stores in over 19 states across the country, as well as the Presidio location, merely two years after opening its doors in the border community. This announcement came before Shopko filed volunteer petitions for a court-supervised financial restructuring under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code last month.
The company, which was founded in 1962, cited excess debt and ongoing competitive pressures in their filing. The process, which Shopko calls “Financial Restructuring,” is “intended to implement paths forward to enhance profitability and growth profiles”, according to Shopko’s official statement. The company states that it is “seeking to facilitate the restructuring as a result of excess debt and ongoing competitive pressures”.
“This decision is a difficulty, but necessary one”, said Russ Steinhorst, Chief Executive Officer. “In a challenging retail environment, we have gad to make some very tough choices, but we are confident that by operating a smaller and more focused store footprint, we will be able to build a stronger Shopko that will better serve our customers, vendors, employees and other stakeholders through this process.”
Shopko has announced that it will be closing an additional 38 stores, relocating 20 Optical centers to freestanding locations, and conducting an auction process for its pharmacy business. During the bankruptcy process, Shopko hopes to restructure its finances, stating on its website that it will continue to operate some locations.
Shopko is also filing customary first day motions that, once approved by the court, will allow the company to smoothly transition its business into Chapter 11, including, among other things, granting authority to pay wages, salaries, benefits, and pay vendors and suppliers in the ordinary course for authorized goods and services provided on or after the filing date.
The stores set to close have begun liquidation sales, according to the company, and are set to close in the coming months. Most of the locations set to close are Shopko Hometown stores — the branch of the chain aimed at serving smaller communities. Additional information is available on the Company’s website at http://info.shopko.com.
