Kroger and One Other Grocery Chain Are Closing Stores
We may be close to leaving the pandemic behind, but the same cannot be said for the explosive trend of store closures that has accompanied it. Since 2020, we've seen countless companies pare down their retail footprint by shuttering brick-and-mortar stores, and shoppers shouldn't expect this to let up anytime soon. In fact, Kroger and another popular grocery chain will be closing stores starting this month. Read on to find out if your go-to grocer is shuttering locations.
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Grocery stores have hardly been spared the recent retail apocalypse, as closures have impacted companies across the board.
From the beginning of June through the end of July, popular chains Sprouts Farmers Market, Aldi, and Lidl all separately closed stores across the U.S. More recently, from August to October, Kroger shuttered several different locations. And other popular companies like ShopRite, Whole Foods, and Giant Eagle have all already confirmed store closures for the month of November.
As it turns out, Kroger is not done closing stores, and now another grocery chain is also making cuts.
The first new grocery chain closures will affect shoppers of Northgate González Market, a popular Mexican grocer based in California. The Orange County Register reported on Oct. 24 that the company is planning to shutter two of its stores in Santa Ana, California. According to the newspaper, the closures are set to occur early this month, but an exact date has not been reported.
Meanwhile, Kroger is continuing closures. As CBS-affiliate WOWK reported on Oct. 31, the popular Cincinnati-based company just announced that it will be shuttering the Kroger store in Gassaway, West Virginia. James Menees, corporate affairs manager with Kroger Mid-Atlantic, told the news outlet that this location will close in early 2023, but an exact date for this closure was not provided either.
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Northgate González Market shoppers in Santa Ana won't necessarily be without their favorite Mexican grocery chain due to the two store closures, however. According to The Orange County Register, the company is opening a new location in the city in early November, around the same time it is closing its two existing locations. In fact, the new Northgate González Market store is meant to serve as a replacement for the two smaller, older stores that will close.
"The continued commitment of our grocery brand to the residents of Santa Ana provides us with an opportunity to offer local consumers an expanded, fresh and new authentically Mexican shopping experience with a beautiful, larger and innovative format with enhanced customer service that will exceed everyone's expectations," Oscar Gonzales, Northgate's co-president, said in a statement, per Winsight Grocery Business.
Kroger said it is closing its Gassaway store after "several years of poor performance and profitability," WOWK reported. According to the news outlet, this location opened in 1979 and is the smallest of Kroger's 109 stores in the Mid-Atlantic Division.
"Closing a store is a difficult decision and one that we take very seriously," Lori Raya, president of Kroger's Mid-Atlantic Division, said in a statement. "This store's low financial returns made it unfeasible to continue to operate while still upholding our low-price commitment to our customers."
Unfortunately for shoppers, the company has more store closures planned for the future. Earlier in October, the grocery chain confirmed that it would be shutting down two stores in the Metro Atlanta area: one in Decatur on Dec. 2, and the other in Buckhead on Dec. 9. Fox 5 Atlanta reported that the decision for the Decatur Kroger closure came from "declining sales and negative profit." It was smaller in size compared to other Kroger stores, as locals referred to the location as "Baby Kroger," according to Atlanta Intown.
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