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Southeastern Grocers finishes 2020 with upgraded store base

Winn-Dixie chain completes 32 remodels, opens eight new locations

Russell Redman

December 17, 2020

3 Min Read
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The Winn-Dixie store upgrades bring an enhanced fresh food presentation, while the new locations are conversions of acquired Earth Fare and Lucky's Market stores.Southeastern Grocers

Proceeding with its business transformation, Southeastern Grocers is closing out 2020 with a combined 41 supermarket remodels and new stores.

Jacksonsville, Fla.-based Southeastern Grocers said Thursday that, this year, it has upgraded 32 stores in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi to offer improved shopping experiences, as well as opened eight new Winn-Dixie stores in Florida and expanded its Fresco y Más Hispanic grocery store into a new community in southwestern Florida.

“The challenges of this year only strengthened our resolve to support, elevate and grow the communities we serve,” Anthony Hucker, president and CEO of Southeastern Grocers, said in a statement. “Our dedicated team of associates worked tirelessly to help make our communities safer and stronger while also working to continue to refresh and grow our network of stores. Southeastern Grocers provides our customers and communities a shopping experience they can always count on, and we are delighted to have invested in 41 new and renewed grocery stores this year.”

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Three WD’s Taprooms were added in Winn-Dixie's new Gainesville, Lake Mary and West Melbourne, Fla., stores.

Features of the new and remodeled stores focus primarily on fresh food, including farm-fresh produce with expanded organic selections; full-service meat departments with Certified Angus Beef and prime beef exclusive to Southeastern Grocers; specialty cheeses; fresh sushi made daily; and a wide array grab-and-go meals. Other amenities include new seafood sections with fresh, locally caught selections plus fresh bakery departments offering artisan-baked breads, pastries and signature desserts. The company noted that the stores’ shopping experiences are tailored to the needs and preferences of their community.

Related:Winn-Dixie cooks up new concepts in latest Florida stores

Southeastern Grocers kicked off its expansion in February with the opening of a new Winn-Dixie store in its hometown of Jacksonville in response to city and community concerns about an impending food desert in the Brentwood community. Fresco y Más expanded into Lehigh Acres in October to provide the growing Southwest Florida Hispanic community with an authentic Hispanic grocery store, the retailer said.

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Fresco y Más expanded into the growing Southwest Florida Hispanic community of Lehigh Acres with the opening of a new store in October.

Brand-new Winn-Dixies — converted from acquired Earth Fare and Lucky’s Market locations — opened in Boynton Beach, Gainesville, Jacksonville and Lakewood Ranch, Fla., on Nov. 11, followed by openings in Lake Mary and West Melbourne on Dec. 9 and Fort Myers on Dec. 16. Southeastern Grocers added that it expanded its “sip and shop” offering with the addition of three WD’s Taprooms in the new Gainesville, Lake Mary and West Melbourne stores.

Related:Southeastern Grocers unveils new Winn-Dixies in Florida

With the Florida store openings, Southeastern Grocers said it provided more than 700 new jobs and added over 2,000 new associates.

The remodeled and new stores are a linchpin of Southeastern Grocers’ strategic growth plan. In recent years, the company has restructured its business, focusing mainly on its Winn-Dixie, Harveys and Fresco y Más chains, with roughly 40% of the store base upgraded ovedr the past three years.

In September, Southeastern Grocers announced deals to sell 23 stores under its Bi-Lo and Harveys Supermarket banners to grocery wholesaler and retailer Alex Lee and independent operator B&T Foods. The transactions furthered plans to dissolve the Bi-Lo banner, disclosed in June when the company announced the sale of 62 Bi-Lo and Harveys stores and a distribution center to Ahold Delhaize USA’s Food Lion chain. The phaseout of Bi-Lo is part of a five-year business transformation strategy after Southeastern Grocers’ emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May 2018.

This past October, the company filed for an initial public offering, in which its common stock would list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “SEGR.” With the IPO, the grocer will operate 420 stores under the Winn-Dixie, Harveys and Fresco y Más banners in Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia and Mississippi, as well as 140 liquor stores, 231 in-store pharmacies and one central specialty pharmacy.

About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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