PHAR-MOR Closings include New Castle store

Nearly all of Phar-Mor's remaining stores will be in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and North Carolina.
By DON SHILLING
VINDICATOR BUSINESS EDITOR
YOUNGSTOWN -- Phar-Mor is closing its New Castle store, but eight area stores will remain open.
The Youngstown-based discount drugstore chain announced this morning which of its 139 stores it intends to close in an attempt to restructure operations. The store closings must be approved by U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Youngstown.
Phar-Mor intends to keep these stores open: Austintown, Howland, Niles, Poland, Youngstown, Liberty, Boardman and Hermitage.
David Schwartz, Phar-Mor president, said the store closings will allow the company to focus on stores in a concentrated geographic area.
"Decisions to close stores are never easy, but we are confident restructuring our business in this way makes sense," he said.
Bankruptcy protection: Phar-Mor filed for protection from creditors under federal bankruptcy laws Sept. 24 as it ran into credit problems with suppliers.
As part of its attempt to restructure, it said it would close 65 of its 139 stores. Phar-Mor has locations in 24 states.
With court approval, liquidation sales will begin at stores that are closing Oct. 11. Customer prescriptions that are filled at those stores will be transferred to nearby pharmacies.
Phar-Mor said it intends to focus on operating the 74 remaining stores, which each average more than $10 million in annual sales.
States involved: All but seven of the stores being kept open are in Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Virginia. Phar-Mor also is keeping one store in West Virginia, two in Indiana, three in Illinois and one in Florida.
Phar-Mor is closing stores in New York and New Jersey, where it has 20 locations, as well as in states where it had a minimal presence. It has one store in Missouri and two in Colorado, for example.
Phar-Mor said in a news release that it plans to return to profitability by reducing overhead and increasing in-store promotions.
All Phar-Mor stores will implement a "Power Buy" program that has been tested at stores in Youngstown and Pittsburgh, the company said. This program will provide discounts on certain items on a rotating basis, the company said.
shilling@vindy.com