Home
News Categories:   Top Headlines |  Business |  International |  Sports |  Entertainment |  Science |  Health |  Strange  
 
Email this News Story to a Friend
Fleming May Sell Wholesale Grocery Unit


06:01 PM EST June 13, 2003
The Associated Press


DALLAS

Bankrupt Fleming Cos. said Friday it is considering selling its wholesale grocery business, traditionally the core of its operations, and will shut down units in three states.

Interim chief executive Pete Willmott said the company is considering offers from potential buyers of its Core-Mark subsidiary, which has continued to generate cash flow since Fleming's April 1 bankruptcy filing. Fleming paid $430 million last year for San Francisco-based Core-Mark, which supplies convenience stores, and a smaller distributor in Georgia.

Fleming, based in Lewisville, Texas, said it is making progress in talks with vendors to provide goods to its customers, and that a $200 million credit line could help bolster operations.

In the short-term, the company plans to revamp its grocery wholesale business by focusing on profitable units and closing others. The company said Friday it would close units in Geneva, Ala., Lafayette, La. and Superior, Wis. by the end of July.

The closings will affect about 550 employees, the company said.

Fleming has been hard hit by trouble at its biggest customer, Kmart Corp. Before its bankruptcy, Fleming operated more than 100 stores; 27 have since been closed.

The Texas Workforce Commission said Fleming notified it earlier this week that it was planning to lay off 183 employees in Garland, where it operates a distribution center.

 
E-mail this News Story to a Friend