Poor locations, flawed concept, bad economy, tough competition.
Those are among the theories real- estate and retail experts are offering as to why SmartCo Foods shuttered its five Front Range stores less than five months after they opened.
"I think it was a surprise that they would throw in the towel that quickly," said David Larson, a broker with Legend Retail Group. "They must have decided that the Colorado market was going to be too difficult to penetrate as far as gaining market share."
The company pulled out of Colorado because sales didn't meet expectations at any of the five stores, said Randall Oliver, spokesman for California-based Smart & Final Stores LLC, parent company of SmartCo.
"We can't really cite a specific reason why those sales never met our expectations," Oliver said. "It could be a variety of things — the economy, the competition, not having been able to create an awareness.
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