A Popular Grocery Store Chain Is Closing 60 Locations Nationwide And The Reason Couldn't Be Clearer

Shopping for groceries tends to be a weekly task for most people — a chance to stock up on the foods and supplies they'll need for the meals in the days ahead. While you might have a few strategies for saving money on your grocery shopping bill, some might need to find a new place altogether to pick up their favorite ingredients and household items. That's because, as of June 2025, the grocery chain Kroger is shutting down 60 stores across the country within 18 months, according to Kroger's Q1 2025 report. The report also outlined that the company sees the closing of these stores as a "modest financial benefit." While Kroger started the fiscal year with 2,731 stores in operation, this cut will bring their total locations down by 2%.

For many Americans, Kroger is a brand name that they know and trust when it comes to grocery shopping. While there are several reasons behind Kroger's decision, it appears mainly to be a maneuver to pivot towards a brighter future.

While shoppers might contemplate if Trader Joes or Whole Foods is better for their wallets, others turned to Kroger  — as well as the company's regional chains like Ralphs, Food 4 Less, QFC, and Fred Meyer across 16 states. It's not currently clear if Kroger plans to shut down more than the 60 locations already announced. As reported in Patch, a 2022 $24.6 billion merger deal between Kroger and Albertsons was set to be the biggest merger in history, only to be blocked by a federal judge after stalling out in the courts for nearly two years.

After the collapse of the merger, Kroger pushed out its longtime Chief Executive Officer, Rodney Mullen, after an internal investigation into his personal conduct at Kroger — forgoing $11.2 in unvested stocks and options and leaving the company without a leader for the first quarter of 2025.

Despite the rough start to the year, the New York Post noted that Kroger is expecting to see an uptick in sales growth around 2.25% to 3.25%, not including fuel profits, namely due to slashing prices on over 2,000 items and a harder marketing push towards Kroger-label products on their shelves. With the 60 store closures, Kroger also announced that it intends to reinvest the savings from these closures into enhancing the overall shopping experience for their customers.

That does not mean that you should pull back from any money saving hacks when hitting up the grocery store, since we all know the price of groceries is not coming down any time soon. Therefore, plan ahead to shop the days that are best for grocery shopping and be sure that you eat ahead of time so you are not shopping for groceries on an empty stomach, which will only cost you more at the checkout counter.