Discount retail store Fred’s announced Friday morning that it will be closing 129 locations, according to a press release from the company. 

Hogansville’s Fred’s, located at 2001 Billy Tucker Circle, is one of the stores closing.

 City Manager David Milliron said he and others had noticed recent changes at the Hogansville location that make sense in light of the news.

“We had suspicions that something big was happening because of the big clearance sale and signs going on in the front,” Milliron said. “We thought it was just a little strange, but fast-forward, and [Friday] we got the news.” 

Milliron said that this was not the result of a Hogansville problem, but rather the result of a country-wide financial problem for Fred’s. 

“We always hate to lose anyone from the city, but from a financial standpoint I know they are competing with other companies,” Milliron said. 

Milliron said a new company could move into that location and succeed.

“It was unfortunate they could not have held out a little longer because a year from now, we will have substantial success financially here,” Milliron said. “The next store will come in and be very successful. Someone else is going to take advantage of it and succeed very quickly.” 

According to the press release, all pharmacies, including the 69 pharmacies inside the 129 locations that are set to close, will remain open and the company will continue to fulfill prescriptions as the company looks to pursue the sale of all 166 pharmacy locations. 

“While it is never easy to make decisions that impact our valued employees and customers, this initiative represents another necessary step in our continued efforts to stabilize our business by simplifying our store portfolio and product assortment,” said Joseph Anto, Fred’s CEO, in the release. 

The press release did not specify the date any of the 129 locations will close.