Wal-Mart closing all Marketside stores

Say goodbye to Wal-Mart’s neighborhood Marketside grocery stores. Employees were told today all Arizona locations will close Oct. 21.

Wal-Mart launched the Marketside concept – similar to Fresh & Easy stores – in 2008 with stores in Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert and Tempe.

The Marketside stores, generally around 15,000 square feet, were conceived to fill a perceived niche between traditional grocery stores (45,000 square feet) and convenience stores (5,000 square feet).

Fresh & Easy, which has several ready-but-unopened stores in Arizona, also has struggled, reportedly losing $300 million last year.