jguzzardo1 wrote: ↑January 5th, 2018, 9:59 pm
I worked at one of the biggest Kroger location in the Atlanta market in 2016. We had execs from Cincinnati come through all the time and, as an hourly, you did hear things. One of things which was made clear was that Kroger was NOT buying Winn Dixie or SEG for one reason - debt load was FAR too high. SEG is very badly leveraged, and LSF is one of the reasons its that way. That being said, SEG has two things going for it; a great distribution network and favorable leases at many of its current WInn Dixie locations. Remember, SEG sold the Bi-Lo holdings which were underperforming to Food City, which meant Bi-Lo left NW Georgia, Chattanooga and NE Alabama.
This is just theory about SEG: Winn Dixie will either be completely converted over to Harveys as part of a massive rebranding and spun off or Bi Lo will be spun off if SEG is serious about survival (I have zero reason to believe they are right now). Kroger would not be able to go toe-to-toe in Florida right now because so many midwesterners have a bad taste in their mouth from Kroger years ago - Atlanta Kroger is a COMPLETELY difference animal from the rest of the country, mostly because ATL is a hyper-competitive grocery market. My money is on Royal Delhaize buying SEG and rebranding Winn Dixie in Harveys OR (and this IS a reach), rebranding the stores into an entirely new concept. Now, that being said, there is a nasty little rumor going around the Royal Delhaize is eyeing Kroger for a mega-merger, but something tells me RD is waiting for SEG to go into BK court and snatch them up at a bargain price from LSF.
And you can forget SEG being bought by Ingles - that's a company which has a different set of issues, and Ingles has no desire to inherit those of SEG.
First, Southeastern Grocers does not have a distribution network. Winn-Dixie and BI-LO distribution centers were divested to C&S Wholesale Grocers.
Second, there are BI-LO and Winn-Dixie stores with favorable leases, leases that are expiring. I project the number of stores with expiring leases closing will increase. Stores with expiring leases have already closed.
Third, Ingle's Markets is not going to acquire any stores, specifically BI-LO. It is obliterating BI-LO stores in North Carolina and South Carolina. Ingle's Markets could be an acquisition target for The Kroger Company. I doubt the Ingle family has interest in selling out.
Fourth, I can see a quantity of quality store locations, likely BI-LO, being acquired by Publix.
Fifth, Ahold Delhaize USA is occupied with Food Lion, Giant-Carlisle (Pennsylvania)/Martin's, Giant-Landover (Maryland), Hannaford, and Stop & Shop. Food Lion will be a project as a work in progress or for quantities of stores closing.