If you were to randomly survey a group of strangers on the street about the current condition of retail, most would probably give you a dour read on the industry.
While other industries seemed to have had their time in the sun over the past few years — tech, pharma, and even beauty have soared to new heights — retail chugs along in the background.Â
Related: Home Depot local rival closing permanently after 120 years
It’s not for a lack of trying.Â
Sleeker, more streamlined areas of the market are simply more adaptable to changes.Â
Tech, for instance, is rarely encumbered with huge brick-and-mortar footprints, and adapting to changes often just means a software upgrade rather than a complete operational refurbishing.Â
But when it comes to change in the retail space, most companies groan under the heavy weight and strain of transition.
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Grocery retailers have a hard time
This is especially the case for many grocery stores and supermarkets.Â
These retailers rely heavily on in-person business. And profits don’t come easily.
During the best of times, the average grocery store only makes between one to three percent profit margins. They play a game of numbers, whereby they must sell a lot of inventory to turn even the smallest profit.Â
More closings:
- Popular Mexican chain closing all restaurants, no bankruptcy
- Iconic mall chain shuttering more stores forever
- Major gym closing multiple locations after franchisee bankruptcy
- After Chapter 11 bankruptcy, beloved retailer closes all stores
Plus, many draws at the supermarket — such as produce, chicken, eggs, milk, and bread — are big loss leaders.Â
So, not if — but when — change comes knocking, grocery stores can be slow to adapt.Â
During Covid, for instance, when more customers began to order their goods online, supermarkets struggled to adapt quickly.Â
Some stores began to offer curbside pickup or in-app ordering, but these processes were often glitchy or lacked quality control. And in the grocery business, when you upset customers, you risk never seeing them again.Â
Popular grocery chain closing stores
Sometimes, no matter what you do to please customers, you’re still forced to make tough decisions.Â
Such is the case with Iceland, the popular frozen food grocery chain with over 900 stores across the UK and Europe. It also runs an international export business.Â
Related: Popular convenience store brand shutting down
Iceland has shuttered over 20 locations since 2023, and it announced it’s planning to close another two stores in the following areas:
- Margate, Kent, UK: closing June 21, 2025
- Inverness, Scotland: closing July 12, 2025
When the Inverness location shutters in July, the largest city in the Scottish Highlands will officially be without an Iceland location. The next-closest Iceland store is in Aberdeen, which is over two-and-a-half hours away.
Iceland has stated the closures are part of a broader restructuring program, where it will shutter underperforming or financially strained stores in favor of better opportunities elsewhere.Â
It is currently working on beefing up operations at its large-format store concept The Food Warehouse, which offers bigger parking lots and more selection.
