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Southeastern Grocers, a troubled supermarket chain, confirmed Thursday a new series of closures, including its latest Bi-Lo store in Mount Pleasant and nine others in South Carolina.
The company plans to close 22 of its footprint, including the Bi-Lo store in the Sweetgrass Corner shopping center on US Highway 17 and the Isle of Palms connector in Mount Pleasant, spokesman Joe Caldwell said.
Eight other Bi-Lo stores and a Harveys supermarket will also be closed in the state of Palmetto, he said.
The closure of Mount Pleasant will leave the Charleston area with 10 Bi-Lo stores between Moncks Corner and Edisto Island. This is the seventh Bi-Lo to close in the Lowcountry since 2016. Another was converted to Piggly Wiggly last year.
"We realize that closing an underperforming store in your community can be a challenge," Caldwell said in a statement. "We do not take these decisions lightly and make this difficult choice only after a thorough review of its impact on our associates and our customers."
The closure of the Mount Pleasant branch is scheduled for March 25. Liquidation discounts are expected in the next month.
The departure of Bi-Lo marks the third grocer to leave the rich but brutally competitive market of East Cooper. Food Lion closed its last store in the suburbs of Charleston in 2012 and Piggly Wiggly ceased operations the following year, after experiencing financial difficulties.
The region is now served by Harris Teeter, Publix, Walmart, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's and Aldi. Newcomers Lowes Foods and Publix GreenWise are expected to open in the coming months.
Southeastern, in financial trouble, filed for bankruptcy in March 2018 and announced that it would close 94 underperforming stores, including 19 in South Carolina and four in the Charleston area. The measures were aimed at reducing the debt of the Jacksonville, Florida-based company by about $ 500 million.
At the end of the bankruptcy in May, the chain had 582 stores and began to modernize several.
Southeastern Grocers owns the Bi-Lo, Harveys, Winn-Dixie and Fresco y Mas supermarkets. The company does not have any Winn-Dixie or Fresco y Mas stores in South Carolina.
Bi-Lo, which debuted in the south of the state of South Carolina, had already filed for bankruptcy protection in 2009 and appeared a year later after a venture capital investor. investment has gained a position in the chain. He was later combined with Winn-Dixie and Harveys under the auspices of Southeastern Grocers.
reach Warren L. Wise 843-937-5524. Follow him on Twitter @warrenlancewise.
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