Outlet: The Virginian-Pilot

West Marine, the boat and water products retailer, announced Thursday that it plans to close its three South Hampton Roads stores and consolidate them into a “flagship” store in Virginia Beach.

The 23,000-square-foot store is slated to open Sept. 12 at 4000 Virginia Beach Blvd., in Loehmann’s Plaza Shopping Center. It is bigger than the three existing stores combined, according to West Marine, based in Watsonville, Calif.

The three closing stores are at 5616 E. Virginia Beach Blvd. and 3841 E. Little Creek Road in Norfolk and 2865 Lynnhaven Drive in Virginia Beach. They will stay open until the new store begins operating, said Laurie Fried, a West Marine spokeswoman.

“It’s part of an overall company strategy,” Fried said. “We’re closing the smaller, less efficient, less inviting stores.”

The new West Marine will carry more than double the merchandise and expand into product categories such as clothing and accessories, additional fishing gear, and watersports equipment including stand-up paddleboards and kayaks, Fried said.

All 34 employees who work at the three existing stores will receive offers to come to the new location, Fried said.

West Marine did similar consolidations in Minnetonka, Minn., and Old Saybrook, Conn., Fried said. Some of the shuttered stores across the country were inherited though acquisitions. One of the Norfolk stores was E&B Marine, which West Marine bought in 1996, Fried said.

This is the second national retail chain in a month to announce that a new, single location in or around the Pembroke area will replace multiple local stores. Motherhood Maternity, a store for pregnant women, also plans to close three South Hampton Roads locations and replace them with a “superstore” in Town Center next month.

Carolyn Shapiro, 757-446-2270, carolyn.shapiro@pilotonline.com