Grocery Outlet opens new store in California

Grocery Outlet, the fast-growing California-based discounter, is continuing its home-state expansion with a new store opening on Thursday in Soledad.

Located in Monterey County at 401 Nestles Rd., the new store employs 31 people and boasts bargain prices on groceries with a business model targeted at consumers who are seeking value.

“We are so thrilled to be a part of the Soledad community and provide big savings on quality groceries,” said independent owner and store operator Zeke Reyes. “This partnership with Grocery Outlet gives us the ability to grow our business, create new jobs and more importantly, give back to the local community."

Offering the same brands as traditional grocery stores but at lower prices, Grocery Outlet’s buyers “scour the country to find the top manufacturers with excess inventory and seasonal closeouts so Grocery Outlet can offer ‘wow savings’ on thousands of name-brand products," the company said in a statement.

During its 2022 fourth quarter, the Emeryville, California-based Grocery Outlet reported net sales totaled $930.8 million, up 18.9% from $782.7 million a year earlier. The grocery retailer also told investors its readying for significant growth—despite construction challenges.

“We believe we have the potential for more than 10 times the number of stores we have today,” Sheedy said, according to a transcript from financial services site Sentieo. “We continue to manage short-term new store headwinds, which have delayed additional store openings. As a result, we now expect to open 25 to 28 net new stores this year.”

Grocery Outlet’s brisk brick-and-mortar expansion led to 27 new stores in fiscal 2022, including 10 in the fourth quarter alone.

The extreme-value grocery retailer operates over 440 locations in California, Idaho, New Jersey, Nevada, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington and Maryland. Grocery Outlet stores are owned by independent operators based in the communities they serve.