Meijer Closing 2 Small-Format Stores Near Chicago

Superstore retailer Meijer plans to close two of its smaller-format stores in suburban Chicago this summer.

Lagging sales are blamed for the expected closings in Berwyn and Melrose Park, Ill., the company reported Tuesday. The locations are scheduled to close June 17.

Dubbed Meijer Marketplace when they opened in 2011 (Melrose Park) and 2012 (Berwyn), these 90,000-square-foot stores are less than half the size of Meijer’s typical 200,000-square-foot supercenters.

Meijer spokesman Frank Guglielmi said the smaller stores were underperforming. "Based on recent volume, we have determined it would not be economically feasible for them to remain open."

About 300 employees will be affected by the store closings; those who do not accept positions at other Meijer stores will be offered severance packages, Guglielmi said.

"Meijer remains committed to the Chicago suburbs and the state of Illinois," he affirmed, noting that the retailer has invested more than $200 million in nine new Illinois supercenters over the past five years, mainly in suburban Chicago, where the Grand Rapids, Mich.-based retailer has 21 stores in all.

More recently, Meijer announced a planned investment of nearly $400 million in new stores and remodels throughout the Midwest alongside a significant move to expand home delivery across its six-state footprint after a successful test in Detroit last fall.