Amazon abruptly shuts down plans on state's six Fresh stores and puts properties up for sublease - see all locations
AMAZON has shut down plans to open six Amazon Fresh locations across the US.
The online retail giant put six properties up for sublease, ending an experimental phase into the Minnesota grocery market.
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The six locations were likely to open in Minnesota's twin cities, Axiosreports.
Instead, customers never got to see inside the new facilities.
Now, the retail locations in Eagan, Eden Prairie, Arden Hills, Lakeville, Coon Rapids, and Burnsville made it to Mid-America Real Estate's sales roster.
Amazon likely changed course in the competitive grocery market as it rethinks its national in-store retail strategy.
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The company pointed to chief executive officer Andy Jassy's February earnings call comments, where he said Amazon would keep now-running Fresh stores open to "find a format that we think resonates with customers."
He also mentioned that the company would stop building stores with "low growth potential."
The about-face with its Fresh stores is one of many grocery stores facing closure.
CLOSING GROCERY STORES
Multiple grocery chains have shuttered locations nationally in the past month.
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Wegmans announced last month that a location in Connecticut would permanently shutter.
The company said the location was not meeting "financial expectations."
Food Depot - a local grocery store in Jackson, Mississippi - also closed its doors for good.
The community, fresh off a water shortage crisis that captured national attention, is fearful that the closure will create a food desert.
"We don’t have any big stores or Krogers. This was our Kroger," Delen Lee Jr., a frequent Food Depot shopper, told local ABC affiliate WAPT.
GROCERY CHANGES
Grocery stores have undergone massive changes in the past few months.
Wegmans announced that its in-store coffee shops will soon be a relic of the past.
The company said it is replacing baristas with self-serve coffee machines.
Grocery giant Kroger also has big changes coming to stores.
The company has introduced Apple Pay in more locations, a move the grocery store has balked at in the past.
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The U.S. Sun reports on all sorts of grocery changes - beware of an automatic surcharge at this popular grocer.
Speaking of surcharges, another popular retailer may ask for more money.
