Harvey's is the New Save Rite

Winn-Dixie/Save Rite/Winn-Dixie/Harvey's #2601
1012 Edgewood Avenue North, Jacksonville, FL
Image from Bing Maps

     Some more news out of Winn-Dixie today. Winn-Dixie has decide to launch another new store concept today, which is a rebranding and refocusing of their Harvey's banner. The store you see in the satellite image above is located on the west side of Jacksonville. It originally opened as a Winn-Dixie in 1984, and was later converted into a Save Rite in 2000 (which you can see the store as in the above image). This store was one of the last 6 Save Rites to make it to 2011, when it was converted back into a Winn-Dixie (rather cheaply like the other 5 stores were, I assume). Earlier this year, Winn-Dixie began to remodel this store into a Harvey's. However, the reasoning behind the remodel was to relaunch the Harvey's brand as a "price impact" banner for Southeastern Grocers. The store was remodeled with a stripped down, yellow colored version of the new Down Down interior. It remained opened as the remodel progressed, with the banner change becoming official this morning (5/4/16). This new store is the opposite extreme of what we saw at the reopened Baymeadows Winn-Dixie back in February. This new Harvey's has a large focus on reduced prices, dollar deals, sale items, and also an increased focus on offering products tailored to the neighborhood this store is located in. Also, this store will feature Harvey's/BI-LO's Southern Home house brand instead of Winn-Dixie brands. According to Southeastern, this store is going to be a pilot to see if the Harvey's brand can become a viable price impact division for them, with the possibility of rebranding the other Harvey's stores into this format, and adding more throughout Southeastern's entire coverage area (which would be through rebranding existing Winn-Dixies and possibly BI-LOs into Harvey's in certain areas). Harvey's 40 stores are predominantly found in smaller, more rural towns in Georgia. I believe there are a few Harvey's out in the Panhandle, but not to where they have a significant presence out there. This new store will be the first Harvey's branded store near Jacksonville. The new Harvey's will feel more like a traditional supermarket than a Save-A-Lot (which Save Rite was essentially, just double the size), as it will still offer fresh departments and less of a warehouse feel. I'm wondering if Harvey's is going to be Winn-Dixie's equivalent of what Albertsons did with Super Saver - a last ditch effort to save underperforming stores from having to be closed out right by offering a more value oriented format. Here's a link to an article from the Florida Times-Union about the new store, which includes a glimpse of the interior. I know Winn-Dixie keeps talking about remodeling and reimaging since that Baymeadows store opened earlier this year, but other than this Harvey's and the first Down Down store in Alabama, I haven't heard of any other remodels happening at any other stores. Hopefully there will be more on the way. Many of their stores desperately need a remodel.

Until the next time, 

The Albertsons Florida Blogger

UPDATE 5/5/16 - Here's a picture of the exterior of this store now as a Harvey's, courtesy of The Shelby Report:

The Shelby Report's Facebook page also includes an nice look around the store's interior, which you can see here. The Shelby report also has a good article about the new store which you can read here.