Department store chain files for bankruptcy, will close its last Treasure Valley store
Shopko will close its Nampa store and pharmacy at 2100 Caldwell Blvd., along with over 100 other locations, as the discount department-store chain files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the company said Wednesday.
As a result, 32 full- and part-time employees will lose their jobs, said company spokeswoman Michelle Hansen in phone interview with The Statesman. The closure is expected Monday, April 15.
Two other Treasure Valley Shopko stores are also closing, as previously reported. The West Boise location at 8105 W. Fairview Ave. began liquidation sales in December, and is expected to close on Sunday, March 17. The Broadway Shopko in southeast Boise is expected to close April 8. Shopko reported that it will lay off 100 employees when the Boise stores close.
The three closures will leave the Treasure Valley without any Shopko stores. A Meridian store closed in 2016.
Shopko is transferring any prescriptions filled at its Idaho locations to Kroger-owned stores. In the Treasure Valley, that means Fred Meyer stores.
Shopko is filing bankruptcy and restructuring itself as a result of excessive debt and competition from other discount retailers.
“This decision is a difficult, but necessary one,” Russ Steinhorst, Shopko’s CEO, said in the statement. “In a challenging retail environment, we have had to make some very tough choices, but we are confident that by operating a smaller and more focused store footprint, we will be able to build a stronger Shopko that will better serve our customers, vendors, employees and other stakeholders through this process.”
Shopko operates a regional distribution center on Gowen Road near Interstate 84 in southeast Boise. Hansen said she had no information about what will happen to it.
The Green Bay, Wisconsin, company has 363 stores in 24 states, according to its website. Private equity firm Sun Capital Partners purchased the company for about $1.1 billion in 2005.
