WASHINGTON, DC - The Washington D.C. grocery scene may be losing one of its main chains, as United Natural Foods Inc. (UNFI) closes and sells off its Shoppers Food & Pharmacy stores. According to a report by the Washington Business Journal, already some of Shoppers’ 36 locations in the Greater Washington and Baltimore area have been taken over by Giant Food, with others in the wings expected to be sold to other grocery outlets soon.

“We’re making great progress on divesting our retail assets,” said UNFI CEO Steve Spinner in an analyst call earlier this month. “I’d say that we’re well down the path on selling Shoppers, and I’m confident we’ll get that done in the coming months.”

Shoppers currently operates 12 locations in Prince George’s County, 10 in Northern Virginia, three in Montgomery County, and 13 in the city of Baltimore. However, the news source noted that these numbers decreased from last year’s, after Giant absorbed locations in Alexandria, Falls Church, Herndon, and Olney. In November, Gordon Reid, Giant’s President, had hinted that these store conversions fit into the retailer’s own expansion plans, which included three to four more store openings.

Lastly, since UNFI has not found buyers for all of its Shoppers stores, many of the existing stores will not close suddenly. At the time of publication, there is no information regarding employees or exact dates of closures/re-openings.

As the grocery retail scene continues to move and groove, rock and roll, AndNowUKnow will continue to report on the latest.

UNFI