Rock Hill and Lancaster BI-LO stores will be sold. Here’s what will replace them.
Rock Hill and Lancaster grocery stores have been sold and will be converted to a new name.
Southeastern Grocers agreed to sell 20 BI-LO stores in South Carolina and Georgia to Alex Lee, Inc. The new owner will operate 15 stores as KJ’s Market IGA sites and five as Lowes Foods stores.
The Rock Hill store at 1401 E. Main St. that anchors Belleview Square Shopping Center will become a KJ’s Market IGA, as will the Lancaster site at 1256 S.C. 9 Bypass in the Lancer Square Shopping Center.
“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,” Alex Lee president and CEO Brian George said in a release Tuesday.
Stores will remain open as BI-LO locations until the transaction is finalized. Changes should stagger from September to November. Alex Lee intends to hire more than 2,000 employees for the transitioned stores, per a release, and will meet with current BI-LO employees about continued employment.
Southeastern Grocers, parent company of multiple brands including BI-LO and Winn-Dixie, issued a separate statement Tuesday announcing 23 stores would be sold. Along with 20 stores sold to Alex Lee are two BI-LO and a Harveys Supermarket that will be sold to B&T Foods.
“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, Southeastern Grocers spokesperson.
This story was originally published September 1, 2020 at 11:20 AM.
