Winn-Dixie Reveals Next generation Store

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Re: Winn-Dixie Reveals Next generation Store

Post by pseudo3d »

veteran+ wrote:
pseudo3d wrote:It's already July and now Winn-Dixie is only doing its second "redefined" store. At this point, the 50 remodels will be done by the year 2041. I don't see Winn-Dixie/BI-LO really going anywhere anytime soon. The deterioration and bankruptcy of Winn-Dixie in 2005 still seems to haunt them, and I can't see SEG pushing around an outdated store fleet with so-so operations and disparate directions for the long haul. At some point Lone Star Funds is going to have to fish or cut bait, so to speak.

Spot on!!!!

:-)
Not that it's too late for Winn-Dixie/BI-LO...one great way to save the company is a following exchange that would really help out the company and operations is for LSF to buy the southern Food Lion stores from Ahold Delhaize, establish it as its own company, dissolve SEG by selling non-core assets that haven't been receiving updates recently (like Winn-Dixie in Louisiana), move SEG's remaining stores into Food Lion, convert the smaller BI-LO stores to that format (which would improve them operationally), then set out to make Winn-Dixie the "Stater Bros. of the East", converting larger BI-LO stores if necessary.

That would be fantastic, but a far more likely scenario is LSF deciding SEG is worth more in parts than a whole. :|
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Re: Winn-Dixie Reveals Next generation Store

Post by veteran+ »

That would really work.

Some good strategic moves!
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Re: Winn-Dixie Reveals Next generation Store

Post by wnetmacman »

pseudo3d wrote:Not that it's too late for Winn-Dixie/BI-LO...one great way to save the company is a following exchange that would really help out the company and operations is for LSF to buy the southern Food Lion stores from Ahold Delhaize, establish it as its own company, dissolve SEG by selling non-core assets that haven't been receiving updates recently (like Winn-Dixie in Louisiana), move SEG's remaining stores into Food Lion, convert the smaller BI-LO stores to that format (which would improve them operationally), then set out to make Winn-Dixie the "Stater Bros. of the East", converting larger BI-LO stores if necessary.

That would be fantastic, but a far more likely scenario is LSF deciding SEG is worth more in parts than a whole. :|
I agree with the last part more. The only problem is finding someone who would buy just a part here and there. Also, WD isn't ignoring ALL of Louisiana, just the stores West of the Mississippi River. 9 remaining; only one remodeled in the last 18 years save for an outside paint job. Breaux Bridge got the Covington-style decor package. Looks better in Covington, but it brought BB into the 21st century.

I could see Rouses buying more Louisiana stores, one by one. There are several stores in the coverage gap between Morgan City and Lafayette, including the outlying areas, that I could see them taking and remodeling. Some could also go to the group operating Shopper's Value Foods in Lafayette and Baton Rouge, like the Lafayette Ambassador store did. (for the record, they did clean and update that store nicely, including the parking lot that caused its closure.)

Southeastern Grocers needs to make up their mind what they want to do before they aren't here to do it any longer. They are dragging their feet too much on this.
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Re: Winn-Dixie Reveals Next generation Store

Post by pseudo3d »

wnetmacman wrote:
pseudo3d wrote:Not that it's too late for Winn-Dixie/BI-LO...one great way to save the company is a following exchange that would really help out the company and operations is for LSF to buy the southern Food Lion stores from Ahold Delhaize, establish it as its own company, dissolve SEG by selling non-core assets that haven't been receiving updates recently (like Winn-Dixie in Louisiana), move SEG's remaining stores into Food Lion, convert the smaller BI-LO stores to that format (which would improve them operationally), then set out to make Winn-Dixie the "Stater Bros. of the East", converting larger BI-LO stores if necessary.

That would be fantastic, but a far more likely scenario is LSF deciding SEG is worth more in parts than a whole. :|
I agree with the last part more. The only problem is finding someone who would buy just a part here and there. Also, WD isn't ignoring ALL of Louisiana, just the stores West of the Mississippi River. 9 remaining; only one remodeled in the last 18 years save for an outside paint job. Breaux Bridge got the Covington-style decor package. Looks better in Covington, but it brought BB into the 21st century.

I could see Rouses buying more Louisiana stores, one by one. There are several stores in the coverage gap between Morgan City and Lafayette, including the outlying areas, that I could see them taking and remodeling. Some could also go to the group operating Shopper's Value Foods in Lafayette and Baton Rouge, like the Lafayette Ambassador store did. (for the record, they did clean and update that store nicely, including the parking lot that caused its closure.)

Southeastern Grocers needs to make up their mind what they want to do before they aren't here to do it any longer. They are dragging their feet too much on this.
Besides Albertsons that might find interest in larger stores, the Western Louisiana market has a number of independents and smaller stores kicking around (Piggly Wiggly/Shoppers Value, Super 1 Foods, Market Basket, whose territory ends just as Winn-Dixie's begins, possibly others). Still, even if they decided to pull out, I'd be surprised if they were able to sell all of them. In addition to Western Louisiana, Winn-Dixie today only has 14 stores total in the whole state of Mississippi (though that can be attributed to dismal economics, as even Kroger doesn't have very many stores either).

The situation for Winn-Dixie looks a little brighter in New Orleans, which seems to love its legacy grocers (probably why Albertsons and Kroger were driven out but A&P lasted a very long time there). Still, like A&P, Winn-Dixie can't live on that forever, and sooner or later, something will have to give.
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Re: Winn-Dixie Reveals Next generation Store

Post by storewanderer »

I wonder how much real estate them own vs. how many stores are leased. Those are cheap real estate regions but owning stores could be helping them (though deferred maintenance could come to haunt them).
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Re: Winn-Dixie Reveals Next generation Store

Post by wnetmacman »

storewanderer wrote:I wonder how much real estate them own vs. how many stores are leased. Those are cheap real estate regions but owning stores could be helping them (though deferred maintenance could come to haunt them).
During the 2005 Bankruptcy, dark store leases were the number one debt. Seems that they'd move out of one and into another, but keep the lease on the old one to keep competitors out. I know specifically of an instance in Lafayette/Scott, LA. The original store in Scott was closed in 1996 or so. It stayed dark until after their bankruptcy, because they wouldn't sublease to another operator who desperately wanted it. During the bankruptcy, they refused all the dark store leases to get out from under that debt. I would suspect that all the leases of stores closed since then were either short term (like the Scott store's recently closed replacement in Lafayette) or were easy to break.
pseudo3d wrote:The situation for Winn-Dixie looks a little brighter in New Orleans, which seems to love its legacy grocers (probably why Albertsons and Kroger were driven out but A&P lasted a very long time there). Still, like A&P, Winn-Dixie can't live on that forever, and sooner or later, something will have to give.
Kroger never operated in New Orleans. The closest they came was Baton Rouge and Morgan City. Albertsons failed there because they made absolutely no attempt to do what the legacy and local folks did: market local products and stock only what folks buy. Winn Dixie in New Orleans does a few things different than other areas. We have fresh sausage and local meats, and some local items you can't get outside of Louisiana. A&P did a lot of the same, being so far removed from the corporate parent for so long. The true locals (Breaux Mart, Rouses, Dorignac's and the like) heavily emphasize local.
pseudo3d wrote:Besides Albertsons that might find interest in larger stores, the Western Louisiana market has a number of independents and smaller stores kicking around (Piggly Wiggly/Shoppers Value, Super 1 Foods, Market Basket, whose territory ends just as Winn-Dixie's begins, possibly others). Still, even if they decided to pull out, I'd be surprised if they were able to sell all of them. In addition to Western Louisiana, Winn-Dixie today only has 14 stores total in the whole state of Mississippi (though that can be attributed to dismal economics, as even Kroger doesn't have very many stores either).
The Shopper's Value group only has one PW left, and that may be converted by now. Any other PW stores in Louisiana are operated by others. I wouldn't be surprised to see Brookshire make an offer for some of the other remaining stores here, but in a couple of instances, it would only be to replace others. New Iberia is 8-10 blocks from a massive Super 1. Eunice is just down the street from a smaller one, as is Abbeville. When Opelousas closed, BGC just moved the Super 1 into the larger WD store. Market Basket is a slow mover; they tend to buy stores in groups at a time.
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Re: Winn-Dixie Reveals Next generation Store

Post by pseudo3d »

wnetmacman wrote:
pseudo3d wrote:The situation for Winn-Dixie looks a little brighter in New Orleans, which seems to love its legacy grocers (probably why Albertsons and Kroger were driven out but A&P lasted a very long time there). Still, like A&P, Winn-Dixie can't live on that forever, and sooner or later, something will have to give.
Kroger never operated in New Orleans. The closest they came was Baton Rouge and Morgan City. Albertsons failed there because they made absolutely no attempt to do what the legacy and local folks did: market local products and stock only what folks buy. Winn Dixie in New Orleans does a few things different than other areas. We have fresh sausage and local meats, and some local items you can't get outside of Louisiana. A&P did a lot of the same, being so far removed from the corporate parent for so long. The true locals (Breaux Mart, Rouses, Dorignac's and the like) heavily emphasize local.
That was the same Albertsons modus operandi for most of its other stores at the time, but keep in mind that market exits prior to LLC were rare with a few notable exceptions (south Texas including Houston and San Antonio, the Mid-South). Like the ill-fated Houston market, they entered fairly late (late 1990s?) while Winn-Dixie and A&P had literally been around for decades. If Albertsons had tried to use the backdoor into New Orleans instead (imagine "Schwegmann by Albertsons") they might've gotten away with it, at least for a little while longer. Even if it seems a bit far-fetched, the operations of A&P and Winn-Dixie declined and yet they remained.
pseudo3d wrote:Besides Albertsons that might find interest in larger stores, the Western Louisiana market has a number of independents and smaller stores kicking around (Piggly Wiggly/Shoppers Value, Super 1 Foods, Market Basket, whose territory ends just as Winn-Dixie's begins, possibly others). Still, even if they decided to pull out, I'd be surprised if they were able to sell all of them. In addition to Western Louisiana, Winn-Dixie today only has 14 stores total in the whole state of Mississippi (though that can be attributed to dismal economics, as even Kroger doesn't have very many stores either).
The Shopper's Value group only has one PW left, and that may be converted by now. Any other PW stores in Louisiana are operated by others. I wouldn't be surprised to see Brookshire make an offer for some of the other remaining stores here, but in a couple of instances, it would only be to replace others. New Iberia is 8-10 blocks from a massive Super 1. Eunice is just down the street from a smaller one, as is Abbeville. When Opelousas closed, BGC just moved the Super 1 into the larger WD store. Market Basket is a slow mover; they tend to buy stores in groups at a time.
Market Basket did pick up the H-E-B Pantry in Lake Charles in 2003 after it closed, and that was not only an old store (former Delchamps and I think Winn-Dixie before that) but I believe a one-time purchase (not to mention it co-existed with another store a mile to the southeast). And of course, Rouses might have interest in some of the stores (probably Breaux Bridge if I had to pick one).
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Re: Winn-Dixie Reveals Next generation Store

Post by wnetmacman »

pseudo3d wrote:And of course, Rouses might have interest in some of the stores (probably Breaux Bridge if I had to pick one).
If Rouses were to get one, I'd place my bets on New Iberia and Franklin. Both of those stores would fill in some markets between Morgan City and Lafayette that Rouses skipped over. Breaux Bridge is a slooooow store. They've been down ever since Walmart moved into the Supercenter there, and there are three other local stores in town as well that have higher traffic in stores half the size.
pseudo3d wrote:Market Basket did pick up the H-E-B Pantry in Lake Charles in 2003 after it closed, and that was not only an old store (former Delchamps and I think Winn-Dixie before that) but I believe a one-time purchase (not to mention it co-existed with another store a mile to the southeast).
I said tended. If MBTexas is anything, inconsistent would be their phrase of the day. They own stores as far north as Mansfield, but only as far east as Lake Arthur in Louisiana. I can't see them going after any stores without taking a group of them to make it somewhat profitable. The stores they have in Mansfield, Many, Zwolle and Toledo Bend were purchased as a block of old Big Star stores. They've also bought several old Safeway stores, among others. The LC Delchamps/HEB purchase was to keep someone else out.
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Re: Winn-Dixie Reveals Next generation Store

Post by pseudo3d »

wnetmacman wrote:
pseudo3d wrote:And of course, Rouses might have interest in some of the stores (probably Breaux Bridge if I had to pick one).
If Rouses were to get one, I'd place my bets on New Iberia and Franklin. Both of those stores would fill in some markets between Morgan City and Lafayette that Rouses skipped over. Breaux Bridge is a slooooow store. They've been down ever since Walmart moved into the Supercenter there, and there are three other local stores in town as well that have higher traffic in stores half the size.
A good operator like Rouses should bring that store back to life (I can't find the other three stores in town).
pseudo3d wrote:Market Basket did pick up the H-E-B Pantry in Lake Charles in 2003 after it closed, and that was not only an old store (former Delchamps and I think Winn-Dixie before that) but I believe a one-time purchase (not to mention it co-existed with another store a mile to the southeast).
I said tended. If MBTexas is anything, inconsistent would be their phrase of the day. They own stores as far north as Mansfield, but only as far east as Lake Arthur in Louisiana. I can't see them going after any stores without taking a group of them to make it somewhat profitable. The stores they have in Mansfield, Many, Zwolle and Toledo Bend were purchased as a block of old Big Star stores. They've also bought several old Safeway stores, among others. The LC Delchamps/HEB purchase was to keep someone else out.[/quote]

I had no idea Big Star went into Louisiana. I know Weingarten did (which was also owned by Grand Union at the time), but not Big Star. The only reason I'm not sure on MB is that there's almost a line between MB territory and W-D territory.
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Re: Winn-Dixie Reveals Next generation Store

Post by wnetmacman »

pseudo3d wrote:A good operator like Rouses should bring that store back to life (I can't find the other three stores in town).
Two of them are Hebert's, at 1101 Grand Point Highway and 218 South Main. The other is called Rees Street Market, at 241 Rees Street, just down from Winn Dixie.
pseudo3d wrote:I had no idea Big Star went into Louisiana. I know Weingarten did (which was also owned by Grand Union at the time), but not Big Star.
The Big Star stores in Louisiana were franchises. They were all over the northern part of the state, and were paired with another franchise called Dixie Dandy. I'm not 100% sure if the stores were related to Colonial or not. Weingarten was primarily in Shreveport, Lake Charles and Lafayette.
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