Bi-Lo Holdings closing 6 stores

Bi-Lo Holdings said it will close six stores on or before April 22 in what the company said was a “fine-tuning” of its Winn-Dixie and Bi-Lo store bases.

The Jacksonville, Fla.-based company said Winn-Dixie stores in Tampa, Fla. (West Waters Avenue); Bradenton, Fla. (Cortez Road); and Brunswick, Ga. (Altama Avenue) are closing, as are Bi-Lo sites in Savannah, Ga. (Skidaway Road); Garden City, Ga. (Augusta Street); and Easley, S.C. (Calhoun Memorial Highway.)

All but the Easley Bi-Lo are stores acquired by the company less than two years ago. The Tampa and Bradenton sites were former Sweetbay stores, and the Brunswick store was a former Harveys acquired in the same deal from Delhaize; the Savannah and Georgia City stores were former Piggly Wiggly stores acquired in a separate deal in 2013.

Bi-Lo Holdings in November closed 23 stores.

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Julianne Roberts, a spokeswoman for Bi-Lo Holdings, told SN that the company would continue to operate neighboring stores in all of the markets affected by the closings.

“We are deliberately fine-tuning our company and network of stores so that we can reinvest in what matters most for our customers — providing the freshest foods and best deals,” Julianne Roberts, a spokeswoman for Bi-Lo Holdings, told SN. “While closing underperforming stores is never easy for any retailer, it is a necessary part of operating a retail business.”