A century-long story may have reached its final chapter. Stop & Shop, the regional chain of 397 supermarkets located across Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Rhode Island, is about to close over 10% of its stores–which accounts for about 50.
The administration sent out an unexpected announcement, signed by the CEO of the chain’s owner, Ahold Delhaize USA JJ Fleeman, informing their customers that, “select underperforming store locations” will close after a “difficult decision” because “the value proposition and pricing at Stop & Shop are simply not strong enough.”
They have not yet announced which locations are going to be shut down, but it is possible to draw some conclusions based on their latest investments. According to the New York Post, over the past few months Ahold Delhaize, which in the US owns Food Lion, Hannaford, Giant Food and The Giant Company, has renovated 190 locations, which are now performing better. The remaining ones are those serving less-affluent and poorer neighborhoods, where “customers keep a closer watch on their pennies.”
Stop & Shop serves high quality food, but it is more expensive than every other grocery store in almost every market they are in. And the competition is getting tougher and tougher–Walmart is targeting higher-income customers after adding a new offer of luxury goods, from Carbone pasta sauce to Michael Kors handbags, and Walgreens, Target and Amazon are cutting their prices on diapers, pet food, groceries and toiletries.
