Denver Business Journal - by Paula Moore
SmartCo Foods to close all Colorado stores after just a few months
Denver Business Journal - by Paula Moore
SmartCo Foods is a chain of value-oriented grocery stores owned by discount grocery company Smart & Final Stores LLC of Commerce, Calif.
“Despite our best efforts, the level of sales achieved in the SmartCo Foods stores, after several months, did not meet our goals, and is not sufficient to sustain continued operations,” Dave Hirz, president of Smart & Final Stores, said in a statement.
The retailer didn’t reveal Colorado sales figures.
Smart & Final said earlier this year it hoped in the next few years to add another 20 to 25 stores in Colorado to the five it opened in 2010.
The company said it will provide severance to Colorado employees who get laid off, and encourage them to apply for positions at other company stores in western states. Earlier this year, Smart & Final said it planned to employ 100 people per store, for a total of roughly 500 store personnel.
Closing sales will start Wednesday at the local SmartCo Foods stores.
Smart & Final announced its debut of stores in the Front Range area in March, opening its first location here at 1442 S. Parker Road in Denver in June. The retailer opened another four stores along the Front Range this year, at the following locations:
• 5141 Chambers Road, Aurora;
• 1750 N. Main St., Longmont;
• 16746 E. Smoky Hill Road, Centennial;
• 3615 W. Bowles Ave., Littleton.
Started nearly 140 years ago, Smart & Final now operates more than 280 stores nationwide, under the names Smart & Final, Cash & Carry Smart Foodsevice, Henry’s Farmers Market and Sun Harvest Markets.
Smart & Final was acquired in 2007 by an affiliate of Apollo Management LP, a New York-based private equity firm that formerly was majority shareholder of Colorado’s Vail Resorts Inc. (NYSE: MTN).
