Shopko completes conversion of acquired Pamida Stores

Green Bay, Wis. -- Shopko announced it has completed the conversion of 163 Pamida stores making it one of the largest U.S. retailers focused on serving smaller and rural communities. It was a year ago that Shopko and Pamida first announced their intent to merge the two companies and convert the existing Pamida locations to the Shopko Hometown store format. One year later, the conversion of the last group of Pamida stores is now complete with the final 36 stores celebrating their official grand openings as Shopko Hometown.



Shopko invested a total of $70 million into efforts to convert the Pamida stores to the Shopko Hometown format.



Shopko currently operates 176 Shopko Hometown stores, a significant jump from just 10 at this time last year.



The Shopko Hometown format combines pharmacy services with a broad and dynamic offering of strong national brands and high-value private label brands of apparel, toys, consumer electronics, seasonal items, and lawn and garden products – all in attractive, well laid out, easy-to-shop store formats that range from 15,000 to 35,000 square feet.



“2012 was a watershed year for Shopko as a result of the merger with Pamida, which significantly increased our store count, employee base and overall revenue. Our team did an exceptional job of integrating the two companies into one and staying on an aggressive schedule for the store conversion efforts. All 163 stores were converted and opened on time," said Mike Bettiga, Shopko interim CEO and COO.



As the company moves into 2013 and beyond, it is solidifying the Shopko Hometown brand and opening more Hometown stores in new communities, Bettiga said.