BI-LO (UNITED STATES)

'BI-LO' is a supermarket chain headquartered in Mauldin, South Carolina. It operates stores in Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Tennessee. ''Supermarket News'' ranked BI-LO/Bruno's No. 34 in the 2007 "Top 75 North American Food Retailers" based on 2006 fiscal year estimated sales of $3.6 billion.^[1]

Contents

History

BiLo Foods

References

External links

History

BI-LO was founded in 1961 by Frank L. Outlaw. The original name was Wrenn & Outlaw. The company was officially named BI-LO in
1963 after Outlaw conducted an employee store-naming contest to develop the "brand." His secretary, Edna Plumblee, won the contest by submitting the name "BI-LO." Bi-Lo was sold to Ahold (a Dutch retail conglomerate) in 1977. In 1994, Ahold purchased Red Food Stores, Inc. and merged its 55 locations in Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee into BI-LO the following year.^[2][3] In 2001, Ahold purchased the Birmingham, Alabama based Bruno's Supermarkets chain and combined its operations with BI-LO.
In 2005, Ahold sold BI-LO/Bruno's to Lone Star Funds.^[4] In order to concentrate on renovating older stores, building new ones, and investing in newer information technology, the new owners sold off 104 BI-LO and Bruno's stores in areas where the chain did not have significant market penetration as well as the three BI-LO/Bruno's distribution centers to grocery wholesaler, C&S Wholesale Grocers who converted some of the stores to Southern Family Markets.^[5]
On March 21, 2007, Lone Star Funds announced that they were spinning off the 67 Bruno's Supermarkets and Food World stores from BI-LO LLC into a separate company to be based out of Birmingham.^[6] On April 16, 2007, Lone Star announced that they were putting the 230-store BI-LO chain up for sale. Soon after, C&S announced that it was closing the Chattanooga distribution center that served the BI-LO's in the Chattanooga area and portions of Northern Georgia. ^[7]
In 1998, the company sponsored the construction of the BI-LO Center in Greenville, South Carolina.
As of August 2007, BI-LO operates 227 supermarkets in South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee and employs approximately 17,000 people. ^[8]

BiLo Foods

BiLo also exists as a separate entity as part of the small Friedman's and Riverside Grocery Store chain with 43 locations in western Pennsylvania near Pittsburgh. The "BiLo/Riverside" supermarkets trademark is owned by Penn Traffic Co.

References

1. 2007 Top 75 North American Food Retailers, ''Supermarket News'', Last accessed February 24, 2007.
2. Ahold to Buy U.S. Chain, ''The New York Times'', February 22, 1994
3. Ahold in U.S.A., accessed September 10, 2006
4. Lone Star Funds agrees to buy Bruno's from Ahold, ''Birmingham Business News'', December 23, 2004
5. C&S affiliate buys stores, press release dated May 3, 2005
6. Execs leave Bi-Lo; Bruno's spun off, Chattanooga Times Free Press March 21, 2007
7. Local BI-LO Warehouses Closing, The Chattanoogan April 16, 2007
8. Press Releases, Bi-Lo.com

External links

★ BI-LO Official website