Two suburban Milwaukee Pick ‘n Save stores will close no later than June 16 due to poor financial performance, according to a memo sent to employees on May 12.
The New Berlin Sunnyslope store at 13995 W. National Ave., and the Pewaukee store at 601 Ryan St. employ a total of 127 people.
Employees will be offered the opportunity to work at a nearby store, according to the company.
“After careful consideration of the long-term financial performance of these two stores, our efforts did not bring about the results needed to meet our business goals and objectives,” according to the internal memo. “We’ve enjoyed serving our customers at our New Berlin-Sunnyslope and Pewaukee-Ryan stores for many years.”
Grocery industry analyst David Livingston predicted in an interview with BizTimes in August that within the next five years, at least a dozen Pick ’n Save stores in southeastern Wisconsin could close, due to redundancies of the stores themselves and increased competition in the market from newcomers like Meijer and Fresh Thyme Farmers Market.
Livingston gave a list of the stores he believed would close, which included the two locations that were announced May 12.
On Monday, Livingston said he believes most of the stores he mentioned last summer would still close, with the exception of the Brookfield Pick ‘n Save at 17295 W. Capitol Drive.
“They put some money into and will probably keep since Ruby Isle will probably close at some point,” Livingston said. “This should work out nicely for Kroger and help raise their sales per square foot. All grocers desperately need employees so it will take some of the worker shortage burden off all stores.”
Cincinnati-based The Kroger Co. announced in November 2015 it would acquire Milwaukee-based Pick ‘n Save parent Roundy’s Inc. for $866 million. At the time, Kroger’s chairman and chief executive officer, Rodney McMullen, said there were no plans to close any of the Pick ’n Save stores.
The Clarke Square Pick ’n Save on Milwaukee’s south side closed last summer.
