August 27,2014
Fast growing Sprouts Farmers Market, an organic grocery chain,will not build a store in Visalia for now despite some lobbying by City of Visalia officials. Real estate sources say the Arizona-based retailer visited Visalia considering a location on Mooney recently but passed on the opportunity for now. City officials met with Sprouts representatives at a Las Vegas shopping center conference earlier this summer and things looked promising.
Visalia is a city of 130,000 but has limited grocery competition with no Vons, Alberstons, Ralphs,Trader Joes or Whole Foods locations here – all popular in other California cities this size. For years local boosters have been laboring to convince Trader Joe to open a store here without luck. The Sprouts option looked like the second best alternative.
Sprouts opened a Fresno location last year and has been considering Visalia since. The company went public in the past year and recently reported same store sales at 9.5%. They will launch 24 new stores in the US this year including a push into the South says their latest financial filing.Bakersfield will get a Sprouts in 2015, the company recently announced.The company’s stock is selling for around $30 a share after going to nearly $48 earlier this year. The are on pace to do $3 billion in sales this year.
Sprouts has been labeled as a less expensive Whole Foods-type store, big on organic produce,like sprouts.
Management at Sprouts did not return our phone call.