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BOULDER, Colo. (AP) -- Wild Oats Markets Inc., a natural foods grocery chain, said Tuesday it will close eight underperforming stores, including five in Arizona, next month.
Wild Oats expects to take a restructuring charge of about $25.5 million in the fourth quarter related to asset impairment, severance and lease-related liabilities. Additionally, Wild Oats will pay incremental operational costs of about $1.7 million related to the closures.
The targeted stores include the chain's five Henry's Farmers Market stores in the metropolitan Phoenix area and Wild Oats stores in Omaha, Neb.; Fort Collins, Colo.; and West Jordan, Utah. The closings will be effective Dec. 16.
The company did not say how many jobs would be lost. A spokeswoman did not immediately return telephone messages seeking comment.
The Boulder-based company also said it will not open a Henry's store being built in Phoenix.
"We believe that the Phoenix stores were not performing at Henry's typically strong levels because of the fiercely competitive nature of the Phoenix food retail market, and the fact that Henry's was a new entrant to Phoenix two years ago," Gregory Mays, chairman and chief executive officer of Wild Oats, said in a statement.
The savings realized from the store closures will be reinvested in the existing store base, the company said.
Wild Oats has 115 natural foods stores in 24 states and British Columbia under the names of Wild Oats Natural Marketplace, Henry's Farmers Market, Sun Harvest and Capers Community Markets.
Shares of Wild Oats dropped 20 cents, or 1.30 percent, to $15.18 a share in morning trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
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On the Net: http://www.wildoats.com.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)