Phoenix-based Sprouts Farmers Market said it will permanently close 10 less-productive stores in five states by midyear as it moves toward smaller locations. None of the closings are in Arizona, though the company last month shut a store at 57th Avenue and Bell Road in Glendale.

The first-half closings will affect stores in California, Texas, Washington, Florida and Georgia. Sprouts also announced plans to open 30 stores before 2024, without providing locations.

"Choosing to close a store is always a difficult decision; however, these stores, on average, are approximately 30% larger than our current prototype and often underperformed," said Dan Sanders, the company's chief store operations officer, in a prepared statement.

The grocery retailer is continuing with its strategy of opening smaller stores, around 23,000 square feet on average, that are more economical to operate, he added.

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Employees at the closed locations will have other opportunities to remain with the company, Sanders said. Sprouts has around 75 to 100 workers per store and employs about 31,000 people nationally.

Sprouts, which opened its first store in Chandler in 2002, had grown to 386 stores across 23 states at the end of 2022. The company had a relatively high concentration of 44 locations in Arizona, behind only California (130) and Texas (51).

Sprouts said its stores average about 28,000 square feet, but the company is reducing that to between 21,000 and 25,000 square feet. Sprouts focuses on natural and organic foods, and it devotes about 20% of its square footage to produce, with an unusual configuration of the produce section centered in the middle of the store.

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Reach the writer at russ.wiles@arizonarepublic.com.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Sprouts Farmers Market is closing 10 stores. Here's where and why