The retail apocalypse continued in 2025, as 8,100 retail stores across all sectors closed for an increase of 12% compared to 2024, according to Coresight Research, as reported by WDEF-TV.
Grocery chains contributed to that apocalypse, as Albertson’s eliminated 380 jobs at its corporate offices in Arizona and California and said it would close 20 stores by the end of 2025.
Kroger followed with the closing of nine fulfillment centers and the elimination of about 1,700 jobs. The company, which operates about 2,700 supermarkets across 35 states and Washington, D.C., also announced in June 2025 that it would close 60 stores over 18 months.
Also, a chain that had been growing, Grocery Outlet, has joined the list of supermarket chains closing dozens of stores.
Kroger eliminates 3 California stores
Kroger followed through with its closure plans, as it filed notices to close three store locations in California in March and lay off 171 workers, according to Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification notices filed with the California Employment Development Department.
“While the company committed to identifying transfer and reassignment opportunities for impacted associates, some layoffs and terminations may still be required based on operational needs and contractual provisions,” Kaina Pereira, executive director of the California Workforce Development Board, said in a WARN notice, the Sacramento Bee reported. “This closure will be permanent.”
Shutterstock
Grocery Outlet closes dozens of stores
And now, discount national supermarket chain Grocery Outlet said it will close 36 stores across the nation after expanding too quickly, the company said during its fourth quarter 2025 earnings call, Investing.com reported.
“Following a rigorous analysis of the fleet, we identified 36 stores in the network that we concluded did not have a viable path to sustained profitability, regardless of the operational support we could provide,” Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. CEO Jason Potter said in the earnings call.
“We’ve made the difficult decision to close 36 locations, 24 of which are located in the East, representing 30% of that region’s fleet,” Potter said. “We are not fully exiting any state, and we believe we have a meaningful opportunity to grow in the East over the long term.”
The company has not released a list of the 36 stores that will close.
Remaining Eastern stores are profitable
Potter said that the Emeryville, Calif.-based chain’s 51 remaining stores in the East are profitable and delivered a 3.3% comp in the fourth quarter.
“It’s clear now that we expanded too quickly, and these closures are a direct correction,” Potter said.
More closings:
- Bankrupt restaurant chains permanently close popular locations
- Major retail chain closes 35 stores nationwide, no bankruptcy
- Another major retail chain closes warehouse operations
The closing of the 36 stores, or about 6% of its locations, is expected to result in an annualized adjusted EBITDA improvement of about $12 million and enable the company to operate profitably in all of its markets, Potter said.
Grocery chain will add 30-33 stores
The 80-year-old company still plans to open 30-33 new stores in 2026 under a more disciplined approach.
For example, when Grocery Outlet opens new stores in Virginia later in 2026, the stores will start as company-run operations, bringing them up to profitability, before transferring them to independent operators.
Grocery Outlet, which was founded in 1946 in San Francisco as a cannery sales business, operates over 560 stores through its network of independent operators in 16 states.
Grocery Outlet’s territory:
- Alabama
- California
- Delaware
- Georgia
- Idaho
- Kentucky
- Maryland
- Nevada
- New Jersey
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Tennessee
- Virginia
- Washington
- Source: Grocery Outlet
Related: 143-year-old grocery chain closes more locations, lays off dozens