Hy-Vee is delaying the timeline for a distribution center in Austin, Minn.
Hy-Vee delays Austin distribution center, makes plan for Twin Cities fulfillment center
The changes are due to customers looking for faster, fresher options, the company said.
November 2, 2017 at 2:34AM
The company had planned to break ground on the site in 2019, but it issued a statement Wednesday that said it will "evaluate the need for a third distribution center within the next several years."
The Des Moines-based company now operates distribution centers in Cherokee and Chariton, both in Iowa.
The company also said it is adjusting its growth strategy to include stores that are both smaller and larger than the 90,000-square-foot stores it has built in recent years.
A new concept, called Fast & Fresh, will be about 10,000 square feet and offer grocery items, grab-and-go foods and a coffee shop. It will start with locations in Des Moines and Altoona, Iowa. The company did not say when the concept might come to Minnesota.
The company will also develop stores larger than 90,000 square feet but didn't immediately announce any locations for them.
It is adding production facilities to accommodate the new formats. A new 240,000-square-foot facility in Ankeny, Iowa, will serve as a commissary and central bakery for grab-and-go foods. A new 48,000-square-foot facility in Chariton, Iowa, will produce fresh-cut fruits and vegetables for retail stores beginning in January.
With a goal of bringing fresher products to customers faster, Hy-Vee will add a fulfillment center in the Twin Cities in upcoming years for online orders. Omaha and the Kansas City area will also get fulfillment centers.
Financial woes continue to loom over downtown St. Paul’s largest property owner, currently embroiled in litigation for millions of dollars in debt. The company’s founder and longtime principal, Jim Crockarell, died early this year and left more than a dozen properties to his wife, Rosemary Kortgard.
