Continuing its path of growth, Green Bay-based Shopko announced today the opening of 20 new Shopko Hometown stores.
The company recently acquired rights to occupy the 20 stores, which were previously operated by Alco Stores Inc. Grand openings are planned for late March in the stores, which are scattered throughout Colorado, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas and Utah.
The Shopko Hometown retail format, developed over the past five years to augment Shopko’s larger store model and focus on serving the needs of smaller rural communities, provides a range of national brands and high-value private label brands of apparel, home furnishings, toys, consumer electronics, seasonal items, grocery department and lawn and garden products.
“We’re eager to get the Alco store conversion process underway and start to bring Shopko Hometown to more communities,” said Shopko chief executive officer Peter McMahon. “We’ve received overwhelmingly positive feedback from our customers in our current hometown communities who tell us they appreciate the improved shopping experience and access to a broader, differentiated selection of merchandise, including products and brands previously not available in their community.”
The conversion to Shopko Hometown will include a mix of new interior and exterior signage, carpet, paint, updated and supplement fixtures and lighting, improved store design and layout, as well as an expanded merchandise mix.
Once the addition of these 20 stores is complete, the company plans to accelerate the addition of new Shopko Hometown stores in the second half of 2015 and into 2016. There will be no change to Shopko’s current 178 Hometown stores.
Shopko is owned by an affiliate of Sun Capital Partners, Inc., a leading private investment firm focused on leverage buyouts, equity, debt, and other investments in market-leading companies.
