Customers in some areas of the country bid farewell to several grocery store choices this year.
There are few places more important to our weekly routine than the grocery store—and it’s safe to say we all have a preferred spot. Perhaps it is the most handy supermarket. Maybe it’s the supermarket with the most competitive prices. Alternatively, the nearby all-in-one warehouse store could provide a wide range of things to fulfill various home requirements.
No matter what motivates us to visit our preferred grocery store, these important establishments have secured a particular spot on our agenda, maybe even in our affections. However, learning that a store is about to permanently close can disrupt people’s regular weekly schedules.
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2023 has been a year when many buyers have noticed that several retailers have been shutting down. While several supermarkets have closed because they needed to make more money, others have closed without giving their customers any reason. Here are ten prominent grocery chains that have closed stores this year.
Walmart
The largest retailer in the United States bid farewell to twenty-four sites in 2023. The initial set of closures began in February when Walmart declared that it would shut down six locations in four states: Illinois, Wisconsin, New Mexico, and Florida. The company mentioned that the shutdowns were due to its weak financial performance. They also stated that the choice to close a shop is influenced by multiple variables, not just one specific cause.
Throughout the year, more closures occurred, including Walmart closing four more shops in Chicago. “The most basic explanation is that as a whole, our Chicago stores have not been making a profit since we opened the first one almost 17 years ago. These stores lose tens of millions of dollars each year, and their yearly losses have almost doubled in just the past five years,” stated the retailer.
In November, Walmart closed 24 stores in 15 states and Washington D.C., with the most recent closure in Norwalk, Connecticut, last month. According to The Hour, Target is expected to acquire the land, but there has been no additional progress since the plans were disclosed in April.
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Regarding Target, this retail company also saw several store closures in 2023. In March, Target revealed the closure of four small-format locations, stating that the reason was a decrease in the number of people visiting the stores. The impacted areas consisted of a store in Philadelphia, one in Minneapolis, and two near Washington, D.C., all shut down on May 13.
Several months later, Target declared in a statement that it planned to shut down nine stores on October 21. The places consisted of a store in the Harlem section of New York City, two locations in Seattle, three stores in the San Francisco-Oakland region, and three in Portland, Oregon. Target identified theft and organized crime as the reasons for the closures.
Kroger
America’s biggest grocery store chain has changed significantly over the past year. For example, the store stated that it would sell 413 stores to C&S Wholesale Grocers for $2 billion as part of its disputed planned merger with Albertsons.
Before this announcement, Kroger shut down two locations in Ohio: one in East Dayton and another in Riverside. Nevertheless, this did not result in the absence of a Kroger in the Dayton, Ohio, region. The supermarket opened an additional store in Riverside immediately following the closing of these locations.
Regarding in-store operations, Kitchen United, a ghost kitchen operator, said in late November that it would shut down all seven food halls within Kroger. The company stated that it intends to prioritize its software business and did not provide any further explanation for the shutdown of the ghost kitchens.
Sprouts Farmers Market
Despite its intentions to open 30 additional stores by the end of 2023, this grocery company located in Phoenix had to shut down many outlets along the journey. Sprouts stated it would be closing 11 stores in Texas, California, Georgia, Florida, and Washington in March. As per Dan Sanders, the chief store operations officer at Sprouts, these stores were approximately 30% bigger than the grocer’s current prototype and “frequently did not meet expectations.”
The grocery chain initially intended to shut down these stores in 2020 as the company shifted its attention towards a “smaller, more efficient” store model. However, Sprouts finally chose not to shut down those stores when the pandemic struck to offer customers the opportunity to purchase fresh and nutritious groceries.
Whole Foods Market
Whole Foods shut down its Trinity Place store in San Francisco in April, only a year after opening. As to a statement released by Whole Foods and reported by SFGate, the company made this choice to prioritize the well-being of its employees.
The grocery chain did not give any further details about their concerns for employee safety. However, The San Francisco Standard had previously stated that “the company mentioned worsening street conditions due to drug use and crime near the grocery store,” as per a source from City Hall. In October, Whole Foods shut down locations in Toledo, Ohio, and Midtown Houston, Texas.
Amazon Go
Following Amazon’s announcement of its intention to reduce its presence in physical stores, the company has revealed plans to shut down eight current Amazon Go sites. These closures will include two in Seattle, two in New York, and four in San Francisco. The shutdowns occurred on April 1.
“Similar to any brick-and-mortar retailer, we regularly evaluate our collection of stores and make decisions to improve efficiency,” stated an Amazon representative. We are still dedicated to the Amazon Go concept and manage over 20 Amazon Go stores throughout the United States. We will continue to gather information on consumer preferences and adapt our Amazon Go stores accordingly.
Then, in June, Amazon closed its ninth Go store in downtown Seattle. This location was first inaugurated in 2018 and was the second Amazon Go store. The corporation did not explain the shutdown, stating it would not impact other stores. Despite temporarily halting its expansion, Amazon launched a new Go store near Pallyup, Wash., in September.
Aldi
Although Aldi is the grocery company seeing the most rapid growth in America, the bargain retailer closed a few stores this year. In February, Aldi closed two stores—one in North Minneapolis and another in Fort Worth, Texas.
According to The Star Tribune, Aldi shut down its store in North Minneapolis because it couldn’t handle its expanded assortment of products, and the company’s contract ended. Meanwhile, Aldi did not justify closing the Fort Worth, Texas store.
A few weeks later, Aldi shut down another store in the Pittsburgh suburb of Lower Burrell on March 21, only to be replaced with a new store in the nearby town of Kensington, Pennsylvania. After these closures, Aldi also closed stores in Canton, Ohio; Rockford, Ill.; and Bethlehem Township, Pa..
Lidl
Lidl, a German retailer, launched its initial store in the United States in 2017 and grew to over 170 sites. Nevertheless, these retail expansions have only occurred with some reductions. In mid-July, the European supermarket announced the closure of 11 stores in North and South Carolina, New Jersey, Maryland, and Pennsylvania.
A Lidl representative told Winsight Grocery Business that these were “underperforming locations,” adding that the closures enable the firm to focus on stores that are closer and more convenient for customers and where they are “seeing significant growth.”
End & Purchase
At the start of the year, Stop & Shop shut down its Flatbush, Brooklyn store—and several other closures ensued. The supermarket chain from the northeastern region closed a shop in Highland Park, N.J., in March because it was not meeting financial expectations, as reported by New Jersey 101.5. In the same way, Stop & Shop shut down a shop in the Glennville area of Greenwich, Conn., in April, as it could not fulfill its financial goals.
ShopRite
The grocery cooperative in the northeastern region closed several locations in 2023. In July, the retailer shut down a store in East Norrinton, Pa., a site that a new Acme store eventually replaced. In December, ShopRite shut down five stores in the Capital Region near Albany, New York. The impacted stores were Albany, Colonie, Niskayuna, Slingerlands, and North Greenbush.
Per the company’s statement, these stores needed to meet expectations, and ShopRite has been unable to maintain the required sales level to continue running the stores.
The grocery chain intends to shut down another New York store, namely one in Ellenville, by October 2024. Similar to the other recent closures in New York, ShopRite stated that it lacks “adequate sales” to sustain operations at this particular shop.