16-07-2025
‘Amazon killed us': Bumpy's natural foods in Springfield to close by end of July
SPRINGFIELD — Faced with online competition and suppliers less willing to deal with a smaller retailer, Derryl Gibbs will close his Bumpy's Natural and Organic Foods at the end of July.
'Amazon killed us,' Gibbs said by phone Tuesday. 'The average shopper today, the common shopper, is an online shopper. ... I need people to push carts.'
Shoppers looking for vitamins, nutritional supplements, and health and beauty products increasingly turned online, he said. That makes it even harder for Bumpy's to keep selling food, given the existing competition from in-person, high-volume retailers like Big Y and Stop & Shop.
What's more, suppliers started selling direct to consumers and requiring shops like his to buy in bulk. There was no way he could comfortably order $2,000 to $3,000 worth of goods to satisfy minimums, he said.
Gibbs got the nickname 'Bumpy' from the food allergies that led him to seek out natural nutrition. He was in business in Granby and Agawam before opening in Springfield in 2019, just before the pandemic hit.
It was, he said, the first Black-owned natural and organic food store in the region.
Bumpy's received a $75,000 award from the city's American Rescue Plan Act funding in April 2022. But Gibbs noted that other businesses received more funding.
Regardless, he thanked the community.
'I love, love, love, my customers,' he said. 'The support we got from the neighborhood has been great.'
But it just wasn't enough.
Prices are half off for the going-out-of-business sale. There were a few customers Tuesday, but shelves were clearly emptying.
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Read the original article on MassLive.
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