Stop & Shop Exiting N.H.

The Stop & Shop Supermarket Co. has revealed plans to close its six Stop & Shop stores and three gas stations in New Hampshire. The locations, in Bedford, Hudson, Exeter, Milford and two in Manchester, will close by Sept. 21.

“We continually assess our stores and operating performance,” said Joe Kelley, president of Stop & Shop New England Division, in Quincy, Mass. “Our six stores in New Hampshire have not achieved performance goals after many years of investment, and we have made the difficult decision to close these underperforming stores. This action will allow us to focus our investment and resources on continuing to grow our business in other areas of the Northeast.”

Added Kelley: “We are sensitive to the impact this decision will have on our associates, our loyal customers, and the communities we have served. We deeply appreciate the years of dedicated service our associates in New Hampshire have provided since 2003, and the loyal patronage from our customers.”

Stop & Shop said it would work with Dedham, Mass.-based United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 1445 and state and local government officials to offer job search assistance and to support affected employees. Store closing information will be distributed at each location as it becomes available.

Fellow New England chain Shaw’s said last month it would close six New Hampshire stores by early September, and has already shuttered six Rhode Island and Massachusetts locations, all because of underperformance.

A company of Amsterdam-based Ahold, Stop & Shop employs about 63,000 associates and operates more than 400 stores throughout Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, New York and New Jersey.