Maryland and Virginia — United Natural Foods Inc. (UNFI) will sell 13 of its 43 Shoppers Food & Pharmacy locations in a continued effort to reduce its retail footprint. The company will sell the stores to three grocery operators, which will run the stores under their respective banners. UNFI will also close four Shoppers Food locations by the end of January 2020. UNFI agreed to not renew three of the leases while the fourth lease will be canceled pursuant to agreement with the landlord. The four stores being closed are located in Manassas and Alexandria, Virginia; and Baltimore and Severn, Maryland. The Shoppers in Burke, Virginia, will be sold while the other 12 stores being sold are located in Maryland. The sales are expected to close between mid-December and February 2020.
Earlier this year, UNFI made the decision to close the 30 Shoppers pharmacies located in the stores and operated under the Shoppers banner and sold the prescriptions and pharmacy inventories to CVS and Walgreens. The Food Partners LLC represented the seller in the transactions. The buyers and sales prices were not disclosed.