Hacketts, WiseBuys merger is finalized By DAVID WINTERS TIMES STAFF WRITER Thursday, November 08, 2007 OGDENSBURG — The merger of WiseBuys with Hacketts department stores was finalized Wednesday with a few pen strokes. All the stores soon will bear the Hacketts name. "We will have the same high quality and high level service that Hacketts is known for," WiseBuys Chief Financial Officer Thomas W. Scozzafava said. The acquisition called for a $1.5 million payment at closing and additional payments of $4.5 million to be made over eight years to Hacketts. The agreement also allows for Hackett family members to retain their management positions, as well as Norman V. Garrelts, president and chief executive officer of Hacketts. The conversion will take place over the next year, along with looking at expansion opportunities around the state. The merger has been in the works for more than a year. Originally, Hacketts was to acquire WiseBuys. But Hacketts had trouble securing financing for the deal, which led to this arrangement. Hacketts is a 177-year-old retailer with stores in Ogdensburg, Potsdam, Canton, Watertown and Massena. The store, also known as Patrick Hackett Hardware Co., has been a True Value hardware store but has added inventory over the past decade to convert its image into more of a department store. WiseBuys was started in 2003 by Joseph G. LaChausse, Assemblywoman Dierdre K. Scozzafava and her brother, Mr. Scozzafava, to provide merchandise to communities left without access to basic goods when the Ames chain closed all of its stores. WiseBuys has stores in Gouverneur, Canton, Pulaski, Hamilton and Tupper Lake. The WiseBuys chain has agreements with several vendors, including KB Toys, Radio Shack and Payless Shoe Source. Those agreements, with the merger completed, will be investigated to see how they can fit into the Hacketts business model, Mr. Scozzafava said. The five WiseBuys stores will be retrofitted to resemble Hacketts stores. The company headquarters will be in Ogdensburg. Both companies have stores in Canton, with WiseBuys in the University Shopping Center and Hacketts in the Midtown Shopping Center. The University Shopping Center will become the lone Canton location because of the larger space, Mr. Garrelts said. The Hackett family owns the Midtown Shopping Center space and hasn't decided whether to sell or lease the space to another entity. |
Thread abonnieren
