Southeastern Grocers is rebranding itself as The Winn-Dixie Co. and announcing a strategic shift to prioritize its home state of Florida, leading to its exit from Alabama and other states.
On Tuesday, Southeastern revealed its plan to transfer ownership of most of its locations outside Florida. This includes 32 Winn-Dixie stores and eight Harvey’s Supermarkets across Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Mississippi, which will be handed over to different grocery store operators.
However, a few stores in southern Georgia will remain operational as part of the transition, which is expected to conclude by early next year.
Winn-Dixie, originally established in 1925, currently operates 20 stores in Alabama. Earlier this month, the company announced that it would pass three of its Alabama stores in Fultondale, Trussville, and Jasper to Food City in early November.
Food City has indicated that it plans to retain most of the existing store associates during this transition.
“We’re profoundly thankful to our associates and customers across all our markets for their loyalty,”
Southeastern Grocers CEO Anthony Hucker expressed in a recent statement.
“As we move forward as Winn-Dixie, we’ll do everything we can to ensure these transitions reflect the gratitude and respect our people deserve.”
Following the divestiture, Winn-Dixie will operate approximately 130 grocery stores and 140 liquor stores primarily in Florida and Georgia. Earlier this year, the chain closed four locations across three cities in Alabama.
In addition, Aldi is in the process of converting 220 previously acquired Winn-Dixie and Harvey’s stores, including those in Alabama, into Aldi locations.
