BI-LO Aims HI

BI-LO LLC (Greenville, S.C.), the parent company of Bruno’s Supermarkets Inc., announced the last phase of a long-term growth strategy designed to make the newly transformed company the leading independent food retailer in the Southeast.

The new company, to be named BI-LO/Bruno’s, said it will concentrate its efforts and financial resources on a group of more than 300 stores in core markets across the region, remodeling current stores, building new stores, investing in technology and bolstering marketing efforts in these core markets. BI-LO/Bruno’s now operates 426 stores in South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Florida and Mississippi.

“By increasing the efficiency of our business and making strategic reinvestments in our core markets, we will be well-positioned to succeed and thrive in the fast-growing Southeast marketplace,” said Dean Cohagan, president and ceo of BI-LO/Bruno’s. “After conducting a thorough review of our stores and the markets in which we operate, we have decided to focus on the markets in which we currently have the Number One or Number Two position or can reach that position in a reasonable period of time — or in markets where we see significant growth potential.”

In January, the company sold its warehouse facilities and moved its distribution and replenishment functions to C&S Wholesale Grocers Inc. (Keene, N.H.), the second-largest food wholesaler and distributor in the nation (and eighth-largest privately held company)’. The decision allows BI- LO/Bruno’s to free up capital for reinvestment in its stores, while also enabling the company to focus on operating supermarkets.

As part of its plan to concentrate resources on its core markets, the supermarket retailer also announced that Southern Family Markets Acquisition LLC, an affiliate of C&S, has agreed to purchase 104 of the current 428 BI-LO and Bruno’s stores. These stores will be divested in a series of transactions to be executed over the course of the next 11 months. BI-LO/Bruno’s said it will also sell an additional nine stores on its own and will close three stores. Each of the 113 stores to be divested will continue to be operated by BI-LO/Bruno’s under normal business procedures until its ownership is transferred.

“Through the store purchase we look forward to building on the success of our prior distribution agreement with BI-LO/Bruno’s and further strengthening our presence in the Southeast,” said Rick Cohen, ceo of C&S and Southern Family Markets. “This new agreement will allow us to strategically integrate the wholesale and retail aspects of the purchased stores and grow sales.”