On Feb. 3, Earth Fare, the North Carolina-based specialty natural and organic grocery store and full-service supermarket, announced that it will begin inventory liquidation sales at all of its stores. All employees have been notified of the impending closure of the company’s stores and corporate office. The company will continue to pursue a sale of assets, in whole or in parts.

This comes only weeks after Lucky’s Market revealed in January that it would be closing 32 of its 39 stores by Feb. 12.

Earth Fare operates in 50 stores spanning 10 states, including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. Lucky’s Market, the Colorado-based grocery chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after announcing that it will close 32 of its 39 stores across the nation.

Retailer Response

North Carolina retailer Organic Marketplace’s owner and CEO, Renée Southard, said she sympathizes with the news.

“As an independent retailer of Organic Marketplace for over 30-plus years,” Southard said, “I feel it is sad to our whole industry when one of our stores announce closings, it impacts our industry even stronger when several store locations close in a short period of time as we have seen with Lucky’s and Earth Fare. It affects us all when this happens. However, I feel the success of Organic Marketplace is based on longevity in our community and the level of customer service we provide. The customers are still there, and we will continue to take care of their needs. Our industry is a strong one with a history that has withstood many trials. This should serve to motivate us all to be mindful of growth and carefully think about our future expansions.”

Jim Emme, CEO of Illinois-based NOW Foods, also commented,  “The closing of both chains is disturbing from many perspectives. The loss of so many jobs in the communities these retailers served will no doubt have a negative impact for many individuals and businesses.”

He added, “The roots of the NOW brand are in retailing, for NOW was started as a house brand for our retail division, the Fruitful Yield. As a retailer, we fully understand the challenges that brick-and-mortar stores are facing in a rapidly changing competitive environment in which prices are being continually pressured downward, reducing the ability of a store to be profitable. We do not expect to see this trend change in the foreseeable future. We are a privately held family owned company with a long-term vision for sustainability of our retail operations. This means we are often times willing to accept lower margins. Retail chains with outside investors are under much greater pressure to deliver higher rates of returns for their investors, a very difficult achievement in today’s environment of consumer convenience at a very low cost.”

Over the course of the past few years, Earth Fare said it had implemented numerous strategic initiatives aimed at growth and expansion and enhancing the customer experience.

“While many of these initiatives improved the business, continued challenges in the retail industry impeded the company’s progress as well as its ability to refinance its debt. As a result, Earth Fare is not in a financial position to continue to operate on a go-forward basis. As such, we have made the difficult, but necessary decision to commence inventory liquidation sales while we continue to engage in a process to find potential suitors for our stores,” the retailer stated.

Terry Lemerond, founder and president of Wisconsin-based EuroPharma, Inc., makers of the Terry Naturally brand of dietary supplements, added, “It wouldn’t be fair for me to comment on stores I’m not familiar with and how they run their business, but I will say that providing education to both staff and customers, along with top-notch customer service is essential for any store. Retailers are only as strong as their customer experience; that’s what allows them to remain a destination, and not an afterthought.

“After all,” he added, “top quality natural health products are available from many sources, including online stores. The days of putting products on a shelf and expecting people to simply find what they are looking for and understand what they are buying without question are long gone. It is critical that every store pays attention to their customers, has a confident, well-educated staff, and continues to work to their full potential to make their business a true destination.”