Sprouts Farmers Market, located at 8550 Santa Monica Blvd. Ste 100, in West Hollywood, is closing on April 30, 2023. The supermarket chain known for offering a wide selection of natural and organic foods, including fresh produce, bulk foods, vitamins, and more, is leaving West Hollywood after opening just under four years. They had their grand opening on July 2019.
According to an employee at the West Hollywood location, the Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc decided not to renew their lease in WeHo, which is up in May. They are looking for opportunities to open at a different location.
The Phoenix-based market plans to open 30 more stores but it is closing 11 locations over the next months as it continues to move away from a larger footprint.
According to reports a conference call last week stating that stores were closing, but did not specify which stores. They did reveal that at least one will close in the first quarter after its lease expires. We can confirm that the one closing is the location in West Hollywood.
The West Hollywood location announced it is closing days after its competitor Trader Joe’s market located across the street celebrated being open in West Hollywood for 20 years. The Trader Joe’s at 8611 Santa Monica Blvd, first opened on the northwest corner of Westmount Drive and Santa Monica Blvd on March 3, 2003, and celebrated its 20h anniversary this past weekend with free giveaways for customers who spent $20 or more.
According to their website, Sprouts opened their first store in 2002 with a goal to offer natural food. Sprouts has since grown to more than 370 stores in 23 states, with over 31,000 team members.
Chief Financial Officer Chip Molloy, stated that they are closing the larger stores that are 30% larger at around 30,000, 40,000 square-feet, but are under performing financially. The standard sites at around 23,000 square feet will remain open. More stores are expected to close during the second quarter.
Chief Executive Officer Jack Sinclair said the company would have acted sooner to closing the stores but didn’t think it was appropriate to do so during the pandemic. Sinclair also said the Sprouts brand hit $1 billion in sales late last year.
An employee at the West Hollywood location says affected employees will be able to transfer to other stores if they wish.
