Grocery chain is closing 32 underperforming stores [Video]

Stop & Shop announced it is closing 32 underperforming stores in the Northeast as part of efforts to improve its financial future.

“Stop & Shop has evaluated its overall store portfolio and made the difficult decision to close underperforming stores to create a healthy base for the future growth of our brand,” the chain’s president Gordon Reid said in a news release on July 12.

Parent company Ahold Delhaize, which also owns the Giant Company in Carlisle, said the stores will close by early November.

The stores include 10 in New Jersey, eight in Massachusetts, seven in New York, five in Connecticut and two in Rhode Island.

After the closures, the chain will operate 350 stores in its five-state footprint. It said employees are being offered other jobs within the company.

“Our associates are a strong community dedicated to growing and working together, and all of our store associates will …