Shaw’s to Shutter 6 Stores

Shaw’s has revealed plans to close six underperforming stores in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The stores, located in Stoughton, Taunton, Fall River and Fairhaven, Mass., and Westerly and Woonsocket, R.I., are set to close no later than Aug. 3.

“As a company and as responsible business owners, we need to position ourselves to be profitable,” noted company spokesman Steven Sylven. “The stores identified have not been profitable for quite some time, and despite the best efforts of the company and our associates, we have not been able to reposition them to better compete in the marketplace and don’t anticipate being able to change this trend.”

When asked by Progressive Grocer about affected associates and any future store closures, Sylven replied: “We are working to place associates in nearby stores wherever possible. Shaw’s continuously evaluates its operations to identify opportunities to strengthen its overall business. At this time, however, there are no [further] closures planned.”

The news comes a little more than three months after Shaw’s 169 stores were sold by former owner Supervalu as part of an 877-store deal to the Cerberus Capital Management-led investor group AB Acquisition LLC.

Additionally, citing losses amid fierce competition, Shaw’s eliminated 700 store-level positions last November, laying off 4 percent of its workforce of 17,000.