Hello and welcome back to the Shoppers Food Blog!
Today I want to present to you an update on this blog and my future outlook on activity here. This update is being posted concerning shifts in content and websites.
As this blog has been in existence for three years, it has seen a good deal of content ranging throughout Shoppers Food's history and its overall range of 60+ unique locations. There are more ideas that can be explored, however as changes are being made I have yet to release them. This post today will first brief on Shoppers' history since 2016 and then announce the future plans in store for this blog. Enjoy!
Since regular posts here paused there has been so much going on between Shoppers, SuperValu and the grocery market around. As SuperValu strives to become a wholesaler rather than a retail company, they have been disbanding operations of their different grocery chains, including Shoppers. It has been a turbulent time for everyone involved, and I'm here to explain some of it.
April 2017 saw a consolidation of operations between SuperValu's eastern U.S. grocers such as Shoppers, Farm Fresh and Shop 'n Save East, with operations based out of Shoppers' Bowie, MD headquarters. While the rest of 2017 was quiet for the retail conglomerate, 2018 saw major changes to the brand as a whole that especially affected Shoppers in D.C./Baltimore. In March of that year, SuperValu announced Farm Fresh, Shoppers' sister chain located in the Hampton Roads area would be sold. 21 stores were divested to competing chains Kroger, Harris Teeter and Food Lion while others were continued by various owners or outright closed. This was the first transaction conducted by SuperValu since the 2016 spin-off of Save-a-Lot and would start a year of closings and sales by the Minnesota firm. As of December 2018, the St. Louis-area Shop N' Save chain and Hornbacher's have been sold, the former of which has entirely been dismantled.
Shoppers Food in 2018 has felt the impact of SuperValu's measures, however with the most suspense and mystique out of any of their holdings. The most important news has come from multiple quiet closings conducted this year, perhaps the most in any year of Shoppers' history. While Shoppers has periodically shed stores in the past decade, including several in 2011 (part of a SuperValu round of closures) they have closed upwards of eight stores without major press. Most of these locations are destined for sales to competing chains or non-grocery retailers in the face of expansion or general low performance as Shoppers. Longtime rival Giant Food is so far the largest buyer, having purchased four stores (including the Seven Corners, VA store) and conducting major remodeling work to each. No other major grocers have announced the purchase of any stores as of yet. It is a shame somehow that pretty much any location can go at this point, however I am sure strong Shoppers performers will stay with the chain for some time.
In May 2018, SuperValu announced 40 executive layoffs for Shoppers, which was set to be another impact to the chain, leaving the chain with no leaders. Other shuffling of employees has also happened throughout the year to locations that have closed and those that have not. Overall it has become incredibly shaky for Shoppers, however for remaining stores I will assume they will stand their ground and continue for some time more. Only time will tell.
Additionally since then, Shoppers has renovated their Alexandria, VA (Potomac Yards) and Annapolis, MD to a new "Shoppers Market" concept downsizing stores and incorporating elements of Whole Foods and Wegmans as opposed to their traditional low-price promises.
Now about the blog. While it has fluctuated in activity since I first started it in 2015, I have continued revisiting, writing and updating viewers on this place since then. No new posts have been made since early 2017, however I have completed a few posts and continued thinking about what to do here. In the meantime, I have seen my Flickr page and other online ventures grow and I have realized the potential to write about more than just Shoppers. Therefore I have been considering starting a new blog that not only is about Shoppers, but expands reach to retailers in the region and beyond. I have not considered a name for the blog yet, however in case I will update you on this blog when the time comes. Otherwise, sadly this means the Shoppers Food Blog will be finishing updates for good sans another post or two, and edits to preserve content. I'm hoping to gain more viewers and more creative freedom on my next blog, which you will all see soon.
Thanks for the support to this blog and I hope you will continue to read through the works here. Goodnight and have a Happy New Year! -The Shoppers Food Blog
