Fresco Y Mas expands to 5 more locations

Southeastern Grocers continues to expand its new Hispanic focused banner Fresco Y Mas, reopening five Winn-Dixie stores in the Miami area under the banner.

The conversions indicate that the Jacksonville, Fla.-based company is pleased with initial results of previous flips of South Florida Winn-Dixie stores beginning with a single store in Hialeah, Fla., last July and another five in December. Southeastern operates dozens of Winn-Dixie locations in the Miami area but officials acknowledged many would be better off reflecting neighborhood shopping preferences. Southeastern CEO Ian McLeod told SN in December that the initial Hialeah location was showing increases in store visits and basket sizes versus when it was under the Winn-Dixie banner.

The latest conversions include new décor and remerchandising with appeal to Hispanic shoppers; service initiatives including the addition of 128 jobs across the locations; and lower prices on 3,000 items throughout the store. They also represent further evolution of the concept, McLeod said in a statement.

“As Fresco y Más continues to evolve in South Florida, we are meeting the expanding consumer demand of providing more communities with an authentic Hispanic grocery store,” he said. “Each store’s new Hispanic-focused product assortment and features, including a full-service Latin butcher shop and new Cocina, are our commitment to providing a shopping experience that reflects the cultural connection we strive to make with our Hispanic customers.”

The price investment includes more than 800 items with extended price discounts marked as “Low Price Every Day” – a version of the “Down Down” campaign running elsewhere at Southeastern. These six-month discounts include Hispanic favorites like Mounsier Mango Nectar at 60 cents (more than 39% savings); four-pound packages of El Sembrador Frozen Yuca now $3.75 (more than 31% savings); a 28% reduction on the price of a 5.5-ounce Chorizo Quijote and a 16% price cut on a 10-ounce package of Café Domino Espresso.

As in previous conversions, Southeastern has remerchandised fresh departments, moving to a “farmers’ market” setting in produce; remerchandising fresh meat in a Latin butcher shop setting; added a “Cocina” featuring freshly prepared meals; and renovated bakery to expand selection and preparation of traditional Hispanic pasties and desserts.

The stores also include a new Dollar Zone and more than 500 new Hispanic items.

The new stores are located in Miami (3701 NW 7^th St. and 3401 NW 18^th Ave.) and Hialeah (1630 W. 49^th St., 6500 W. 4^th Ave. and 1201 E. 10^th Ave.)