Albertsons-owned supermarket is closing, leaving just 18 stores as CEO says ‘food inflation’ puts pressure

A SUBSIDIARY of Albertsons is closing a grocery store, leaving just 18 left.

Albertsons CEO Vivek Sankaran says the industry faces a number of challenges.

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Albertsons-owned Kings Food Market grocery chain is closing its store in Chatham, New Jersey.

The site will close permanently on September 1, authorities told local media. northjersey.com.

“Closing a store is always a difficult decision,” said Albertsons Companies spokeswoman Dana Ward.

“Our focus continues to be on growing our businesswhich sometimes involves reinvesting resources into existing stores and exploring potential new locations.”

A store associate told The US Sun that select items will be discontinued effective next week.

Employees interested in staying with the company will have openings at other stores, the spokesperson said.

Including Chatham, there are 16 Kings locations in New Jersey, and one each in Connecticut and New York.

Kings food Markets previously filed for bankruptcy in 2020 but survived.

The chain is known for its high-quality products, but also for its high prices.

Albertsons Companies CEO Vivek Sankaran said in April that several factors were putting pressure on the grocery sector.

“We expect to face continued headwinds caused by investments in associates’ salaries and benefits, cycling significant foods from the previous year inflationreduced government assistance to our customers, decreased COVID-related revenue and increased combination of our pharmaceutical and digital businesses, which have lower margins,” he said in a statement.

OWNED BY ALBERTSONS

Albertsons took control of Kings following its 2020 bankruptcy.

The supermarket chain paid $96 million for the local company, which was founded and remains headquartered in New Jersey.

Since the acquisition, six stores have closed.

ALBERTSONS AND KROGER

Both Kings and Albertsons say the Chatham store’s closure has nothing to do with Albertsons’ plans to merge with Kroger.

Kroger and Albertsons first announced their plans to merge in 2022.

“We expect to face continued headwinds caused by investments in associate wages and benefits, cycles of significant food inflation in the prior year, lower government assistance for our customers, COVID-related income declines, and the growing mix of our pharmaceutical and digital businesses , which generate lower cost margins”

CEO of Albertsons Companies, Vivek Sankaran

They think this is necessary so they can compete with big rivals like Walmart and Amazon.

However, the merger has yet to be confirmed after it was first blocked by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

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