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Southeastern Grocers closing 94 stores

Staff Report //March 16, 2018//

Southeastern Grocers closing 94 stores

Staff Report //March 16, 2018//

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The parent company of Bi-Lo and Harveys is closing 94 underperforming stores, including three Harveys locations in Columbia.

Southeastern Grocers said in a statement that the closings, part of a court-supervised restructuring agreement, were necessary to reduce debt. The company is voluntarily filing bankruptcy but said its 582 remaining stores will continue to operate.

The Harveys locations closing in Columbia are on Broad River Road, Decker Boulevard and North Main Street. Those stores, former Bi-Los, were rebranded as Harveys in November 2016.

“The agreement we announced today is an important step in Southeastern Grocers’ transformation to put our company in the best position to succeed in the extremely competitive retail market in which we do business,” Anthony Hucker, president and CEO of SEG, said, in a statement. “With a foundation built on iconic, heritage banners, and with the strong support of our leadership team, we will work through this process as quickly and efficiently as possible.”

The company said its goal is to complete the restructuring within 90 days.

Other S.C. stores closing include locations in Anderson, Bamberg, Barnwell, Clemson, Greenville, Mount Pleasant, Newberry, North Charleston and Spartanburg.  

“Southeastern Grocers is faced with a critical milestone in its transformation, and we have made choices for our future and long-term growth potential,” Hucker said. “We conducted a thorough review of our strategic options and determined that this financial restructuring is in the best interests of our associates, customers, supplier partners and the communities in which we serve.”

Before the closings, Southeastern ranked as the fifth-largest conventional supermarket chain in the United States and the second-largest conventional supermarket in the southeast based on store count. The company employed nearly 66,000 associates in seven southeastern states.

Stores in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and North Carolina will also close.

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