Save Mart completes changes, layoffs

Save Mart Supermarkets has completed a major organizational restructuring, eliminating 36 mostly upper management positions.

In a statement released last week, the company announced the changes and layoffs, which range from vice president positions to clerks across all corporate and support departments. The cuts, called unprecedented "in the history of Save Mart Supermarkets," were made in response to the weak economy.

"As difficult as these changes were for our Save Mart family, we know they will ensure the future success of the company and enable us to provide even greater overall value to our loyal customers," said Save Mart director of public affairs and communications Alicia Rockwell in an e-mail interview with The Bee.

Modesto-based Save Mart Supermarkets owns and operated more than 240 stores in Northern California and northern Nevada under the Save Mart, S-Mart Foods, Lucky and FoodMaxx names.

Among those employees let go were veteran Save Mart Vice President Cecil Russell, who was in charge of strategic development and had long been one of the public faces of the company. He said most of the eliminated jobs were corporate management and vice presidential positions.

The restructuring included promoting Frank Capps, the former vice president of operations for FoodMaxx and the corporate center store, to the newly created position of executive vice president and chief sales officer. He will oversee oversee marketing, merchandising and operations.

The changes announced Friday came as a result of a companywide department analysis and job review project starting in March 2009. The review was originally part of Save Mart's 2007 acquisition of 130 Albertsons in California and Nevada.

"Our internal review of our business structure and processes has been ongoing since the 2007 acquisition with the depressed economy being an added factor in driving down costs," Rockwell said. "The goal is to provide the right balance of support to our stores with no impact to our customers' shopping experience."

Save Mart has some 19,000 employees across the company. The 36 laid-off workers were offered severance packages and outplacement services.

Russell, who has been with the company for 24 years, said the economy forced the company to reexamine its business model.

"I am a very loyal Save Mart employee, and I've had a great relationship with the company all these years. They have been very good to me for a long period of time," he said. "Whatever they did was tough for the company to do. But they had to do what they had to do for these times."

Founded in 1952, Save Mart acquired the Northern California and Nevada Albertsons stores in February 2007. In July of that year, it renamed 72 of those Bay Area locations Lucky and the rest of the California sites Save Mart.

In early 2009, the company eliminated 50 of its then 21,000 jobs. The reduction came out of the Albertsons acquisition. At the time, those cuts marked the first time the company had to reduce corporate and support services employees.

Rockwell said the current changes will improve the company's operational efficiency and market strength.

"For our customers, nothing will change," she said. "Our stores will continue to provide the high level of service they have come to expect. Save Mart Supermarkets has been part of Northern California communities for over 58 years and look forward to continuing that tradition for many years to come."

Bee staff writer Marijke Rowland can be reached at mrowland@modbee.com or 578-2284.