Wegmans confirms disappointing news after rival grocery chain’s last store closes in key location and 100s lose jobs
SHOPPERS mourning the loss of five stores have been further disappointed after Wegmans failed to make a highly anticipated announcement.
ShopRite customers were shocked to learn last week that the grocer will close five locations in New York.
All are expected to close on or around December 9 which has been condemned by labor unions.
News of the shutdowns comes after chiefs admitted that the stores had not been as profitable as they had hoped, per Times Union.
Labor unions noted their shock at the news of the shutdowns as around 500 workers are set to lose their jobs before the holidays.
Following the announcement, speculation was rife about what would follow in its place.
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However, those hoping for a Wegmans store will be disappointed to hear the latest news.
"We do not currently have any plans to enter the Albany market," Wegmans spokeswoman Tracy Van Auker told Times Union in an email.
It has been hoped by fans that following the recent expansion of its operational footprint, at least one of the five soon-to-be vacant spaces would be easily filled.
Wegmans has opened stores in New York City, Westchester County, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Virginia, and Washington, DC.
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However, David Livingston, a national supermarket consultant, did not write off the future arrival of a Wegmans in the Capital District of New York.
"They are very slow and methodical," he said of the company's decision to expand noting that they often open just one store a year and tend to pay in cash.
Kroger has been mentioned as another candidate for the shuttered ShopRite stores but customers will have to wait for an announcement from the Ohio-based company.
On the latest ShopRite closures, Karen Meleta, a spokesperson for the Wakefern Food Corporation, said: "We entered the marketplace a little over a decade ago to bring a quality supermarket to the area.
"Unfortunately, we have not been able to sustain the level of sales needed to keep the stores operating today."
The upcoming ShopRite closures are just the latest shutdowns to hit the retail sector.
More than 2,800 stores are expected to close across the US this year, according to a tally from Insider.
See if your ShopRite location is set to close
The supermarket chain will lose five locations in New York before Christmas.
- ShopRite, 104 Van Rensselaer Square, North Greenbush
- ShopRite, 709 Central Ave, Albany
- ShopRite, 1730 Central Ave, Colonie
- ShopRite, 2333 Nott St E, Niskayuna
- ShopRite, 41 Vista Blvd, Slingerlands