The announcement was made during its parent company Ahold Delhaize's “Strategy Day,” where a four-year plan for its brands was outlined. Ahold Delhaize CEO JJ Fleeman said: "Stop & Shop has already evaluated its overall portfolio and will make difficult decisions to close underperforming stores to create a healthy store base for the long term and grow the brand."
According to him, despite strong location competition the retailer has a strong market share and has seen its rewards program and online sales grow. But Fleeman added: "That's not enough and it's not where we want to be or need to be."
The CEO also mentioned during the Strategy Day that the grocery chain will focus on "quality, fresh products, well-stocked shelves, further supply chain efficiency, and fantastic service in each of its stores." Fleeman subsequently described this as the "next phase" for Stop & Shop.
The company based in Massachusetts has almost 400 stores in its home state and four others – New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Rhode Island. It has "remodeled" 190 stores and plans to spend $1 billion on more improvements and price cuts to attract shoppers.
As per the Daily Mail, Stop & Shop stores are about 55,000 to 75,000 square feet (sq. ft.) – the standard size for a U.S. supermarket. They are bigger than Walmart Neighborhood Markets (about 40,000 sq. ft.) but are dwarfed by Walmart Supercenters that span 180,000 sq. ft. in size.
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Stop & Shop declined to provide specifics when asked by WBZ-TV as to which stores will be shuttered. "It is too early in the process to share any additional information regarding potential store closures," the company said.
Planned closures come amid "retail apocalypse"
The planned closures of Stop & Shop's underperforming locations come amid a widespread "retail apocalypse." Brick-and-mortar stores are struggling in the face of competition from online retailers and increasingly tight margins, further exacerbated by retail theft.
U.S. retailers closed nearly 2,600 stores by the end of April. Some of the big names closing down locations include Macy's, Walgreens, Foot Locker and 7-Eleven. Even Walmart, Stop & Shop's rival, has shut down eight so far.
But discount stores like Family Dollar and the now-bankrupt 99 Cents Only have been the worst hit, as have drugstores like CVS and Rite Aid. If the closures were to continue at the same rate for the rest of the year they would total 7,800 in 2024 – almost 40 percent more than the total in 2023. (Related: CVS to slash 5,000 jobs, close 900 stores as vaccines kill off repeat customers.)
National coffee and upmarket grocery chain Foxtrot also said in early April it would shut all its stores with immediate effect – leaving staff and customers stunned. Express – a mall staple – filed for bankruptcy in April and said it would shut 95 Express outlets alongside all of its UpWest stores. At the start of May, Rue21 – the teen fashion chain that is a fixture in malls across America – also said it would shut all its 543 U.S. stores.
Meanwhile, other major retailers are rolling out summer deals on groceries to help shoppers affected by inflation. Walmart, Aldi, Target and Amazon Fresh have announced price cuts on thousands of food and grocery items.
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Sources include:
DailyMail.co.uk
Brighteon.com
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