{"id":811448,"date":"2026-08-12T19:30:15","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T19:30:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/811448\/"},"modified":"2026-08-12T19:30:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T19:30:15","slug":"supermarket-giants-across-us-to-close-dozens-of-underperforming-stores","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/811448\/","title":{"rendered":"Supermarket giants across US to close dozens of underperforming stores"},"content":{"rendered":"

A quick trip to your local grocery store may be on its way out.<\/p>\n

Supermarkets, both small and large, are shutting down all across the country as chains cut underperforming stores. In an earnings call last year, grocery giant Kroger said<\/a> it would slash its store count by 60 locations<\/a> over the next 18 months, citing slow sales.<\/p>\n

The Cincinnati-based brand<\/a> owns a slew of local spots, and the company said the closures would primarily affect Fred Meyer, Fry\u2019s Food and Drug, Harris Teeter, Foods Co, Food 4 Less, King Soopers, Mariano\u2019s, Pick \u2018n Save and QFC.<\/p>\n

\"AWalgreens recently closed over a dozen of underperforming stores. Gado via Getty Images<\/p>\n

The shutters could harm some areas and create what experts call a food desert<\/a> \u2014 where communities have little to no access to stores with affordable, healthy or fresh food. Amid the closures, Kroger recently acquired Giant Eagle<\/a> in a $1.65 billion deal and is expected to close sometime next year.<\/p>\n

Kroger\u2019s acquisition of the Pennsylvania-based chain will add 197 supermarkets and 11 standalone pharmacies to its existing network, according to Cleveland.com<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Discount supermarkets are also taking a hit. Grocery Outlet has been a reliable spot for shoppers as folks can depend on it for massive discounts, including private-label products that have discounts ranging anywhere from 40% off up to 70% off.<\/p>\n

But customers will soon see fewer of them. Headquartered in California, the company said in a March earnings call that 36 stores will get the axe \u2014 including six in New Jersey<\/a> \u2014 citing underperformance as the main reason for the closures.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jason Potter, Grocery Outlet President and CEO, said on the call that the East Coast would be hit the hardest, with 30% shutting down.<\/p>\n

While the store didn\u2019t offer up a timeline, the locations were made available by restructuring and investment firm Gordon Brothers. Shortly after the closure announcement, Gordon Brothers put together a list of leases <\/a>that were made public.<\/p>\n

Despite the 36 closures, it only accounts for roughly 6% of Grocery Outlet\u2019s lineup, according to Grocery Dive<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"AA slew of grocery stores like Safeway, Walgreens, Kroger and more have closed down. Jeffrey Greenberg\/Universal Images Group via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Safeway is also shutting down a fleet of stores after its parent company, Albertsons<\/a>, announced plans to reduce its footprint. Albertsons operates over 20 other brands like Vons, Jewel-Osco, Acme Markets and Shaw\u2019s, with over 900 locations nationwide.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Back in 2025, a fleet of Albertsons-owned stores shuttered at least 30 locations, with another 12 in the pipeline for 2026, according to The Street<\/a>. So far, Safeway has closed just three locations, which are tied to expiring leases.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are coming to the end of our lease at this location, and have made the decision to reinvest our resources into other existing stores,\u201d Safeway said in a statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Post recently reported<\/a> Walgreens, boasting roughly 8,500 stores nationwide, has shuttered locations across a dozen states, including New York and New Jersey. The move comes as part of a multiyear plan to cut costs and close less profitable stores.<\/p>\n

Back in 2024, the Chicago-based retailer announced it would close roughly 1,200 underperforming stores<\/a>\u00a0over the next three years in an effort to cut $1 billion in costs. But last year, Walgreens went private and scaled back its shutters.<\/p>\n

The Post has reached out to Kroger, Grocery Outlet and Albertsons for comment and a list of locations set to close.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A quick trip to your local grocery store may be on its way out. Supermarkets, both small and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":811449,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[28,3286,149,7600,150143,82498],"class_list":["post-811448","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-food-drink","tag-lifestyle","tag-retail","tag-store-closings","tag-supermarkets"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/811448","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=811448"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/811448\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/811449"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=811448"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=811448"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=811448"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}