Grocery chain Aldi has sold off Southeastern Grocers, which includes the Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarket banners, to a consortium of private investors.
The consortium is led by Southeastern Grocers President and CEO Anthony Hucke and the chain C&S Wholesale Grocers, according to Jacksonville, Florida, U.S.A.-based Southeastern Grocers.
Aldi did not disclose terms of sale, which was originally announced on 7 February.
More specifically, the consortium is buying 170 Winn-Dixie and Harvey grocery stores in the Southern U.S. states of Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florida, as well as the existing Winn-Dixie liquor store business, from Aldi.
The deal creates a new regional grocery competitor in the Southeast U.S. and marks a change of course for C&S after the merger between chains Kroger and Albertsons recently fell through, per Grocery Dive.
C&S was set to acquire around 600 stores if the failed merger came to pass but now has a “significant stake” in around one-third as many stores as it would have acquired from Kroger and Albertsons, the publication said.
“The concentration of the former Aldi locations in the Southeast could prove beneficial from a distribution standpoint for C&S, which has supplied Southeastern Grocers for 20 years,” Grocery Dive said.
Despite the sale to the consortium, Aldi will still complete plans to convert around 220 of its previously acquired Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarket stores to the Aldi format over a multi-year conversion process that began in March 2024.
"When we announced our acquisition of Southeastern Grocers, we shared that we intended for a meaningful number of Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarkets to continue to operate, and we're delivering on that promise while also supporting Aldi growth,” Aldi CEO Jason Hart said. “Over the last year, we've seen firsthand how C&S Wholesale Grocers, Southeastern Grocers, and their teams have continued to deliver great quality, service, and value to their customers, and we are confident they will lead the company successfully into its next chapter.”
In total, Batavia, Illinois, U.S.A.-based Aldi said it will open 225 stores in the U.S. this year, partially helped by the conversion plan, as part of the next phase of its five-year national growth strategy.
“This is the most stores Aldi will open in one year in its nearly 50-year U.S. history as more shoppers than ever look to save up to 36 percent on an average shopping trip,” the operator of more than 2,400 stores in the U.S. said.
In addition to expanding in the Southeast, Aldi plans to add to its established footprint in the Northeast and Midwest regions and grow its presence in the West, with more stores in Southern California and Arizona. Aldi will also enter new cities, such as Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.A.
This follows a year in which the retailer opened nearly 120 stores in the U.S.
”Aldi continues to see more shoppers come through our doors as they experience our quicker, easier, and more affordable shopping experience firsthand," Hart said. "With our expansion across the country, Aldi is earning the trust of more shoppers in more communities than ever before, bringing us closer to becoming America's first stop for groceries.”
