Kroger will close about 60 stores by 2026; Raley's shutters seven; Cosentino's, 78 years old, closes its first location. Industry pressures from online competition and inflation drive downsizing.
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Kroger said it expects to close about 60 stores across its portfolio by the end of 2026, according to the company's first-quarter fiscal 2025 earnings call, as reported by TheStreet. The closures are part of a broader downsizing wave that also includes Stop & Shop and The Raley's Companies, with some store closings stretching into 2027.
Stop & Shop, a unit of Ahold Delhaize, confirmed in July that it will close two New Jersey locations in Basking Ridge and Westfield next year. The announcements follow a pattern of consolidation that picked up in 2025 and has accelerated as grocers grapple with shifting consumer habits and rising costs.
Raley's, the West Sacramento, Calif.-based chain, said it will close a Petaluma store on Jan. 26, 2027, affecting 48 employees. The closure is part of a regional downsizing plan covering seven stores in California and Nevada. The company said it will offer transfer opportunities to as many affected workers as possible, KSRO radio reported.
The Raley's Companies cited local market conditions and long-term financial sustainability for the downsizing. The chain began its plan with the closing of a Roseville, Calif., store in January 2026, followed by an Antioch closure in April after both leases expired. In May, Raley's shuttered a Nob Hill Foods store in Mountain View, affecting 50 employees.
Chelsea Carbahal, a Raley's spokesperson, told SFGate that brick-and-mortar locations have faced more competition from online marketplaces and changing customer preferences, which reduced foot traffic and sales. "Thoughtful stewardship sometimes means opening stores and sometimes it means making difficult decisions to close them," she said. The company also plans to close a Nob Hill Foods store in Los Gatos when its lease expires in June 2027. Chief Marketing Officer Carol Barsotti said the decision followed a review of the store's performance and current economic conditions. A Raley's store in Brentwood, Calif., will close Nov. 3, 2026, and an Elko, Nev., location in December, according to SFGate. Despite the closures, Raley's plans to open a new store in Madera, Calif., in March 2027.
The pressure is not limited to regional players. Kroger's 60-store target reflects the scale of the industry's adjustment. Supermarkets face competition from regional and national chains, rising product and labor costs driven by inflation, shifting consumer preferences, and lease rates that no longer pencil out, according to TheStreet.
Food-at-home inflation spiked after the pandemic, rising 11.4% in 2022 and 5% in 2023, while grocery revenue peaked only 0.5% higher in 2022 year-over-year before falling in 2023 and 2024, according to data from IBISWorld cited by TheStreet. Revenue recovered in 2025, but the margin pressure has forced chains to rationalize their footprints.
The downsizing even hit a chain that had never closed a store before. Cosentino's Food Stores, a 78-year-old operator based in Kansas, shut its Price Chopper location in Overland Park in February, marking the first closure in its history. Cosentino's continues to run 24 Price Chopper stores, three Sun Fresh locations, three Cosentino's Markets, two Apple Markets, and a Market 48 Liquor store.
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