ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, July 9, 1996 TAG: 9607090047
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-7 EDITION: METRO
Phar-Mor, which in 1995 emerged from three years of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, also said it plans to open two new stores in Pennsylvania by early next year.
The Youngstown-based company didn't provide any cost estimate for the improvements and expansion or say whether they would affect earnings.
Phar-Mor said it will reduce the size of 40 to 50 of its stores from the current 51,000 square feet to between 35,000 and 40,000 square feet, making them more efficient and less expensive to run. The chain, which operates a store in Roanoke, did not identify which stores would be remodeled.
``The gains we achieve from efficiencies such as smaller stores, fewer items, faster inventory turnover and lower overhead and distribution costs can be reinvested into the business,'' Phar-Mor President David Schwartz said in a statement.
The redesigned stores will have color codes to separate merchandise into three categories - purple for general merchandise, green for food and beauty, and blue for pharmacy products. The remodeling should be completed in about two years, the company said. |-Bloomberg Business News
Farmers face deadline
to apply for subsidies
Farmers who haven't signed up for programs under the 1996 Farm Bill have until Friday to get their applications in or lose any chance of applying again until 2002.
As of June 20, only 43.5 percent of the state's eligible farmers had signed up for the gradually declining annual payments from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The Farm Bill provides for a seven-year phase-out of federal crop subsidy programs in return for ending government control of crop production. Farmers are eligible for the payments even if they haven't received subsidy payments in the past, as long as they have reported their crop acreage for corn, grain sorghum, wheat, barley or oats to their county Farm Service Agency office at least once in the past six years.
Many cattle and dairy farmers could receive the payments for the the first time because the program no longer imposes restrictions on haying or grazing or requirements to leave certain fields fallow.
Donald Davis, state director of the USDA Farm Service Agency, said he thinks 90 percent of the state's 31,585 eligible farmers could sign up for the subsidies before the enrollment period ends. The agency is making an effort to get the word out to farmers, including calling them individually, according to the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation.
Fryda Powell, executive director of the Roanoke County FSA office, urged farmers who have doubts about their eligibility to apply before the deadline and have their eligibility determined later. Davis said the value of a farmer's land may be hurt if he doesn't enroll in the program. A farm enrolled in the program may be legally combined with another enrolled farm but not with a farm not in the program, he said. Additionally, bankers consider government payments with other income when deciding to approve loans, he said.
Farms need to be signed up to the program for the benefit of the current farmer or a future owner, Powell said. The owner of a farm that is leased to someone else, can sign up for the program if the person leasing the farm refuses to, she said. |-Staff report
Small-business
conference planned
Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Abingdon, will be host of a 9th District small-business conference Monday at the Ramada Inn in Wytheville.
The morning program includes a panel on funding business start-ups and expansions and another on how small businesses can get help with training and writing business plans. Afternoon topics include funding sources, using Virginia Tech as a resource and technical assistance for small businesses.
Registration deadline is today. A $15 registration charge includes lunch and conference materials. To register, call Boucher's office at (540) 628-1145. |-Staff report
Dominion Resources
combines stock plans
RICHMOND - Dominion Resources Inc. said Monday it has consolidated its customer stock purchase and dividend reinvestment plans into a single entity, ``Dominion Direct Investment.''
The plan allows customers to buy shares twice monthly and retrieve dividend income more easily. By 1997, participants will be able to establish a computer link with the company through their bank accounts.
``Individual shares are the backbone of our company," said Linwood R. Robertson, senior vice president. "We're making this move to provide them with more flexibility in using their Dominion stock accounts, which they'll still be able to open or to grow by directly purchasing shares from us, without using a broker. Our changes are also helping us to improve our own efficiency and lower costs in administering our stock programs,'' he said.
Details of the plan have been mailed to nearly 250,000 shareholders. It is open to investors nationwide on a no-load basis. |-Associated Press
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