US supermarket chain Stop & Shop has revealed plans to close 32 underperforming stores before the end of 2024.
The move is part of a strategy to position the company for future growth and comes in addition to ongoing investments in pricing and customer experience enhancements.
The closures will affect five stores in Connecticut, eight in Massachusetts, ten in New Jersey, seven in New York and two in Rhode Island.
The retailer will notify local customers of specific closure dates well in advance and plans to complete the closures on or before 2 November 2024.
Stop & Shop will continue to serve its communities through its remaining store locations, online shopping and home delivery services.
Its continuing network will comprise 350 stores in five US states: 81 in Connecticut, 115 in Massachusetts, 91 in New York, 47 in New Jersey and 25 in Rhode Island.
Associates from the impacted stores will be offered employment opportunities within the company.
Stop & Shop president Gordon Reid said: “Stop & Shop has evaluated its overall store portfolio and made the difficult decision to close underperforming stores to create a healthy base for the future growth of our brand.
"Stop & Shop is focused on growing through large, multi-year price investments and a stronger customer value proposition, both in-store and online. This means we’ll be focused on delivering lower everyday prices, as well as even more savings for our customers through strong promotions.
“All of our store associates will continue to have a place in the Stop & Shop family as we look forward to serving customers at other nearby locations.”
Parent company Ahold Delhaize had first revealed plans to close an unspecified number of underperforming Stop & Shop grocery stores in the US in May 2024.
