Recent headlines made waves in the realm of grocery retail when they suggested that United Natural Foods, Inc (UNFI) planned to shutter Shoppers Food & Pharmacy locations. These headlines have now been refuted and labeled unsubstantiated.
Though several news sources, including our own, reported on the flurry of store closures that were ostensibly in order for the SuperValu-owned banner, UNFI has repudiated those claims, saying that, while UNFI is in the process of divesting retail assets it acquired while buying SuperValu, no store closures are planned.
“Several of the recent media reports have said that Shoppers Food and Pharmacy stores are closing. We want to clarify that there are no immediate plans for any Shoppers stores to close,” UNFI noted in a statement. “What we previously communicated was that UNFI plans to thoughtfully and economically divest its retail operations and the company is making progress on that front. As this is an ongoing and fluid process, we don’t have any specific updates or timing to share. When there is something to communicate, we will do so. But, most importantly, we want to be clear that UNFI has not announced any plans for store closures.”
Deli Market News will continue to report on this ongoing process and on dynamic companies in retail and foodservice like UNFI.
