Stop & Shop, King Kullen Merger Is Off

King Kullen and Stop & Shop announced on Wednesday that they had abandoned plans under which Stop & Shop had agreed to acquire King Kullen, the Long Island-based company that has referred to itself as the nation’s oldest supermarket chain.

But in a June 10 release, the companies said, “A joint decision was made not to proceed with the acquisition because of significant, unforeseen changes in the marketplace that have emerged since the agreement was signed in December 2018, largely driven by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

“Both companies have put forth an incredible amount of effort to work through unanticipated challenges that have arisen, and we regret that we’re not able to move forward. King Kullen has a strong legacy on the island, and we wish them continued success,” Gordon Reid, president of Stop & Shop, said in the release. “Stop & Shop remains committed to the Long Island community, to serving our customers in the market well, and to investing in our associates and our stores in Nassau and Suffolk Counties.”

“We look forward to continuing to focus on what we do best — serving our great customers across Long Island and supporting our hard-working store associates,” Brian Cullen, the co-president of King Kullen, said in the release. “We are enthusiastic about the future and well-positioned to serve Nassau and Suffolk Counties for many years to come. In short, we are here for the long term.”

Stop & Shop, based in Quincy, Massachusetts, has more than 400 stores in the northeast, including Southampton, East Hampton, and Riverhead. King Kullen, which is based in Bethpage, has 29 King Kullen stores and five Wild by Nature stores across Long Island, including in Bridgehampton, Hampton Bays, and Eastport.