Homeland rebuilds image

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ Homeland Stores are trying to rebuild the company's image since emerging from bankruptcy in 2002. <br/><br/>Chief Executive Officer Darryl Fitzgerald says the company has spent

Saturday, February 26th 2005, 3:18 pm

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ Homeland Stores are trying to rebuild the company's image since emerging from bankruptcy in 2002.

Chief Executive Officer Darryl Fitzgerald says the company has spent six-million dollars upgrading front-end systems over the last year. An additional 12-million dollars was spent on the stores themselves.

The company also has purchased grocery stores in Cleveland, Guthrie, Ardmore, Mustang and Shawnee.

Homeland recently closed stores in Tulsa and Pawhuska.

At one time, Homeland had nearly 90 stores in Oklahoma, but many were closed in 1995. Now, the company owns 45 stores in the state and has 22-hundred employees.

Associated Wholesale Grocers of Kansas City, Missouri, bought the company in June 2002 for 47-million dollars.