Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 13, 1993 TAG: 9302130080
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SANDRA BROWN KELLY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
ROCKY MOUNT LEGGETT WILL CLOSE IN APRIL
Leggett on Friday said it will close two more of its small-town department stores sometime in April, one in Rocky Mount and another in Lewisburg, W.Va.Attempts will be made to relocate the 18 employees in Rocky Mount to stores in Roanoke and Martinsville, an official said.
However, R. Nick Markham, human resources manager, said only two workers - Kevin Lay, store manager, and Susan Fortney, assistant manager - are guaranteed jobs.
The Lewisburg store has been open 42 years; the Rocky Mount store operated for 40 years.
Employees at the Rocky Mount store represent lengths of services from less than a year up through almost 30 years, Markham said.
Markham was in Rocky Mount most of the day Friday telling employees about the decision. He said the specific closing date in April depends upon how quickly merchandise is sold.
The store is Rocky Mount's largest downtown retailer. Leggett rents the building.
Markham said the Rocky Mount store was not losing money.
There still is a Leggett store in downtown Waynesboro. He said there are no plans to close it. The company closed downtown stores in Covington and Wytheville in December.
Leggett, a family-owned regional retailing chain, has offices in Lynchburg and South Boston. In recent years, the company has been closing small downtown stores and focusing on larger stores in metropolitan shopping centers and malls.
The retailer also experimented with Sunday openings during last Christmas, but closed again on Sundays after the holidays, saying it was going to evaluate the experience.
Markham said no decision on Sunday openings has been made, and he doesn't expect one before midyear.