Warehouse Management

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Spartan Stores, Inc. has completed an amendment to its existing financing agreement with Congress Financial (a subsidiary of Wachovia Corp.) and terminated its Supplemental Secured Credit Facility with Kimco Realty Corp.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The Penn Traffic Co. said it will sell its five warehouse distribution centers for $37 million and emerge from bankruptcy during the first quarter of 2005, according to published reports.

DALLAS - La Familia Distributors, Inc., a privately held company that sells Hispanic foods and consumer products, has announced plans to open six "club stores" in North Texas in 2005, according to published reports.

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - AutoCart, LLC, based here, said it plans to roll out the world's first "drive-through supercenter" format, a 130,000-square-foot facility equipped to deliver more than 25,000 SKUs directly to consumers in their cars. The first of the supercenters, designed with 60 ordering/pickup stations, are projected to open in December 2005 in Albuquerque, N.M. and Tucson, Ariz., according to AutoCart.

BATON ROUGE, La. - Associated Grocers said last week that it planned to increase its warehouse and distribution center here by nearly 20 percent, an expansion that will permit its 300-plus member stores in Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Texas to carry a broader assortment of meats, grocery, and dairy products, according to published reports.

MONTVALE, N.J. -- The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, Inc. initiated what it terms the next step of a reorganization that began in early November to reduce overhead costs by about $50 million in fiscal 2005, and $25 million in fiscal 2006.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. - Price Chopper, a 42-store banner of Associated Wholesale Grocers, is reporting tremendous response to its 'KC's Heroes' program to send "comfort items" items to troops from the Kansas City metro area who are serving in Iraq. As Price Chopper matches all donations item for item, the more than two tons of items so far collected translates to over four tons total.

LAKELAND, Fla. - Building on plans to expand its distribution capacity, Publix Super Markets, Inc. here said it would construct a perishable warehouse and distribution center in Punta Gorda, Fla.