Whole Foods closing 9 stores by end of April

Last month Whole Foods announced that it would close nine stores by the end of April, and is scrapping its plans to expand from 440 to 1,200 stores. In addition to the closings, the company plans to open six new stores in the next couple months.

Same store sales for Whole Foods have declined  in each of the past six quarters, including a 2.4% decline in the most recent quarter.

The stores closing are in New Mexico, Colorado (2), Utah, California (2), Georgia, Arizona and Illinois.

Weis to buy three PA Genuardi's stores

PA-based Weis Markets, which operates 161 stores in five states, announced in a press release earlier today that it was buying three Genuardi's supermarkets in Pennsylvania. The locations are Conshohocken, Doylestown and Norristown (Germantown Pike).

No sale price was disclosed, and Weis said the stores would continue to operate as Genuardi's while the deal was finalized.

Last month it was announced that Giant would buy 16 Genuardi's locations in Pennsylvania. With three now going to Weis, that leaves the following Genuardi's stores:

Audubon, PA
Barnegat, NJ
Cherry Hill, NJ
Egg Harbor Township, NJ
Evesham, NJ
Exton, PA (closed earlier this month)
Norristown, PA (West Main Street) - closing March 10
Royersford, PA (closed earlier this month)

Weis Markets fourth quarter and year-end results