Stop & Shop has published a list of 32 stores it plans to close this year.
And the Northeastern grocery store chain’s footprint in Massachusetts is about to shrink, with plans to close eight stores in the state. The company said the stores will close on Nov. 2.
“Stop & Shop is proud of the deep roots and community connections we have developed as a neighborhood grocery brand over 100 years, and we remain committed to nurturing our associates, customers and communities,” Gordon Reid, president, Stop & Shop, said in a press release. “As we announced in May, Stop & Shop has evaluated our entire store portfolio and made the difficult decision to close underperforming stores in order to create a healthy foundation for the future growth of our brand.”
In May, the parent company of the Dutch Ahold Delhaize, or Stop & Shop, told investors it planned to close underperforming locations. U.S. Chief Executive JJ Fleeman said the company would take into account brand density, the position each store occupies in the market and how well it is performing.
Which Stop & Shop stores are closing in Massachusetts?
In Massachusetts, the following stores will close:
- Brockton: 932 North Montello St.
- Raynham: 36 New State Road
- Halifax: 341 Plymouth St.
- Shrewsbury: 539-571 Boston Turnpike, Shrewsbury
- Newton (bfreshmarkt): 165 Needham St.
- Springfield: 415 Cooley St. (1600 Boston Rd. and 1277 Liberty St., Springfield remain open)
- Worcester: 545 Lincoln St. (940 West Boylston St. and 949 Grafton St., Worcester remain open)
- Pembroke: 24 Mattakeesett St. (125 Church St., Pembroke remains open)
The specific dates of the store closures will be communicated to local customers at a later date, the press release said.
How many Stop & Shop locations are there?
According to the Stop & Shop website (July 2024), there are 397 stores, making it the largest location in Massachusetts.
They have 125 stores in Massachusetts, 100 in New York, 88 in Connecticut, 57 in New Jersey and 27 in Rhode Island.
Why is Stop & Shop planning to close stores?
In the May presentation to investors, Fleeman said that to ensure a “stable and prosperous” future, they needed to focus on “optimizing the portfolio to target core markets where there is profit to be made.”
Remodels Stop & Stop has made to some stores since 2018 have improved performance. But overall, “it’s not enough, and it’s not where we want to be or need to be,” Fleeman said.
What other brands does Ahold Delhaize own?
Ahold Delhaize operates more than 7,700 supermarkets in the eastern United States, plus several European countries including Greece, Serbia, Romania, the Czech Republic, Belgium and the Netherlands, with more than 400,000 employees. In addition to Stop & Shop, U.S. brands include Food Lion, the Giant Company, Giant Food and Hannaford.
Paul Edward Parker contributed to this report.