Dive Brief:

• Good Food Holdings will acquire Portland, Oregon-based New Seasons Market and its wholly owned subsidiary New Leaf Community Markets, which operates in central California, the companies announced Tuesday. The deal has been approved by New Season’s board of directors and is expected to close in January.
• New Seasons Market and New Leaf Community Markets will continue to operate independently as certified B Corporations and will maintain existing leadership, with CEO Forrest Hoffmaster at the helm.
• Good Food Holdings owns other regional grocery banners including Bristol Farms and Lazy Acres Natural Market in California, and Metropolitan Market in Washington.

Dive Insight:

As New Seasons Market integrates into Good Food Holdings, it will exit the Seattle market and focus operations around Portland, Oregon, and southwest Washington. Metropolitan Market, the Good Food-owned brand that has operated in the Seattle area since 1971, will take over one New Seasons Market on Mercer Island, Washington, and convert it by mid-2020. 

New Seasons will close a store in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood and cancel plans for a location in the city’s central district. New Leaf Community Market will continue to serve California’s central coast, where it operates five stores. 

This year began with a change in leadership structure for New Seasons Market, with Hoffmaster moving from the role of co-president to CEO and co-president Kristi McFarland taking on the role of chief strategy officer. The changes followed a major shakeup in 2018 and were expected to help New Seasons continue its growth. 

New Seasons currently operates 21 stores, down from the 25 it operated in 2018 when former CEO Wendi Collie led the organization. Her rocky tenure led the company to pull back on expansion plans and close some stores. 

Merging with Good Food Holdings gives New Seasons and New Leaf the opportunity to refocus their strategy and streamline operations under a stable company that shares a common mission centered on local, natural foods and sustainability. In a statement, Hoffmaster noted the partnership would ensure New Seasons’ longevity as a community cornerstone.

Good Food Holdings, which was acquired last year by South Korean retailer E-mart for $270 million, will purchase New Seasons from private equity firm Endeavor Capital, which owns 64% of New Seasons Market, and a handful of other investors that own the remaining portion.