Andersons stores to still accept gift cards

Company stopped selling them Monday

1/18/2017

The Andersons General Store in Maumee will be closed this spring, but the company will still honor gift cards in the meantime.

THE BLADE
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As Toledo area consumers mourn the impending closure of the area’s two general stores owned by The Andersons Inc., company officials have been engaged wrestling with issues customers may face over the next five months before the stores shut.

The stores will continue to honor gift cards as long as they remain open, but The Andersons stopped selling gift cards on Monday and a spokesman said the company will encourage customers to use them as soon as possible while there is still a good selection of merchandise available.

Extended warranties purchased for large ticket items are owned and managed by a third party supplier. The company said that if, after the stores are closed, a customer has a claim on an item with an extended warranty, it needs to be made through the third-party vendor that supplied the warranty.

The Andersons, which said Sunday that it was pulling the plug on its two Columbus stores and its Toledo and Maumee stores, putting 1,050 workers out of job, was heavy into home improvement items and custom-order kitchen and bathroom items such as cabinets, sinks, or countertops.

Debra Crow, a company spokesman, said the stores, for the time being, will continue to take custom orders for such projects. “But at some point, we will halt taking orders for kitchens,” she said. “It’s going to be on lead time and how long it takes to get an item.”

Custom items from the company’s bakery and deli will continue to be taken for the next few months, until the company shuts down those specialty food operations.

While The Andersons is closing its four stores, it is not closing its Mower Center at 1220 Ford St. in Maumee. Instead it plans to sell the operation.

“It is a John Deere dealership. Because of that and because of the value of the products they offer, they think it’s marketable and they can sell it to some owner who already has a dealership or who is interested in developing that business,” Ms. Crow said.

The business is still viable, which is why it will be sold, she said.

Contact Jon Chavez at: jchavez@theblade.com or 419-724-6128.