Oro Valley’s Albertsons store will close within the next few weeks as part of a nationwide effort to pare unprofitable locations.
No other Tucson Albertsons stores are scheduled for closure, the company said.
Albertsons LLC announced to employees this month the closure of its Oro Valley store at 10805 N. Oracle Road.
The 57,560-square-foot store, which opened in 2003, is scheduled to close its doors by late February, said Christine Wilcox, a company spokeswoman.
Located at North Oracle Road and North 1st Avenue, the Oro Valley Albertsons store is located directly across the road from a Fry’s Food and Drug store.
Other grocery stores have recently opened in Oro Valley, including a new 41,679-square foot Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market at North Oracle and West Magee Roads.
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“Despite our best efforts, we haven’t been able to better position that store to perform for the community,” Wilcox said.
The Oro Valley store has between 75 and 100 employees and they will all be offered positions at other Tucson stores, she said.
“We’re committed to operating stores in Tucson to give customers quality food and services they want,” she said.
In the past year the company has sold or closed more than 100 unprofitable stores across the country, including eight in Phoenix and one in Kingman.
The Oro Valley Albertsons store is the first to close since Albertson’s Inc., was sold in June to Supervalu Inc., which oversees Albertsons LLC.
“It’s unfortunate that it would close,” said David Welsh, economic development administrator for the Town of Oro Valley. “We don’t like to see anything close but on the flip side, the market for existing commercial buildings is so tight....there should be a lot of demand for that corner. It might not work for another grocery, but it shouldn’t be a difficult spot to fill.”
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