This Popular Grocery Chain Is Closing Stores, Starting Dec. 8

Chances are there are a few different grocery stores in the area where you live – but like many things in life, you probably have a favorite store to shop at. Maybe it has the best selection of produce, or a nice selection of baked goods, or maybe you’ve just developed a special bond with the staff. With this in mind, saying goodbye to your favorite supermarket can be both uncomfortable and annoying. Now a popular grocery chain has announced it will be closing locations, with the potential for many more closures. Read on to find out which chain is closing stores from December.

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These aren’t the first grocery stores to be on the chopping block this year, and no region of the US has been immune. A Shaw’s grocery store in Scarborough, Maine, was scheduled to close “on or about” October 8 due to lost profits, a spokesman said best life, and on October 14, regional grocery chain Remke Markets closed a store in Hyde Park Plaza in Oakley, Ohio. Connecticut residents will say goodbye to a ShopRite in Waterbury, Connecticut on November 11, while those in Englewood, Illinois will lose a Whole Foods on November 13. Later this year, on December 30th, Giant Eagle will also close its store in Edinboro, Pennsylvania.ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb

Now the country’s largest supermarket chain has announced another series of closures.

Kroger operates nearly 2,800 stores — under 28 different names — in 35 states, but a few are closing permanently. A New Albany, Indiana store just shut down on Oct. 7 as it “struggled to be profitable for many years,” a spokesman said Louisville Courier Journal in September. And now two more locations are closing.

On Oct. 14, Kroger confirmed that two stores in the Metro Atlanta area will be closing, Fox 5 Atlanta reported. The Kroger on Commerce Drive in Decatur is the first to open Decatur and will be closed due to “declining sales and negative profits,” the grocery chain told Fox 5. The location has been dubbed “Baby Kroger” by locals Downtown Atlantadue to its smaller size compared to other Kroger stores.

The Kroger in Buckhead, a residential Atlanta neighborhood, will close a week later, on December 9th. This store also had a nickname, according to 11Alive – “Disco Kroger” as it used to be next to Limelight, a disco and nightclub. Citing the Atlanta Business Chroniclethe outlet reported that Disco Kroger will likely be replaced with a new grocery store, but the popular disco-themed mural on the side of the building will remain.

These quirky Krogers may be next, but they might not be the last.

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Kroger is the largest supermarket chain in the US, just ahead of Albertsons, but the two don’t plan to stay apart for long. On Oct. 14, the two companies announced a merger agreement, under which Kroger will buy Albertsons for a whopping $24.6 billion. Albertsons has 24 different store banners – you may recognize them as Acme, Vons, Safeway, Jewel-Osco and Shaw’s.

According to the press release, the deal was unanimously approved by the boards of both companies and was established to “bring together two complementary organizations with iconic brands and deep roots in their local communities to establish a national presence.” The two grocers said they were likely motivated by the opportunity to save on operating costs The New York Timeswhile at the same time increasing competition from Walmart.

According to NPR, the merger is likely to cause a stir, especially among regulators such as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). According to the outlet, that’s largely due to the formation of a “new supermarket behemoth at a time of rising grocery costs.” But while regulators may have problems with the deal, buyers could be hit by a loss of local business.

According to PYMNTS, Kroger and Albertsons could be forced to close nearly 400 locations to minimize criticism of the merger and prevent a monopoly. This could have a major impact on the West Coast, where both Kroger and Albertsons have a large presence, per The New York Times. To further soften the scrutiny, the companies also said they were prepared to set up a separate company with 100 to 375 stores to “create a new, agile competitor.”

But even if 400 stores are axed or sold to competitors, analyst JP Morgan Ken Goldman notes that the companies still control 13 percent of the grocery market, PYMNTS reported. Given those numbers, some have already spoken out against the deal.

“There is no reason to merge two of the largest supermarket chains in the country – especially not when food prices are already skyrocketing.” Sarah Mueller, executive director of the American Economic Liberties Project, in a press release. “With 60% of grocery sales concentrated in just 5 national chains, a Kroger-Albertsons deal would pressure consumers already struggling to afford groceries, crush workers fighting for fair wages and destroy independent community stores . This merger is a clear case of monopoly power and enforcers should block it.”

Official approval is still pending The New York Times reported. Before making a decision, the FTC will review past deals and see if there will be competition after deals are sold.