A popular grocery chain is closing its doors for good leaving locals unable to buy kitchen staples or pharmaceuticals.
According to Anchorage Daily News, Carrs-Safeway is closing its store and pharmacy located in a small town in Alaska.
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The store, which is a subsidiary of Albertsons, has been open since 1957.
‘It’s devastating,’ president of the Fairview Community Council James Thornton told Anchorage Daily News.
‘The neighborhood needs this primary source of food, especially those that don’t have vehicles.
‘It’s their only way to get food and medicine in a lot of cases.’
Community leaders have warned that locals in the town will not be able to buy essentials, with many residents lacking cars to drive further afield.
Former store manager Richard Watts Jr. called it “a very sad day”.
Watts began his decades long career at Carrs working at the Gambell store in 1964 as a box boy, and worked his way up to becoming a manager.
He said the store was unique as it was so central to the people in the neighborhood.
“The Carrs-Safeway on Gambell is the heartbeat of Fairview, so it’s almost like cutting the heart out of the community,” Watts said.
“I just hope another store opens there after it closes.”
The grocery chain said pharmacists and prescriptions will be transferred to the Carrs pharmacy nearby while 35 employees will be given the option to move to other stores in the city.
‘Carrs-Safeway has been proudly serving Anchorage for decades, and the decision to close this store isn’t one we made lightly,’ the chain said in a statement.
‘With our focus on growth, we continuously evaluate the performance of our stores, and occasionally it’s necessary to close locations that are not growing and are perpetually unable to meet financial expectations.’
RETAIL APOCALYPSE
A number of major retailers are suffering as the sector grapples with changing consumer behavior, the rise of e-commerce, and inflationary pressures sparked by the pandemic.
With a raft of chains, including Walmart, winding back their retail footprint, experts say companies are suffering from increased borrowing costs and consumers tightening their wallets amid ongoing cost of living pressures.
According to analysis by retail data provider CoreSight, there has been a 24% increase in store closures in 2024 alone.
Amid growing concern over pharmacy deserts, CVS last year announced it had replaced CEO Karen Lynch with company veteran David Joyner and withdrew its 2024 profit forecast amid growing investor pressure.
In 2024, the pharmacy giant revealed plans to lay off nearly 3,000 employees, as the company struggles to drive higher profits and improved stock performance.
Department stores, including Macy’s, are closing about 150 underperforming stores, blaming competition from big box retailers and a shift to online shopping.
Discount retailer Big Lots has also announced the closure of more than 340 of its 1400 shops across the country after it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September 2024.
Shopping mall space has also been shrinking or being re-purposed, first from 2009 to 2016, and then again during the pandemic.