Southeastern Grocers, the parent company of the century-old Florida chain Winn-Dixie, is gearing up for a major rebrand that involves closing dozens of locations and remodeling several others.
Come January, Southeastern Grocers will become The Winn-Dixie Company.
The firm will sell most of its out-of-state stores to other grocers. This includes 32 Winn-Dixie stores and eight Harveys Supermarkets in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi.
Chairman and CEO Anthony Hucker told the Tampa Bay Times that the company plans to double down on Florida, opening new locations and improving old ones.
“Our brand is built on deep local routes and authentic connections, and really can’t be replicated by national chains,” said Hucker.
This is his first big test as the company’s leader. Earlier this year, he organized a consortium of investors to buy Southeastern Grocers back from Aldi.
Winn-Dixie has weathered several storms in the past decade. In 2018, Jacksonville-based Southeastern Grocers filed for bankruptcy, shuttering several Winn-Dixie stores in the process.
When Aldi acquired Southeastern Grocers in 2024, it started converting more than 200 Winn-Dixie and Harvey’s stores into Aldis.
Hucker is banking that a shift in strategy will help this iconic Florida brand live to see another hundred years.
Southeastern Grocers recently announced plans to convert three Hitchcock’s Markets in North Florida to the Winn-Dixie brand.
The company will also begin to renovate thousands of existing locations, adding modern amenities like Amazon return kiosks and tailoring stores to better suit the needs of the surrounding community.
For instance, at a recent store opening in St. Cloud, shelves were lined with hundreds of new Hispanic products to cater toward growing neighborhoods with Latino populations.
“Florida is the third most populous state in the nation, and it’s essentially the fastest growing state in the country,” Hucker said. “Staying focused on Florida actually allows us to invest where our roots, our customer relationships and our opportunities are strongest.”
But Florida has become an increasingly crowded market in recent years. Winn-Dixie will have to compete with Florida-based Publix as well as national chains like Walmart and specialty stores like Trader Joe’s, all of which are rapidly expanding.
“For a traditional supermarket like Winn-Dixie to survive and to prosper, they need to have a point of difference,” said consumer trends analyst Phil Lempert.
He pointed to Publix, which is known for its customer service, and Aldi, which has become synonymous with bargain prices.
“Winn-Dixie has to find its way in order to attract new customers,” Lempert said.
Another brand that took a big bet on Florida and ended up getting burned is Kroger.
In 2021 the Cincinnati-based supermarket invested hundreds of millions of dollars on a first-of-its kind grocery delivery program, choosing Florida as one of its testing grounds.
Last week it announced it was shutting down its distribution center in Groveland.
Part of the problem was that Kroger didn’t have any name recognition in Florida, Lempert said. That’s one area where Winn-Dixie has a leg up.
Beyond Florida, grocers are grappling with new economic challenges. Stubborn inflation and tariffs on certain imported goods are raising the cost of inventory.
Shoppers are feeling the effects too, with many keeping a tight grip on their budgets.
Hucker is hoping that customers will turn to Winn-Dixie as a wallet-friendly option during tough times. The company is promoting new family meal deals and its “Price Hold” program offers seasonal cost reductions on a variety of products.
But that alone likely won’t be enough, Lempert said.
“You’re never going to be able to beat the prices of a Walmart or an Aldi,” he said.
Perhaps the biggest issue most grocers face these days is hiring and retaining quality employees. If Winn-Dixie can nail that, then they may be able to pave the way forward, said Lempert.
Hucker said he is challenging his team to completely rethink the customer experience. That starts with the employees.
“We say that we’re in the people business, we just happen to sell groceries,” he said. “Everything we do is grounded in our purpose of empowering people to feed and enrich our communities.”
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