By Aidin Vaziri : sfchronicle – excerpt
Grocery Outlet, the Emeryville-based discount grocer with a large Northern California footprint, said it plans to close 36 financially underperforming stores as it tries to improve profitability after reporting a steep quarterly loss.
The closures are part of a business “Optimization Plan” adopted by the company’s board on Monday and expected to be “substantially completed during fiscal 2026,” Grocery Outlet said in a news release Wednesday announcing fourth-quarter and full-year financial results.
“We made progress on our strategic priorities in 2025; however, our fourth-quarter results made clear that we have more work to do, and we’re moving quickly,” Jason Potter, the company’s president and chief executive, said in a statement. “At the same time, we’re closing underperforming stores, reshaping our new store growth strategy and reallocating resources to strengthen operating results and returns on capital. ”
Grocery Outlet did not disclose which locations will be shuttered. The company, which has stores nationwide, also did not specify how many of the 36 stores are in California or the Bay Area.
Grocery Dive, an industry publication, reported that 24 of the stores slated to close are on the East Coast, citing Potter’s remarks to investors…
The company attributed some of the pressure to the timing of government assistance. Comparable sales were hurt by delayed disbursements from “federally funded assistance programs that many of our customers depend on, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program,” the company said.
MarketWatch reported the company’s stock fell about 24% in after-hours trading following the announcement.…(more)
Re-Zoning is going to create a food shortage as agricultural land is now non-agricultural land, and water sources for farmers are not secure, thank to the state water board run by the Governor, farmers are not willing to continue takin on more debt in definitely. How much longer will California be able to claim it has the fourth large world economy when we are losing our food and wine industries that accounts for a huge percentage of the exports. We don’t so far hear anything about his from the candidaates for governor or Congress. All we hear is their opinions on AI and tech, and concerns over the high cost of housing and energy in California. Who is raising alarms about the loss of food production and the closure of supermarkets?