Sprouts to Open New North Phoenix Store Near TSMC Plant

Article originally posted on Phoenix Business Journal on June 4, 2024

Phoenix-based specialty grocer Sprouts Farmers Market (Nasdaq: SFM) is set to open its newest store in its hometown near the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. complex being built in North Phoenix.

The store will open June 14 at 34750 N. North Valley Pkwy, just off I-17 and the Carefree Highway in Phoenix. Sprouts built the store in the space former occupied by a Bed Bath and Beyond retail center.

As more development around the semiconductor factory industry heats up, there has been a bigger push by retailers to be in that part of town, by both taking up and renovating existing space and by moving in to newly developed centers.

The new Sprouts store will include an in-store Press Coffee location. Sprouts and Press have expanded their partnership to more stores, while Sprouts has partnered with local coffee purveyors in other parts of the country. By adding a local coffee shop inside the stores, it helps keep customers in the store longer and helps increase the average number of visits to the store.

The latest Sprouts location will help the company continue to grow its market share in the Valley, which is known as one of the most competitive grocery markets in the country. In the latest market share study from sales tracking firm Chain Store Guide, Sprouts was one of the few grocery chains that significancy grew its market share locally from 2022 to 2023.

Click through the slideshow below to see how Sprouts stacks up in the Valley against Fry’s and other competitors:

In 2023, Sprouts had $668 million in revenue in the Valley, up 30% from the $513 million it had in 2022.

Sprouts sees faster growth in other parts of US

This new store will mark the 46th Sprouts store in Arizona. The company has been growing steadily across the U.S. but because Phoenix is such a mature market for the company, it is not opening stores across the Valley as fast as it is in other parts of the country.

While Arizona is not one of the expansion markets Sprouts has laid out in its investor materials — its main focus is on California, Texas, Florida and the Mid-Atlantic region — the grocer is still looking to add locations across its home state as prime locations open up or are developed.

During the first quarter of 2024, Sprouts opened seven new stores, and CEO Jack Sinclair was “very pleased with” six of those stores, he said during a May 1 earnings call with analysts. He added that as the company’s brand awareness has grown across the country, new store openings are driving in more revenue.

“These improved openings coupled with continued comp momentum in newer markets and our robust pipeline will support our growth aspirations,” Sinclair said on the call.

Beyond the 35 store openings planned for in 2024, which includes the new North Phoenix store, Sinclair said the company has set up stores to open years into the future.

“We have an extensive pipeline of approximately 100 approved new stores and 70 executed leases, a testament to our commitment to expanding our brand and access to healthy foods in more communities across the country,” Sinclair said.