Skip navigation

Sweetbay Will Convert to Winn-Dixie

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Bi-Lo Holdings here said it will convert the Sweetbay and Reid’s stores it is acquiring from Delhaize to the Winn-Dixie and Bi-Lo banners, respectively.

It said it plans to retain the Harveys banner on “the majority” of those stores, located primarily in Georgia, although a few could be converted to either Bi-Lo or Winn-Dixie, the company said. Conversion of the banner names is anticipated to begin in the first quarter of 2014.


CONNECT WITH SN ON TWITTER

Follow @SN_News for updates throughout the day.


Bi-Lo Holdings — which recently filed for an initial public offering under the same Southeastern Grocers — said the transition of banners is planned “to reduce overlapping footprints,” noting there was little overlap between Harvey’s, Bi-Lo and Winn-Dixie.

The conversion of Sweetbay to Winn-Dixie will end Delhaize’s nine-year effort to create a new supermarket banner in Florida, where it began converting its Kash n’ Karry chain to Sweetbay in 2004.

Bi-Lo also said on Monday it planned to retain all of the employees at the stores when the acquisition is complete.

Read more: New Owners in the Sweetbay Saga

“Sweetbay, Harveys and Reid's have outstanding reputations, and their talented teams of associates have played a key role in making these stores an important part of the communities they serve," said Randall Onstead, president and chief executive officer of Bi-Lo Holdings. "We are pleased to soon welcome the outstanding associates of all three chains to the Bi-Lo Holdings family."

Bi-Lo Holdings reached an agreement in May to acquire the 155 stores under the Swetbay, Harveys and Reid’s banners from Delhaize. The transaction is anticipated to close in the first quarter of 2014, pending antitrust review.

Suggested Categories More from Supermarketnews

 

Hide comments

Comments

  • Allowed HTML tags: <em> <strong> <blockquote> <br> <p>

Plain text

  • No HTML tags allowed.
  • Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically.
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
Publish