Harveys Supermarkets

J.M. Harvey Co., LLC, under the trade name Harveys Supermarkets, is an American supermarket chain with stores in Georgia and Florida. The majority of the Harveys stores are between 18,000 and 35,000 square feet (3,300 m2). The company was a subsidiary of Southeastern Grocers, which was headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, before shutting down in 2023 after selling the Harveys and Winn-Dixie brands to ALDI, and spinning off Fresco y Más.[2]

J.M. Harvey Co., LLC
Harveys Supermarkets
TypeSubsidiary
IndustryRetail (Grocery)
Founded1924 (1924) in Nashville, Georgia, U.S.
Founders
  • J. M. Harvey
  • Iris Harvey
Headquarters
Jacksonville, Florida
,
United States
Number of locations
77 (2021)
Areas served
Key people
Anthony Hucker, President and CEO
ProductsBakery, delicatessen, dairy, grocery, frozen foods, organic foods, bulk foods, meat, produce, seafood, wine, beer, spirits, floral products, pet supplies, general merchandise
RevenueIncrease US$860 million (2021)
Number of employees
4,400[1] (2021)
ParentAldi (pending acquisition)
Websiteharveyssupermarkets.com
Previous logo
Exterior of a now-closed Harveys store in Jacksonville, Florida.

History

The chain was founded by J. M. and Iris Harvey in Nashville, Georgia, in 1924. Their son, Joe, took over the chain in 1950. Harveys had grown from a total of 22 stores in 1981 to 43 stores in 2003. Harveys growth during the 1990s was primarily through acquisitions.

Acquisition By Delhaize

In 2003, Delhaize Group acquired the then 43-store strong Harveys chain for $26.1 million. After the acquisition, Harveys and sister chain Food Lion engaged in a number of synergies: over a dozen Food Lion stores were converted to Harveys; Procurement, supply chain, and back office functions were handled by Food Lion; and while Harveys management was still headquartered in Nashville, Georgia, they answered to Food Lion management in Salisbury, North Carolina.

In May 2006, Harveys announced they would close their warehouse and distribution center in Nashville, Georgia, to trim costs and enhance the resources of Food Lion, affecting about 200 employees in the process. Food Lion would support Harveys stores through their own distribution centers in South Carolina and Florida.[3]

Acquisition By BI-LO Holdings, LLC/Southeastern Grocers

In May 2013, Harveys was sold along with sister supermarket chains Sweetbay and Reid's to BI-LO Holdings, LLC for $265 million.[4] In September 2013, Southeastern Grocers was created by Lone Star Funds as the new parent company for BI-LO, Harveys, and Winn-Dixie. The new parent company then filed to raise as much as $500 million in a U.S. initial public offering.[5][6] On August 19, 2014, Southeastern Grocers withdrew their IPO filing with the SEC, aborting the process of listing the stock for public sale.[7]

2018 Bankruptcy

On March 15, 2018, Southeastern Grocers announced they would file a plan of reorganization under Chapter 11 by the end of March. According to the company, the restructuring would decrease overall debt levels by over $500 million. Under this plan, 94 stores across the BI-LO, Fresco y Más, Harveys, and Winn-Dixie brands would close.[8][9]

On March 28, 2018, Southeastern agreed to sell three BI-LO locations in South Carolina along with three Harveys locations in Georgia to three independent Piggly Wiggly store owners. The deals are in conjunction with the restructuring support agreement revealed by Southeastern Grocers.[10]

In May 2018, Southeastern Grocers restructuring plan was confirmed by a U.S. Bankruptcy judge in Delaware. At the end of that month, Southeastern Grocers announced that it had completed its financial restructuring and was emerging from bankruptcy. As part of the restructuring, $522 million in debt was exchanged for equity in Southeastern Grocers, though it was not announced who was receiving the equity shares. Southeastern Grocers exited bankruptcy with 575 stores in seven states, down from 704 locations. They also announced a planned remodels of 100 stores in 2018.[11]

Harveys Today

The Harveys brand continued to adjust under the Southeastern Grocers watch. In June 2014, soon after the acquisition of the former Delhaize stores was complete, three Winn-Dixie stores in the Albany, Georgia, area were converted to the Harveys banner. At the same time, seven Harveys store in Georgia were converted over to the Winn-Dixie banner. These stores converted included three in Brunswick, two in Valdosta and one in Saint Marys.[12][13]

In May 2016, Southeastern unveiled its new Harveys Supermarket store concept at a former Winn-Dixie location in Jacksonville, Florida.[14] Two months later, Southeastern Grocers rebranded an existing BI-LO location in Charlotte, North Carolina, to the Harveys banner. This became the first North Carolina location for the Harveys brand.[15]

In November 2016, Southeastern Grocers continued the Harveys expansion by converting 16 Winn-Dixie and BI-LO stores to the Harveys Supermarket banner. These included two BI-LO locations in Augusta, Georgia, two additional Charlotte, North Carolina, BI-LO locations, three BI-LO locations in Columbia, South Carolina, and a BI-LO location in Greenwood, South Carolina.[16] An additional seven Winn-Dixie Florida locations were converted with six of them in Jacksonville. Fifty-five other Harveys locations, mainly in Georgia, were upgraded at the same time.[17][18][19][20]

In May 2017, Southeastern Grocers announced the closing of a Harveys store in Albany, Georgia, as part of a corporate-wide closure of 23 locations along with the elimination of some department lead roles at stores.[21] In July 2017, it was announced that Southeastern Grocers would debut the Harveys brand in the Central and West Florida markets with the conversion of 7 Winn-Dixie stores with the conversions taking place in early August.[22] In October 2017, Southeastern announced that three more West Florida Winn-Dixie stores would be converted to the Harveys brand in November 2017, growing their store count to 80.

In February 2019, Southeastern announced plans to shutter 22 locations. This round of closures included two Harveys Supermarkets in Florida and South Carolina.[23]

On August 16, 2023, It was announced that Winn-Dixie and Harveys would be acquired by Aldi Süd. Locations will either remain under the Harveys name or convert to the ALDI brand. The deal is expected to be completed by 2024.[24]

Locations

As of February 2022, there are 67 Harveys Supermarkets located in Georgia, Florida.

StateStores
Georgia56
Florida11


Harveys is notorious for being located in low economic areas normally but not always being based off house valuation in the surrounding areas.

References
  1. "Harveys Supermarket - About Us". Retrieved July 12, 2017.
  2. "Southeastern Grocers sells banners to ALDI". CNN. August 16, 2023. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  3. "Delhaize Official website". Archived from the original on 2008-05-16. Retrieved 2008-03-15.
  4. "Grocery wars: Tampa's Sweetbay sold to Winn-Dixie parent". Tampa Bay Times. May 28, 2013. Retrieved July 12, 2017.
  5. Timberlake, Cotten (September 26, 2013). "Southeastern Grocers Files to Raise $500 Million in U.S. IPO". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved July 12, 2017.
  6. "Winn-Dixie operator Southeastern Grocers files for $500 million IPO". Reuters.com. September 26, 2013. Retrieved July 12, 2017.
  7. "Re: Southeastern Grocers, LLC — Withdrawal of Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-191389)". August 19, 2014.
  8. "Southeastern Grocers initiates financial restructuring". Supermarket News. March 15, 2018.
  9. "SEG Reaches Agreement with Key Economic Stakeholders on Terms of Financial Restructuring". Southeastern Grocers. March 15, 2018. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  10. "Piggly Wiggly Indie Storeowners Buying 6 Southeastern Grocers Locations". Progressive Grocer. March 28, 2018. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  11. "Southeastern Grocers completes bankruptcy reorganization". Jacksonville Daily Record. May 31, 2018. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  12. "Bi-Lo to convert 7 Harveys, 3 Winn-Dixies". Supermarket. March 10, 2016. Retrieved July 12, 2017.
  13. "Three Albany Winn-Dixie stores to convert to Harveys Stores starting on June 7". Harveys Supermarkets. June 3, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2017.
  14. "Winn-Dixie switches banner to Harveys in low-cost format test". Supermarket News. May 4, 2016. Retrieved July 12, 2017.
  15. "Harveys Unveils New Store Concept in Charlotte". Progressive Grocer. July 21, 2016. Retrieved July 12, 2017.
  16. "New value concept sweeps Harveys overnight". Supermarket News. November 16, 2016.
  17. "Greenwood opens first Harveys store". indexjournal.com. November 17, 2016. Retrieved July 12, 2017.
  18. "Bi-Lo converts 3 Columbia stores to Harveys Supermarkets". The State. November 17, 2016. Retrieved July 12, 2017.
  19. "BI-LOs in Southgate Plaza and Waynesboro now Harvey's Supermarkets". firstcoastnews.com. November 17, 2016. Retrieved July 12, 2017.
  20. "6 Winn-Dixies converting to Harveys Supermarkets in Jacksonville". The Augusta Chronicle. November 17, 2016. Retrieved July 12, 2017.
  21. "Southeastern confirms 20 store closures; store management restructuring". Supermarket News. May 8, 2017. Retrieved May 14, 2017.
  22. "7 more Winn-Dixie stores to become Harveys". Supermarket News. July 12, 2017. Retrieved July 12, 2017.
  23. "Southeastern Grocers will close 22 stores". grocerydive.com. February 22, 2019. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
  24. "Southeastern Grocers sells banners to ALDI". CNN. August 16, 2023. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
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