After the Covid-19 pandemic, closures and bankruptcies have become a common occurrence worldwide in all market sectors and at every company level.
The uncertain state of the global economy after the pandemic has led to a softening in consumer spending due to inflation. This has caused people to spend their money more wisely, leaving businesses to suffer the inevitable consequences.
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This unfortunate fate is increasingly common, even among established businesses.
Related: Iconic retail chain reveals dates and places for store closures
Although they have been serving customers for many years, some can no longer weather economic shifts or withstand growing competition.
Wawa closing locations in April.
Image source: Shutterstock
Wawa becomes a beloved convenience store and gas station chain
Wawa started as a dairy business in 1920 in Pennsylvania and has since grown to become an iconic convenience store and gas station chain.
This popular pit stop for busy consumers is known for an affordable selection of food, especially hoagies and sandwiches, which have become customer favorites.
Related: Beloved grocery chain closing all stores without bankruptcy filing
Wawa has over 1,110 locations in 10 states and territories across the U.S. as of April 8 of this year. Although this chain is known nationwide, Florida, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania are the areas with the most stores, comprising a total of around 77% of all locations.
Pennsylvania has the third-most Wawa locations nationwide with 262 stores, which is approximately 24% of the total number of Wawa units, according to Scrape Hero.
Wawa to close two locations in Philadelphia
Hungry patrons in Northeast Pennsylvania will soon have two fewer options when they’re craving sausage, egg, and cheese between two pancakes. This month Wawa will shut down two of its convenience stores, less than two miles apart. The first is located at 6506 Frankford Avenue and will close on April 22, followed by the 6919 Castor Avenue location, which will close on April 24.
It is still unknown if the closures will result in layoffs. However, the WARN notice published by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor only states “closure” and not layoffs as the reason for the filing.
The decision to close these locations was made after extensive evaluation to analyze if they still met all the requirements set by Wawa, and these locations failed to reach them. Both units also do not have gas pumps, which is a huge revenue plus for many convenience stores.
“Every year, we evaluate our stores across our chain including performance, conditions, operational challenges, or the possibility to modernize them,” wrote Wawa’s director of government relations and corporate social responsibility Miriam Enriquez in the WARN letter. “At times, we must make the difficult decision to close some of them.”
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Wawa has closed around 11 locations in Philadelphia since 2020. However, about 20 stores still remain open.
This recent closure announcement comes after the company shuttered one of its oldest locations, 3230 Richmond Street in Philadelphia, last July after 45 years because it no longer met performance expectations.
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