Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, April 6, 1991 TAG: 9104060191
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-10 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Directors of the business, owned by the Globman and Greene families, decided to close because "consumer demand has substantially eroded and the downward trend may continue," said Barry Greene, the president. The outlook is uncertain at best, he added.
Closing of the four stores, planned after their merchandise is cleared out, will eliminate almost 300 full and part-time jobs. The main store in Martinsville has 170 workers; 49 are at Galax; 58 at Danville and 15 at a specialty store, Lots of Labels, in Winston-Salem.
Greene said the employees were given a 60-day notice and an opportunity to convert from a self-funding health plan to one of three other plans. The company's pension and profit-sharing plans are intact, he said, and Globman's is working with the Virginia Employment Commission on placing the store employees in other jobs.
The closing of the 75,000-square-foot store in Martinsville will leave 170,000 square feet of vacant space in neighboring buildings. Sidney's and Leggett have closed nearby stores.
Greene said the vacant space may lead Martinsville City Council to reconsider its decision to table a proposal that would change downtown zoning to permit light industry.
The third-generation company was started in 1915 by Greene's grandfather, Abraham Goldman, and the Galax store was opened by his brother-in-law, Nathan Potolsky, in 1929.
The company will be able to pay its creditors in full, he said. - Staff report
by CNB