within 90 days.
Like he had done so many times before, Earl Cobb carried a package out to a woman’s car in the parking lot of Apex in Warwick — gently placing it in the trunk.
“Have a nice day,” he told her.
Rhode Island's Market Has Changed. Developers, Builders, Investors and Sellers Must Change With It.
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But last Tuesday was not such a nice day for Cobb – or hundreds of his Apex co-workers. The great majority of them learned that within 90 days they would join the ranks of Rhode Island’s unemployed.
On Tuesday (Jan. 23) the rumors that had been floating around for weeks came to a head. Apex — a retail giant with stores in Pawtucket, Warwick and Swansea — would be closing the Warwick and Swansea facilities, in the midst of downsizing and consolidating operations in Pawtucket. And the Pawtucket store will also be hit hard, with perhaps 20 or 30 employees remaining in a newly formatted and remarkably slimmed down Apex.
The company’s tire center in Warwick will also close. The Pawtucket tire center will remain open for the time being. Apex may sub-lease a portion of the 94,000 square-foot Pawtucket facility and is still considering what to do with the 100,000 square-foot facilities in Warwick and Swansea.
Like the former Outlet Company, Apex had become a retail landmark of sorts. Founded in 1924 by Albert Pilavin as Apex Tire & Rubber Company on Westminster Street in Providence, the stores that followed were to become known for quality merchandise and quality service.
Pilavin named his company Apex because his initials were A.P. and he liked the meaning of the “apex,” synonymous with reaching the highest level or being the best.
There was little you couldn’t find at an Apex store, whether it was a refrigerator, mattress, toaster-oven or a pair of shoes.
Uncertainty abounds
For 32 years Apex treated him like a family member, said Cobb. For most of that time, he sold cameras and camera equipment. If you are a Rhode Islander, you may very well have met him once or twice.
Cobb went about his business last Tuesday. He has at most 90 days before facing an uncertain employment future. He plans to keep working, but acknowledges that it is likely to be with another company.
But there was no sadness in Cobb’s voice – no bitterness. He was standing in the parking lot off Route 5 in Warwick — no managers nearby, no press release at his fingertips. Perhaps fittingly, there were few cars in the parking lot.
“It’s been an honor to work for this company,” he said. “It’s like my family.”
Cobb then turned, and returned to work. Inside, there was no chaos. The well stocked merchandise shined. A manager declined a reporter’s request for an interview, politely asking that the reporter “be considerate.”
“I’ve got a line of people back there to talk to,” he said. “They come first. This is personal.”
News that the majority of about 400 Apex employees would be losing their jobs comes on the heels of news that Ann & Hope, another local retail icon, was closing its stores in Seekonk, Danvers, North Dart-mouth, and Water-town, Massachusetts and down-sizing operations significantly in Cumberland and Warwick, Rhode Island.
The restructuring and downsizing at Apex is as dramatic.
Of the 400 workers, about 250 are now full-time and 150 part-time. About 20 or 30 will remain as part of the new entity, according to Mike Dvorin, the company’s vice president of merchandising. Those displaced will receive separation packages, he said.According to a company statement released January 23, Apex is undergoing a “major restructuring” that would include an increased emphasis on the company’s At-Home division and its e-commerce business, apexstores.com.
The company’s e-commerce site went live in 1996.
The At-Home division includes such items as small appliances and cookware. They will continue to be sold out of the Pawtucket facility, Dvorin said.
In the same release, Andrew Gates, the company’s president, said; “Today’s changing retail landscape necessitated a hard look at where the best growth potential for our company would be, based on our analysis of the performance of each of our divisions. What we found was that a strong focus on our core At-Home business coupled with our on-line division provided the best opportunity to continue to serve our customers in Rhode Island and beyond via the Internet. The reality is, our Internet sales have grown significantly in just a short period of time, while our At-Home division sales have also shown significant increases”
Gates continued; “The sad and difficult part of that decision is that we have to make serious changes in the way we have done business for the past 75 years. Unfortunately, that means a majority of our team members will no longer physically be with Apex, but will forever hold a special place in the history of our company.”
Wealth gap widens
Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy, who has an office within walking distance of the Pawtucket Apex, immediately requested federal assistance from the U.S. Department of Labor for Apex workers. Just three weeks ago, Kennedy sent a similar request following news that 1,400 Ann & Hope workers would soon be unemployed.
Henry Shelton, a community activist who runs the George A. Wiley Center in Pawtucket, said the closing of Ann & Hope and Apex is simply indicative of an increasingly troubling aspect of the economy.
Shelton worries when he hears of federal and state tax breaks, fearing that more money will be stripped from critical social programs. Shelton points out that even those workers who find new jobs may be forced to work for less, causing serious problems for families struggling to make ends meet.
“The gap is getting wider,” he said. “More and more working people are going to struggle and some people have never had it so good.”
Ann & Hope and Apex were not alone in delivering sobering retail news in recent weeks.
Braintree, Massachusetts-headquartered discount chain Bradlees has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and expects to liquidate assets over the next two months. The company has 9,800 employees, primarily in the Northeast.
After 128 years in business, Chicago-based Montgomery Ward & Company will cease operations in 30 states, closing 250 stores and displacing 28,000 workers.
And even the largest retailers have run into trouble: Sears Roebuck and Company has announced the closing of 89 stores and the elimination of 2,400 jobs and J.C. Penney Company Inc. has reported same-store sales at its department stores fell 1.6 percent during the month of December. Target Corporation has reported that sales at its stores open at least one year fell 0.1 percent in December from a year ago.
In fact, J.C. Penney Co. followed those sales numbers with news that it would close 50 department stores throughout the country. It is also shutting down several Eckerd drug stores.
J.C. Penney is one of the anchors at Warwick Mall. It also has a store in Westerly at the Franklin Shopping Plaza.
Tim Lyons, a company spokesman, said that the Rhode Island stores are not among those being closed.
“I can confirm for you that the Rhode Island stores are not affected,” he said.
