'Financial Setbacks' Behind Healthy Home Market Sale

Healthy Home Market (HHM), a Charlotte, N.C.-based natural and organic food retailer since 1979, has decided to put itself up for sale. The chain currently consists of three stores, all in the greater Charlotte area.

Another of the company's stores, which opened earlier this year in Lenoir, N.C., as a Farm 2 Family Foods by Healthy Home Market location, has since closed.

"We are very proud of the longevity of our family-owned stores and the impact they have had on the Charlotte grocery community," HHM noted in a statement provided to Progressive Grocer. "Unfortunately though, over the last several years, we suffered a series of financial setbacks due to difficulties associated with store expansions and relocations, including the unanticipated move from our South End location in 2014, and the closure of our Independence location one year later due to road construction. Although our current locations in key neighborhoods continued to perform well despite these events (even in the face of headwinds in the retail grocery industry), we then suffered an additional – and by far our largest – financial setback with the opening of our Lenoir store this past year. Unfortunately, the Lenoir store venture was not successful and resulted in substantial stress to HHM’s finances. As a result and with great disappointment, we made the difficult decision last month to close the Lenoir store."

The statement continued: "In light of the current circumstances, HHM, in consultation with its advisors, undertook a thorough evaluation of its strategic alternatives and decided to pursue a focused, organized and expedited sale process for HHM’s remaining stores.  We are pleased that we are already seeing positive momentum and potential buyer interest, and we are hopeful that the process will result not only in business continuity for Healthy Home, but future growth of the brand in the hands of a buyer with the necessary capital resources."

According to industry observers, the move is in keeping with a national trend of small regional grocers losing share to discount grocers, warehouse clubs and ecommerce sites. Examples include Wisconsin grocer Brennan’s Market, which went out of business, and Gordy’s Market, also based in the Badger State, which has sold some locations.

HHM said that its three remaining locations "will continue to operate as normal during this expedited sale process, and we encourage both longtime local customers and new friends alike to come support the stores and shop local."  

The Southeast itself is an overstored region, with the advent of German deep-discount grocer Lidl promising to ramp up already intense competition in the region among such players as Harris Teeter, Publix and Walmart.