Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
ACME confirms stores closing
Towamencin, King of Prussia stores will close by June 8
MALVERN» ACME plans to close three supermarkets in the region by June 8, including two in Montgomery County.
A spokeswoman for the Malvern-based ACME Markets Inc. confirmed Thursday that the ACME supermarkets at 1150 Welsh Road in Towamencin and at 320 W. DeKalb Pike in King of Prussia will close by June 8. A third store in Dover, Del. is also slated to close.
“Like all retailers, we are constantly evaluating our store portfolio and examining every angle of the business. These stores have not met our goals for a number of years,” said Dana Ward, ACME spokeswoman. “We made the decision to deploy the teamand resources to other locations to serve customers.”
Ward could not provide specific information Thursday on the factors that contributed to the decision to close the stores.
Ward added that current employees who would like to continue their employment will have that opportunity. She said company human resources teams will work with employees and the labor unions as the process moves forward.
“Our HR team is deployed in the stores and working with em--
ployees,” Ward added.
The two Montgomery County stores employ 155 associates — 80 at the Towamencin store and 75 at the King of Prussia location.
Pharmacies in each store will close within the next two to three weeks, according to Ward, who added that the stores are in the process of transferring prescriptions to local pharmacies, in accordance with Pennsylvania law.
“Our pharmacists are working diligently with customers to let them know what’s going on,” Ward said. “We have signs up on the front of the stores, and the pharmacists are working to let customers know.”
Ward pointed out that customers can proactively choose a pharmacy to have their prescription transferred to.
“Or, if it’s transferred to a pharmacy the customer doesn’t want to do business with, they can transfer the prescription where they would like,” Ward added.
The 66,518 square foot Welsh Road ACME opened Dec. 5, 1997, while the 57,806 square foot W. DeKalb Pike ACME opened June 30, 1993.
Ward confirmed that both the Towamencin and King of Prussia properties have been sold, but she had no additional details. The store in Dover, Del. was a leased property.
ACME currently has 53 Pennsylvania stores. That number will change to 51 after June 8. The company operates 175 total stores in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, New York, Connecticut and Maryland. That number will be reduced to 172 following the closures.
The company is owned by Boise, Idaho-based Albertsons Companies.