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Food Lion entering GV market


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Just heard that in 2006 Food Lion will enter the Greenville/Spartanburg market with multiple locations. I've been in a few Food Lions and never been very impressed. They aren't up to the level of a Bi-Lo or Publix. However, this is a major market entrance for them as I heard they will start with 12 stores. Do you guys think this will be new construction, or redo's of vacant Winn-Dixie stores?

Here is an article that mentions their entry into Greenville:

http://www.primezone.com/newsroom/news.html?d=89540

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Just heard that in 2006 Food Lion will enter the Greenville/Spartanburg market with multiple locations. I've been in a few Food Lions and never been very impressed. They aren't up to the level of a Bi-Lo or Publix. However, this is a major market entrance for them as I heard they will start with 12 stores. Do you guys think this will be new construction, or redo's of vacant Winn-Dixie stores?

Here is an article that mentions their entry into Greenville:

http://www.primezone.com/newsroom/news.html?d=89540

This is a good thing. Food Lion traditionally has lower prices than any other established chain here, save Wal-Mart. Yes, the stores are less than inspiring, but then again, you're not paying for frills. I predict they will enter the market in former Winn-Dixie locations, and maybe even the former Food Smart on Old Spartanburg Rd (which actually looks on the exterior like a Food Lion-designed location, by the way), as well as some new construction. Plus, they may help drive down prices at other grocers here (Bi-Lo, which is over priced, IMO).

What would be even better is if they come into the market with their other two concepts: Bloom, which is akin to Harris Teeter in quality, and Bottom Dollar, a deep discount grocer.

Article on Bottom Dollar

Food Lion

Bloom (what I'd really love to see come to the Upstate!)

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This is a good thing. Food Lion traditionally has lower prices than any other established chain here, save Wal-Mart. Yes, the stores are less than inspiring, but then again, you're not paying for frills. I predict they will enter the market in former Winn-Dixie locations, and maybe even the former Food Smart on Old Spartanburg Rd (which actually looks on the exterior like a Food Lion-designed location, by the way), as well as some new construction. Plus, they may help drive down prices at other grocers here (Bi-Lo, which is over priced, IMO).

What would be even better is if they come into the market with their other two concepts: Bloom, which is akin to Harris Teeter in quality, and Bottom Dollar, a deep discount grocer.

Article on Bottom Dollar

Food Lion

Bloom (what I'd really love to see come to the Upstate!)

Thanks for the links. The Bloom concept looks great!

But please, please tell me why when you go to the Food Lion link, it plays the Andy Griffith theme song???? :rofl: That in of itself makes me really not want to shop there.

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Thanks for the links. The Bloom concept looks great!

But please, please tell me why when you go to the Food Lion link, it plays the Andy Griffith theme song???? :rofl: That in of itself makes me really not want to shop there.

LMAO!

I guess to reinforce their NC, smalltown roots (even though they're owned by Belgian congolmerate Delhaize). I wonder of they're based in Bruuuuuge? :lol:

Food Lion moved into North Central Florida when I was a teen so that they could compete head-to-head with Winn Dixie. They both lost, but Food Lion lost first.

I've never been very impressed with Food Lion, especially since they received national exposure for their handling of meat. :sick:

I forget the name of their founder, but I remember a TV ad where he was standing with the skyline of Jax behind him, and showing how prices at Winn-Dixie dropped like 20% when Food Lion entered the market.

Years later, ABC did their expose on Food Lion supposedly bleaching expired meat for resale. Eventually, a court found that ABC manufactured the story (and the video?), and ended up paying Food Lion a few million $$'s to settle.

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Yea, their M.O. is to build new buildings. Their stores are usually very small, 28,000-30,000 sq. ft. and full of very bright lights. I understand their shelves are stocked on a "consignment" basis, too, which helps the bottom line, one would think.

As for the bleaching of meat and ABC's undercover work, the court did not find that ABC manufactured the story or the evidence. My memory is not as long as it once was, but if I remember correctly back to 1997, this story was 100% real and Food Lion was caught red-handed in a practice that many grocery chains unfortunately undertake.

The $5.5 million settlement was based on trespass and fraud for ABC's use of falsefied resumes to get jobs and gain access to Food Lion's stores and meat coolers to document their findings.

Feel free to Google it. It's very well documented, I'm sure.

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Interesting it is to know Food Lion's coming to the area. With the recent fallout of Winn Dixie and stores already in Gaffney, Greenwood, and Laurens, Food Lion's move into the Greenville/Spartanburg/Anderson area would be ripe.

Before they became part of Delhaize, Food Lion located in locations 25,000-30,000 square feet and offered products in a no frills environment having only your meat counter, deli/bakery, produce, grocery, and GM/HBC. Since becoming part of Delhaize, Food Lion is building much larger stores (35,000-45,000 squre feet), introducing new concept stores (Bloom, Sweetbay), and adding pharmicies throughout the company.

Both Bloom and Bottom Dollar concept stores would be welcome for the area. Bottom Dollar would fare well in areas like Moonville, Marietta, and some lower income districts. Bloom could thrive in higher income areas like Woodruff Road and Motor Mile.

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If I remember correctly, Food Lion has been in this market before. I seem to remember a store on Wade Hampton Blvd in Taylors (ironically) across from the Winn Dixie distrubtion center. The building is now a consignment store or something.

Anyone else remember this?

If we are thinking of the same building, I remember it being a Community Cash at some point. It could have been a Food Lion too.

Food Lion never had a store in Wade Hampton Plaza. Only A&P and Community Cash were the only grocers in this complex. A&P opened up sometime in the early 1960s. When they began leaving the area, they closed that store only to be replaced by Community Cash. Community Cash thought a larger store would be beneficial, thus moving to the space next door. Auto Zone now occupies the old A&P/Community Cash location. The newer Community Cash location closed around 1990 because of financial trouble; Community Cash would never recover. Today, that space is divided into an independent discount furniture store and Trunk Treasures seasonal consignment shop.

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The Winn Dixie warehouse property is for sale. 56 acres or so. I wonder what could go there.

Its days as a distrubution center are over. Most facilities have moved out to the Interstates for quicker access to their destinations.

Personally, I would like to see a retail center. The Wade Hampton/Taylors area could use Borders, Dick's Sporting Goods, Goody's, Jack in the Box, Kohl's, Old Navy, Ryan's, etc.

Before the site is considered for redevelopment, I sense the current buildings to be razed and the site cleaned up.

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I also thought Food Lion had once been in the Upstate market and was re-entering. Too bad it's not Harris Teeter re-entering or Kroger coming to the market and that it's Food Lion.

Kroger was previously in the upstate nearly twenty years ago. They had two Kroger stores in Anderson (Mall Road and River @ South Fant Streets) and the Welcome store at Haywood @ Laurens Roads. I assume they did not do well here because of Bi-Lo, Ingle's, and Winn Dixie at the time. Anderson's Mall Road Kroger became a Bi-Lo in 1988 and gave Bi-Lo its first pharmacy.

I think Harris Teeter would have done well here. Their closest competitor would be Publix, and Publix firmly planted itself in the area. Harris Teeter did not focus much in the Greenville area, so they pulled out.

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Yeah, I notice in markets where Publix is big, Harris Teeter doesn't fare as well (Atlanta, Gsp-Sp, Cola...). Interesting about the Krogers though. I guess Food Lion's making it's move becuases there isn't an "extra low price" grocer in the area anymore because of Winn-Dixie's departure and i consider Ingles and Bi-Lo to be mid-tier

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Its days as a distrubution center are over. Most facilities have moved out to the Interstates for quicker access to their destinations.

Personally, I would like to see a retail center. The Wade Hampton/Taylors area could use Borders, Dick's Sporting Goods, Goody's, Jack in the Box, Kohl's, Old Navy, Ryan's, etc.

Before the site is considered for redevelopment, I sense the current buildings to be razed and the site cleaned up.

I tend to think Taylors is a little too "low rent" to support Borders, and too close to Cherrydale for an Old Navy. Goody's was already in the area in that strip fronting the Supercenter. At night, you can drive by it & see "Goody's", backwards, on the sign for Taylor's Plaza (is that what it's called?)

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I talked to someone who went to the auction at the distribution center, a executive there told him that Publix was buying the place to use as a distro. center.

I have the number of the person in charge of that peice of real estate, but I haven't called yet on it.

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I talked to someone who went to the auction at the distribution center, a executive there told him that Publix was buying the place to use as a distro. center.

I have the number of the person in charge of that peice of real estate, but I haven't called yet on it.

I hope you're right....and I hope this will encourage Publix to make more of its presence known in the Upstate. Publix is superior to the other chains here, and I'd love to see them expand.

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I talked to someone who went to the auction at the distribution center, a executive there told him that Publix was buying the place to use as a distro. center.

I have the number of the person in charge of that peice of real estate, but I haven't called yet on it.

I hope you're right....and I hope this will encourage Publix to make more of its presence known in the Upstate. Publix is superior to the other chains here, and I'd love to see them expand.

Winn Dixie built its facility in the late 1940s. Most of its operations were shifted up to Charlotte in the mid-1990s during some restructuring. Last I heard, the facility was used for its dairy and general merchandise products.

I have heard rumors over the past decade Publix considered opening a facility in the Carolinas. Publix invests into new construction and massive improvements, so acquiring the site would help them in its future endeavors.

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Winn Dixie built its facility in the late 1940s. Most of its operations were shifted up to Charlotte in the mid-1990s during some restructuring. Last I heard, the facility was used for its dairy and general merchandise products.

I have heard rumors over the past decade Publix considered opening a facility in the Carolinas. Publix invests into new construction and massive improvements, so acquiring the site would help them in its future endeavors.

We are kinda close to metro Atlanta, where Publix has a distribution & Dairy plant.

I keep hearing rumors of Publix buying out Harris Teeter, and if that happens, they'd probably take over their dist. sites instead of the W-D one here.

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