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C&S to Take Over Winn-Dixie Distribution

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Bi-Lo Holding, parent company of Bi-Lo and Winn-Dixie grocery stores, said Tuesday that it has reached a long-term agreement under which Keene, N.H.-based C&S Wholesale Grocers will provide warehouse, transportation and most procurement services for all 480 Winn-Dixie stores and continue providing services to all 206 Bi-Lo stores.

Jon Springer, Executive Editor

May 14, 2013

2 Min Read
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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Bi-Lo Holding, parent company of Bi-Lo and Winn-Dixie grocery stores, said Tuesday that it has reached a long-term agreement under which Keene, N.H.-based C&S Wholesale Grocers will provide warehouse, transportation and most procurement services for all 480 Winn-Dixie stores and continue providing services to all 206 Bi-Lo stores.

“We believe this deal will allow us to leverage the experience and buying power of C&S so that we can continue to reinvest in our company and focus on selling great products at a good value to our customers,” Randall Onstead, president and chief executive officer of Bi-Lo, said in a statement.

By the end of the year, Winn-Dixie’s six distribution centers — located in Baldwin, Jacksonville, Miami and Orlando, Fla.; Montgomery, Ala.; and Hammond, La. — and the functions that support them will be transitioned. Bi-Lo said C&S intends to operate the facilities as they are, with minimal change to existing workers or their wages and benefits. As each distribution center is transitioned over to C&S, the workers will become employees of C&S.

“We thank our Winn-Dixie distribution center associates for their contributions over the years,” added Onstead. “While we are saying goodbye to them as part of the Winn-Dixie family, we are very pleased that this transition provides them with continued employment. In addition, they will provide C&S with the knowledge and experience needed for a smooth transition."

“C&S is very excited about extending its eight-year relationship with Bi-Lo to include the Winn-Dixie stores and to further extending our presence in the South. We are proud to be a part of the ongoing transformation of the Bi-Lo Winn-Dixie business and look forward to welcoming the many Winn-Dixie associates to the C&S family,” said Rick Cohen, C&S chairman and chief executive officer, in a statement.

C&S has provided procurement, warehouse and transportation services for Bi-Lo since 2005. The new agreement covers both the Bi-Lo and Winn-Dixie banners across the companywide network of nearly 700 stores.

 

About the Author

Jon Springer

Executive Editor

Jon Springer is executive editor of Winsight Grocery Business with responsibility for leading its digital news team. Jon has more than 20 years of experience covering consumer business and retail in New York, including more than 14 years at the Retail/Financial desk at Supermarket News. His previous experience includes covering consumer markets for KPMG’s Insiders; the U.S. beverage industry for Beverage Spectrum; and he was a Senior Editor covering commercial real estate and retail for the International Council of Shopping Centers. Jon began his career as a sports reporter and features editor for the Cecil Whig, a daily newspaper in Elkton, Md. Jon is also the author of two books on baseball. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English-Journalism from the University of Delaware. He lives in Brooklyn, N.Y. with his family.

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