Union Bashes MD Grocery Chain Closings, List Of Store Buyers

BALTIMORE, MD — Union officials have condemned the sale of 12 Shoppers Food & Pharmacy stores in Maryland, along with the planned closure of two other stores, by the chain's owners, United Natural Foods. Officials with Local 400 of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union said that for a year they have tried to meet with UNFI management, but received no reply and no meetings were held.

"This is unacceptable," UFCW leaders said in a statement sent to Patch. "This cold indifference is no way for UNFI to treat Shoppers employees or their union."

United Natural Foods, Inc. said Friday it has agreed to sell 17 of its 43 Shoppers stores in Maryland and Virginia to three separate grocery operators. The sales are expected to close between mid-December and the end of February 2020. Shoppers will sell all inventory as it winds down operations at these stores, and close the businesses, some of which will reopen under other companies.

UNFI will close the Shoppers stores at 8212 Liberty Road in Baltimore and 7858 Quarterfield Road in Severn by the end of January 2020. Two northern Virginia stores in Alexandria and Manassas will also close.

Here's the list of affected Shoppers stores in Maryland and Virginia and the companies they are being sold to, as provided by the UFCW:

• 5600 The Alameda, Baltimore
• 6500 Eastern Ave, Baltimore
• 3831 Bladensburg Road, Colmar Manor
• 4801 Marlboro Pike, Capitol Heights
• 7051 Martin Luther King Jr. Highway, Landover

Six Shoppers locations being sold to Lidl by Jan. 2:

• 2371 Solomons Island Road, Annapolis
• 5722 Ritchie Highway, Brooklyn Park
• 6111 Livingston Road, Oxon Hill
• 6881 New Hampshire Avenue, Takoma Park
• 2201 Randolph Road, Wheaton
• 9274 Old Keene Mill Road, Burke

• 22599 MacArthur Boulevard, California
• 1170 Smallwood Drive W, Waldorf

• 8212 Liberty Road, Baltimore
• 7858 Quarterfield Road, Severn
• 10864 Sudley Manor Drive, Manassas, Virginia
• 3801 Richmond Highway, Alexandria, Virginia

Related:

Grocery Chain Closing 2 MD Stores, Lidl Buys 4 Stores

Mark Federici, president of Local 400 of the United Food & Commercial Workers Union, which represents workers at the stores, said there is no assurance that the store workers will keep their jobs.

“This morning, we were shocked to learn that UNFI plans to sell or close 17 of its remaining Shoppers stores in the next few weeks," Federici said in a statement. "We were shocked because this announcement has come after more than a year of silence from the company on its plans. ... UNFI has refused to provide us with any assurances that the hardworking men and women who have dedicated their careers to this company won’t be left out in the cold.

“Now, in the midst of the holiday season, the company suddenly informs workers at 17 locations that their livelihoods are at risk," Federici said. "Even now, UNFI continues to refuse to provide any assurance to workers that their families will be taken care of after these stores are sold or closed."

German grocer Lidl, which has its U.S. headquarters in Crystal City, Virginia, said it will buy the Shoppers locations in Annapolis, Brooklyn Park, Oxon Hill, Takoma Park and Wheaton.

"We will be making significant investments in the redevelopment of the sites, and will have more to share in terms of the grand opening timeline at the end of next year," Lidl spokesman William Harwood told WTOP.

The remaining 26 Shoppers Food stores in Maryland and Virginia will continue to operate under the Shoppers brand for now, though UNFI said it plans to sell them.

The company opted to close the 30 Shoppers pharmacies inside stores earlier this year, and sold the prescriptions and pharmacy inventories to CVS and Walgreens.

Officials with UNFI said the company decided not renew the lease at three of the Shoppers locations, and the fourth is being cancelled under an agreement with the landlord.

"Shoppers intends to wind down operations at these locations, including the sale of any remaining inventory and closure of the stores prior to reopening under other banners," said a news release from United Natural Foods, Inc.

Workers were encouraged to talk to their union representative or call their union headquarters:
UFCW Local 400: (301) 459-3400 or UFCW Local 27: 410-337-2700 ext. 800.

United Natural Foods, Inc. bought Shoppers in 2018 and later announced intentions to sell stores, according to the Washington Post.

A few Shoppers stores have been taken over by Giant Food recently, WTOP reports.
Founded in 1929, Shoppers at one time served the Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and northern Virginia areas.

In a regulatory filing, UNFI said it will incur $32 million to $42 million in costs and charges related to these sales and closures, including $13 million to $16 million in estimated severance and employee-related costs.