Grocery Outlet Continues National Expansion With 400th Store

Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. has opened its 400^th store and newest location, in Hailey, Idaho, continuing its annual new store growth of 10% — adding roughly 35 new stores each year.

Located at 615 N Main Street in Hailey, just south of the Sun Valley ski resort and east of Boise, the newest Grocery Outlet location is run by independent operator (IO) Shane Anderson. Anderson is a Grocery Outlet veteran who previously worked with his daughter and son-in-law as a general manager in their Grocery Outlet location.

Besides opening its 400th store, Grocery Outlet is also celebrating its 75^th anniversary. For the diamond commemoration, customers in all of its stores can take advantage of “diamond deals” of up to 75% off select items, as well as throwback bargain deals and highlights of some of the company’s most unique bargain buys from throughout the years.

“We are incredibly proud to celebrate the opening of our 400^th store, a momentous number 75 years in the making,” said Grocery Outlet’s CEO Eric Lindberg. “Since our founding, Grocery Outlet has built on the core value of ‘touching lives for the better,’ and today, we are proud to play a part in 400 communities across the U.S. When you shop at a Grocery Outlet store, you are shopping local and supporting entrepreneurs within your own community. I’d like to congratulate Shane Anderson, along with all of our IOs across the country, for providing a treasure-hunt shopping experience for all of our bargain-minded customers.”

The 400^th store opening follows a mixed first-quarter earnings report, with profit up and comps down. Grocery Outlet said that for the first quarter ended April 3, net sales decreased by 1% to $752.5 million. Same-store sales decreased by 8.2% compared with a 17.4% increase in the same period last year. Meanwhile, net income increased 49.4% to $18.9 million, or 19 cents per diluted share.

Based in Emeryville, Calif., Grocery Outlet has 400 stores in California, Washington, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Idaho and Nevada. The company is No. 69 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2021 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.