Piggly Wiggly owner closing more supermarket locations | Official Website of Louis Velazquez, entrepreneur, finance guy and tech innovator

Everyone remembers their mother’s go-to supermarket as a child, from the name of the cashier lady your mom constantly gossiped with to the order in which your family would make its way around the store so nothing was forgotten.

However, consumers’ needs have evolved. Convenience now plays a significant role in how people shop, which has slowly caused smaller local supermarkets to disappear.

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It has become far more appealing to check off an entire grocery list while running errands in a single trip than to visit multiple stores and waste many hours of the day.

This is why retail giants like Walmart (WMT) , Whole Foods (AMZN) , and Kroger have pioneered the expansion of all-in-one grocery stores by adding pharmacies, gas stations, and restaurants, expanding their assortment and services to better fill gaps in the market.

Unfortunately, this has put smaller supermarket chains in a tougher position to compete.

Homeland Stores is closing multiple locations nationwide.

Image source&colon; Shutterstock

Homeland Stores grows its store footprint after bankruptcy

Homeland Stores became an independent company in 1987, but after filing for bankruptcy in 2002, it was acquired by Associated Wholesale Grocers.

Homeland Acquisitions Corp. became an employee-owned company in 2011, and a year later, it acquired Homeland Stores from the previous owner to help boost the growth of the business.

The company currently operates around 80 supermarkets in Oklahoma, Texas, and Georgia under different names, including CashSaver, Discount Foods, Food World, Piggly Wiggly, and United Supermarkets.

However, growth tends to plateau eventually, and Homeland Acquisitions has reached this dreaded stage, announcing multiple closures in various states after growing its portfolio by buying small chains and units.

Many Homeland Stores locations are set to shut down next month

Homeland Stores is set to close five supermarkets in Oklahoma and Georgia. Although a tough decision, the parent company deemed these lower-performing stores with less long-term growth potential.

The supermarkets closing in Oklahoma include one Homeland in Pauls Valley, another in Jay, a United Supermarket store in Kingfisher, and a Discount Foods location in Ponca City. The store closing in Georgia is a Piggly Wiggly in Gordon.

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“By closing these stores, we are able to focus on the greatest opportunities that strengthen other communities, grow communities and to really strengthen our organization by focusing resources in those areas,” said Homeland Acquisition Director of Marketing and Public Relations Christin King to The Oklahoman.

The Georgia location will close on August 16, as stated on its Facebook page, and so will the four Oklahoma stores, according to a customer service representative.