BI-LO (United States)

Infobox_Company
company_name = BI-LO
company_
company_type = Private
company_slogan = "Because it matters to you"
foundation = 1961
industry = Grocery store
location = Mauldin, South Carolina
key_people = Brian Hotarek, president & CEO | num_employees = 17,000
industry = Retail (Grocery)
products = Bakery, dairy, deli, frozen foods, general grocery, meat, pharmacy, produce, seafood, snacks
revenue = $3.6 billion USD (2006)
homepage = [http://www.bi-lo.com www.bi-lo.com]

BI-LO is a supermarket chain headquartered in Mauldin, South Carolina. It operates stores in Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Tennessee. "Supermarket News" ranked BI-LO/Bruno's No. 34 in the 2007 "Top 75 North American Food Retailers" based on 2006 fiscal year estimated sales of $3.6 billion. [http://www.supermarketnews.com/sns-top-75/ 2007 Top 75 North American Food Retailers] , "Supermarket News", Last accessed February 24, 2007.]

History

BI-LO was founded in 1961 by Frank L. Outlaw. The original name was Wrenn & Outlaw. The company was officially named BI-LO in1963 after Outlaw conducted an employee store-naming contest to develop the "brand." His secretary, Edna Plumblee, won the contest by submitting the name "BI-LO." Bi-Lo was sold to Ahold (a Dutch retail conglomerate) in 1977. In 1994, Ahold purchased Red Food Stores, Inc. and merged its locations (around 55 of them) in Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee into BI-LO the following year. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE3DF103BF931A15751C0A962958260 Ahold to Buy U.S. Chain] , "The New York Times", February 22, 1994] [ [http://www.hed.msu.edu/internationalretailing/company/Ahold/expansion.html Ahold in U.S.A.] , accessed September 10, 2006] In 2001, Ahold purchased the Birmingham, Alabama based Bruno's Supermarkets chain and combined its operations with BI-LO. In 2005, Ahold sold BI-LO/Bruno's to Lone Star Funds. [ [http://www.bizjournals.com/birmingham/stories/2004/12/20/daily19.html Lone Star Funds agrees to buy Bruno's from Ahold] , "Birmingham Business News", December 23, 2004] In order to concentrate on renovating older stores, building new ones, and investing in newer information technology, the new owners sold off 104 BI-LO and Bruno's stores in areas where the chain did not have significant market penetration as well as the three BI-LO/Bruno's distribution centers to grocery wholesaler, C&S Wholesale Grocers who converted some of the stores to Southern Family Markets. [ [http://www.cswg.com/pages/050605.htm C&S affiliate buys stores] , press release dated May 3, 2005]

On March 21, 2007, Lone Star Funds announced that they were spinning off the 67 Bruno's Supermarkets and Food World stores from BI-LO LLC into a separate company to be based out of Birmingham. [ [http://www.timesfreepress.com/absolutenm/templates/business-tnvalley.aspx?articleid=12608&zoneid=171 Execs leave Bi-Lo; Bruno's spun off] , Chattanooga Times Free Press March 21, 2007] On April 16, 2007, Lone Star announced that they were putting the 230-store BI-LO chain up for sale. Soon after, C&S announced that it was closing the Chattanooga distribution center that served the BI-LO's in the Chattanooga area and portions of Northern Georgia. [ [http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_105552.asp Local BI-LO Warehouses Closing] , The Chattanoogan April 16, 2007]

In 1998, the company sponsored the construction of the BI-LO Center in Greenville, South Carolina.

In 2003, BI-LO invested in redesigning its store layout to attract high end customers. The result was the new Super BI-LO concept featuring a larger store layout with added emphasis on health foods, specialty foods and organic products. Since then the company has opened new Super BI-LO branded stores as well as remodeled older stores in affluent neighborhoods. [ [http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2008/jan/25/bi-lo-invests-redesign-chattanooga/ BI-LO Invests In Redesign] , Times Freepress January 25,2008]

As of December 2007, BI-LO operates 222 supermarkets in South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee and employs approximately 17,000 people. [ [http://www.bi-lo.com/bilo/home/press_releases.jsp Press Releases] , Bi-Lo.com]

References

External links

* [http://www.bi-lo.com/ BI-LO] Official website