It was announced today that SEG sold off 62 BI-LO and Harvey's stores in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia to Food Lion, with the sale expected to be completed in early 2021. This sale was announced alongside word that the BI-LO brand would be retired, with SEG exploring options for the remaining BI-LO stores not included in this sale. SEG is looking to use money from the sale of BI-LO's stores to enhance the core markets where Winn-Dixie, Fresco y Mas, and the remaining Harvey's stores operate. More information on the end of BI-LO can be found in this article, with a complete listing of BI-LO locations going to Food Lion accessible here.
I always expected BI-LO's demise to be a more drawn out process than this, but BI-LO always seemed to be the weakest of SEG's brands, at least to me. It's sad news to see the brand will go away, but not really a shock to hear.
Anyway, that's what going on in the grocery world right now. So until next time,
AFB
Food Lion going to come back to florida? they are getting closer again which is suprising since they pulled out of Florida and Georgia was it ten years ago?
ReplyDelete2012 is when Food Lion left Florida, although Food Lion does operate stores in Georgia still (they have locations around Savannah, as well as stores in the far northern part of GA south of Chattanooga). Food Lion is definitely getting a nice boost back into many markets they left over the years in Georgia though with this deal. The future Quitman, GA Food Lion will only be ~10 miles from the Florida border, but I think that's as close as Food Lion will get to Florida again. I can't see Food Lion coming back to Florida, as they never did well here, even back during the company's glory days of the late 80's and early 1990's. It would be interesting to see Food Lion return to Florida, but it seems unlikely.
DeleteEven though I haven't been, shame this brand is going out this way. Could have easily had more potential, but I do wish best of luck to Food Lion!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'd have thought SEG would drag out BI-LO's demise little by little than go all out like this. I've never been to a BI-LO myself either, but I would like to visit before the brand goes away completely. The closest BI-LO to me is only a four hour drive away in coastal Georgia, so it's a trip I can make happen if I really wanted to. I can't remember the last time Food Lion made such a large purchase like this, or opened so many new stores (been at least a decade or so), so it's nice to see that chain growing again, even though it's at BI-LO's expense.
DeleteInteresting to see how this plays out. A lot of these acquired stores are in markets Delhaize (through Food Lion, Harvey's, or both) operated in before. All 16 Harvey's stores and 2 BI-LOs in this transaction were owned by Delhaize before 2013, and 11 of those were opened as Food Lions before being moved to the Harvey's and Reid's banners in the 2000s.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that Food Lion is buying back so many of their stores in some way with this deal, and gaining back a presence in many markets they pulled out of in the last decade. It seems like Food Lion has really improved their stores and image over the last decade, so hopefully they'll find success with this purchase. I can't remember the last time Food Lion made such a big acquisition either, so this is definitely an interesting event to watch.
DeleteWow! Thanks for the link! It looks like the Beaufort BI-LO on Parris Island Gateway goes to Food Lion. That gives Food Lion 3 stores in Beaufort County by next year!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I got some photos of BI-LO while I had the chance.
It's funny how this puts Food Lion so close to Florida again, just 30 miles north of Tallahassee basically.
I wish Albertsons could improve their image more a grow back to markets they had left before, but they're such a spread out chain with most of their successful stores in the west. Plus they just sold of a 17% stake of the company to another private equity firm. It just doesn't look great for Albertsons to grow geographically anymore, than just in places west of the Great Plains.
No problem! That's nice you got to experience that BI-LO, and BI-LO in general during your trip to Beaufort. It's also crazy how close Food Lion will be to Florida again, in many cases with stores they gave up previously in 2013. It would be nice to see Albertsons grow again and come back to Florida, but with all the company's debts and troubles, that would certainly be a stretch. With the looks of things, it seems like there a better chance of Food Lion returning to Florida than Albertsons! :)
DeleteThis also means the other BI LO in Beaufort is closing outright (the BI LO the was in the same shopping center as Kmart) in Beaufort. This news kind of helps explain how Winn-Dixie is able to flex their muscle in Florida by buying those Lucky's and Earth Fare stores.
ReplyDeleteIt's rather up in the air what will happen to the BI-LO stores not going to Food Lion right now. I'm sure more will get sold off to others, many will probably close, and there's also a small chance some could convert to Winn-Dixie (probably the ones closest to Savannah that didn't get sold off, as that was the closest market where Winn-Dixie and BI-LO came to overlapping. With BI-LO out of the picture, that left more room to push money into W-D.
DeleteBad news, a Publix store I commented about, 471 is closing
ReplyDeleteMake a Flickr post of pictures from the store on Google Reviews while you can until June 9th
RIP
Publix #471 Rivergate Shopping Center Macon, GA
(? 1994-June 6, 2020)
It appears Publix #471 will be replaced with store #1700 about 7 miles away. A bit of a long distance for a relocation, but that seems to be the case.
DeleteI saw a news post and it says it won't exactly replace it and 1263 is a few exits away, don't exactly live in Macon but been to 471 a couple of times and I feel like the Riverside area is going to be impacted about the change, Kroger is across the street though.
DeleteLike I said try saving the Google Review photos of the store and do like a collection of photos and a tribute, if you don't do it, that's fine, but I would be delighted and overjoyed if you do because there are a lot of good pictures.
or even a blog post of the soon to be former Publix would be cool, like I said I would be fine if you don't do so.
DeleteI had a feeling Southeastern Grocers' troubles were not over yet. I thought BI-LO would not be around to celebrate its 60th anniversary in 2021, and Winn-Dixie would not be around to celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2025. BI-LO will now not be around.
ReplyDeleteFood Lion's next attempt to expand across South Carolina and Georgia should be taken with caution. It failed miserably fifteen years ago with a failed expansion across upstate South Carolina.
How did Food Lion fail? It stores struggled on having the necessities of food and pharmacy, struggled to have fresh foods and quality products, and had consistently high prices to make up for lost sales. Has it learned from its failures? It is not up to par yet with other Ahold Delhaize banners Giant (Landover, Maryland), Giant (Carlisle, Pennsylvania), Hannaford, and Stop & Shop. If Food Lion does not get its act together on its next attempt, BI-LO and Harvey's stores acquired will close, and changes in leadership in Salisbury, North Carolina, will be needed.