Last updated on December 11th, 2020
Jacksonville, Florida-based Southeastern Grocers, parent company of BI-LO, Fresco y Más, Harveys Supermarket and Winn-Dixie stores, said Sept. 1 it has reached an agreement to sell 23 total stores: 20 BI-LO stores to Alex Lee Inc., and two BI-LO stores and one Harveys Supermarket to B&T Foods. These agreements follow the company’s previously announced decision to fuel greater investment in its core banners. 
SEG will begin the transition of these stores to Alex Lee and B&T Foods later this month, and the process is expected to conclude in November. It will continue to assess options for the remaining BI-LO stores, including other potential transactions.
“We are confident that the acquirers will continue serving these communities with the same commitment to service, quality and value our customers have counted on so for long,” said Joe Caldwell, director of corporate communications and government affairs at SEG. “Equally important, this marks continued momentum within our strategic shift to support our core banners.”
PJ Solomon is serving as financial advisor, and Weil Gotshal and Burr Forman are serving as legal advisors to SEG on the transactions.
Alex Lee Inc. says the addition of these stores will enable the company to expand its geographic footprint, enhance operations across these markets and offer great customer service for shoppers in these communities.
“We are excited to add these new locations to our retail store portfolio,” said Brian George, president and CEO of Alex Lee Inc. “We have an opportunity to accelerate our growth in these markets while continuing to provide shoppers with a unique grocery shopping experience in their local communities.”
The stores will remain open as BI-LO stores until the transaction is complete. Alex Lee plans to operate 15 of the stores under the KJ’s Market IGA brand and five stores under the Lowes Foods brand.
The company says it expects to hire more than 2,000 employees to continue to serve the communities where the 20 stores are located. Prior to the completion of the transaction, Alex Lee plans to meet with current BI-LO employees in those stores to discuss employment opportunities.
Lowes Foods
The stores to be converted to Lowes Foods are:
Milestone Plaza
3619 Pelham Road, Greenville, South Carolina 29615
(Greenville County)
120 Forum Drive, Columbia, South Carolina 29229
(Richland County)
Chapin Center
1419 Chapin Road, Chapin, South Carolina 29036
(Lexington County)
3125 Bees Ferry Road, Charleston, South Carolina 29414
(Charleston County)
Hanahan Crossing Shopping Center
1000 Tanner Ford Boulevard, Hanahan, South Carolina 29410
(Berkeley County)
KJ’s Market IGA
Locations to be converted to KJ’s Market IGA are:
Lancer Square Shopping Center
1256 Highway 9 Bypass, West Lancaster, South Carolina 29720
(Lancaster County)
Belleview Square Shopping Center
1401 East Main Street, Rock Hill, South Carolina 29730
(York County)
110 South Highway 52, Suite B, Moncks Corner, South Carolina 29461
(Berkeley County)
Lyman Corners Shopping Center
12189 Greenville Highway, Lyman, South Carolina 29365
(Spartanburg County)
Rockville Center
1021 South Pendleton Street, Easley, South Carolina 29642
(Pickens County)
Northside Shopping Center
1048 York Street Northeast, Aiken, South Carolina 29801
(Aiken County)
Midland Valley Plaza Shopping Center
4435 Jefferson Davis Highway #11, Clearwater, South Carolina 29822
(Aiken County)
Lake Greenwood Shopping Center
3353 Highway 72 221 East, Greenwood, South Carolina 29649
(Greenwood County)
3575 Maybank Highway, Unit L, Johns Island, South Carolina 29455
(Charleston County)
New Ellenton Village Shopping Center
603 Main Street North, New Ellenton, South Carolina 29809
(Aiken County)
Pageland Plaza
501 South Pearl Street, Pageland, South Carolina 29728
(Chesterfield County)
55 Carolina Square, Edgefield, South Carolina 29824
(Edgefield County)
Twin City Crossing Shopping Center
249 West Columbia Avenue, Batesburg, South Carolina 29006
(Lexington County)
3457 Peach Orchard Road, Augusta, Georgia 30906
(Richmond County)
Windsor Place Shopping Center
2512 Tobacco Road, Hephzibah, Georgia 30815
(Richmond County)
Founded in 1931, Alex Lee is a family-owned and operated company that employs approximately 14,000 people. It serves as the parent company of Merchants Distributors, which provides full-service, wholesale distribution to supermarkets; Souto Foods, a distributor of authentic Hispanic foods; Lowes Foods, which operates full-service grocery stores in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia; and W. Lee Flowers, a wholesale distributor based in Scranton, South Carolina, which also owns and operates retail stores under the KJ’s Market and IGA brands. Alex Lee is based in Hickory, North Carolina.
SEG is one of the largest conventional supermarket companies in the U.S. SEG grocery stores, liquor stores, and in-store pharmacies serve communities throughout the seven southeastern states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
