GRAMBLING — Seven Fred’s locations in Louisiana, including the one in Grambling, will be some of 104 underperforming stores nationwide to close as part of an ongoing effort to “rationalize its store footprint,” the company announced Thursday.
The Fred’s store on U.S. Highway 80 in Grambling, just off R.W.E. Jones Street, will be closing by the end of June as the company shuts the doors on 104 stores in the southeast U.S. it deems underperforming.
Liquidation is expected to begin immediately.
Ruston’s Fred’s store is not on the list of closing locations.
The company’s decision to close additional underperforming stores follows a continued evaluation of its store portfolio, including historical and recent store performance and the timing of lease expirations, among other factors.
“These additional store closures are a difficult, but necessary step in the continued restructuring of Fred’s,” said Joseph Anto, Fred’s chief executive officer.
Fred’s is the second business loss for Grambling in recent months. Hibbett Sports, located in Legends Square Shopping Center, closed in December after less than a year in business.
“At this point, to lose Fred’s is a blow to not just Grambling, but to our whole Lincoln Parish community,” said Reginald Owens, president of the Greater Grambling Chamber of Commerce. “Just as Grambling is starting to make progress rebuilding a viable economic base, obviously, this wasn’t good for our community. It is as much a morale issue as it is an economic issue for Grambling, especially with the recent loss of Hibbett.”
“It is a disappointment not just to the Grambling community, but to those communities on the Highway 80 corridor in West Lincoln Parish including the Village of Simsboro and the Fellowship and Mt. Calm neighborhoods,” Owens said.
The Grambling Fred’s location originally included a pharmacy that closed in the spring of 2008.
Other Fred’s stores closing in Louisiana are located at:
• 1701 N. 18th St. in Monroe
• 2615 N. 7th St. in West Monroe
• 207 Washington St. in West Monroe
• 2017 E. Madison Ave. in Bastrop
Fred’s announced in April the closure of the Monroe store located at 2350 Sterlington Road.
