A BELOVED supermarket chain that rivals Wholefoods and Trader Joe’s is closing down two more locations.
Two new Amazon Fresh closures have been announced, just three years after the stores first opened.
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The stores facing the axe are in Thousand Oaks, California, and Masassas, Virginia.
An Amazon spokesperson explained the decision followed “an assessment of our offering”.
The Manassas location closed its doors for the last time on March 16, and the Thousand Oaks branch will cease trading on April 27.
Notices revealed that 88 and 76 employees would be impacted by the closures of the two sites respectively.
Both of the sites were short-lived.
They each opened up less than three years ago, with Manassas in June 2022 and Thousand Oaks in August 2022.
When it first set up, the Thousand Oaks branch was one of the trailblazer’s for Amazon’s much-anticipated “Just Walk Out” technology.
However, Amazon scrapped that scheme from all of its physical stores, including Whole Foods Markets, in April 2024.
The statement from the spokesperson continued: “We remain committed to Amazon Fresh and our broader grocery strategy, and will continue to refine our portfolio of stores as we learn which locations and features resonate most with customers.”
Amazon has been forced to close a string of its brick-and-mortar stores.
Some experts have told the online giant it was a mistake to set up in the physical world.
The cashierless checkout system, Just Walk Out, aimed to revolutionize brick-and-mortar stores but has not achieved its expected impact.
Jake Dollarhide, an analyst and co-founder of Longbow Asset Management, spoke about Amazon’s bold decision to enter grocery.
He told the Seattle Times last June: “Some people would call their foray into groceries a mistake, and that would be fair, to an extent.
“They’ve had more closures, resets, and renovations than they’ve actually introduced concepts at this point.”
Despite stores the steady drip of closures, Amazon is still planning to open up some new sites.
A new branch is popping up in Silver Spring, Maryland, on March 27.
The location will trade from 12345 Columbia Pike in the White Oak Town Center.
The Silver Spring opening is long overdue, having been delayed since Amazon paused its roll-out of Fresh stores in early 2023.
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