Stop & Shop plans to close “underperforming” stores in the coming years.
The Massachusetts-based company has nearly 400 stores in five states: also New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Rhode Island.
The store closures were announced during its parent company. Ahold Delhaize’s ‘Strategy Day’ last week, where it outlined a four-year plan for its brands.
“Stop & Shop has already evaluated its overall portfolio and will make difficult decisions to close underperforming stores to create a healthy long-term store base and grow the brand,” said JJ Fleeman, CEO of Ahold Delhaize.
He said that despite strong competition for location, the retailer has strong market share and has seen its rewards program and online sales grow.
Stop & Shop, with 400 stores in the northeast, will close “underperforming” stores
But he added: “That’s not enough and it’s not where we want or need to be.”
It has “remodeled” 190 stores and plans to spend $1 billion on more improvements and price cuts to attract shoppers.
Stop & Shop stores are between 55,000 and 75,000 square feet, the standard size of an American supermarket.
That’s larger than a Walmart Neighborhood Market at about 40,000 square feet, but dwarfed by a Walmart Supercenter at 180,000 square feet.
When asked which stores will be closed, Stop & Shop declined to provide details. “It is too early in the process to share additional information regarding potential store closures,” the company said in response to a query from WBZ-TV.
Looking ahead, Fleeman also talked about Stop & Shop’s “next phase.”
It will include “a focus on quality, fresh produce, well-stocked shelves, increased supply chain efficiencies and fantastic service in each of its stores.”
Meanwhile, other major retailers are launching summer deals on groceries to help inflation-hit shoppers.
Walmart, Aldi, Target and Amazon Fresh have announced price cuts on thousands of food and grocery items.
Stop & Shop’s planned closures come amid a widespread “retail apocalypse” as brick-and-mortar stores struggle to combat rampant theft and increasingly tight margins.
By the end of April, US retailers had announced the closure of nearly 2,600 stores in 2024, just four months into the year.
Walmart, which closed eight in 2024.
In early April, dollar store 99 Cents Only said it would close ALL of its 371 stores, while Best Buy closed ten. in March.
Stop & Shop declined to provide details on which of its 400 stores will close.
dollar tree is closing 1,000, Macy’s 150 -a third of its total- and pharmacy Help Rite 77.
In recent months, there have been a series of bankruptcies in addition to store closures.
National luxury coffee and grocery chain Foxtrot also said in early April that it will close all of its stores with immediate effect, leaving staff and customers stunned.
Express, a mall staple, filed for bankruptcy in April and said it would close 95 Express outlets along with all of its UpWest stores.
In early May, Rue21, the teen fashion chain that is a fixture in malls across the United States, also said it would close all of its 543 U.S. stores.
