Lucky Stores said Tuesday that it has named Stanley Brenner, now president of the company's Gemco division, to the new post of Gemco chairman. Samuel J. Parker, currently president of the Dublin, Calif., retailer's automotive division, was appointed president of Gemco.
"The success of Gemco is very important to Lucky," said Lawrence A. Del Santo, president of Lucky. "This change recognizes that importance and the need for shared responsibilities in operating an extremely complex business."
As chairman, Brenner, 60, will continue to have overall responsibility for the division, with emphasis on merchandising, marketing and administration, the company said. Parker, 43, will report to Brenner and be responsible for the stores' day-to-day operations.
The Gemco division, which has 80 membership department stores in California, Arizona and Nevada, has been struggling recently and reported a pretax loss of $11.6 million for the first quarter ended May 4, compared to net pretax income of $1.28 million in the same period the year before. The company attributed the recent results to heavy promotional activity undertaken to stimulate sluggish stales.