The next chapter in the transformation of Southeastern Grocers (SEG) has been unveiled. Late last month, the Jacksonville, FL-based grocer, which is now owned by a consortium of private investors (including chairman and CEO Anthony Hucker), announced that it will be changing its name to The Winn-Dixie Co., the iconic southern banner that more closely mirrors the company’s 100-year history of serving families and communities.
The name change will be made early next year and will accompany other actions by the regional chain including the acquisition of Northern Florida Hitchcock’s Markets in Alachua, Keystone Heights and Williston. Those three independent supermarkets will be converted to the Winn-Dixie banner and open in phases beginning late this year with the Williston store first. That opening will mark a symbolic return for the company, replacing a valued Winn-Dixie location that Aldi acquired and reaffirming the grocer’s commitment to the local community.
Moreover, the retailer announced that it has elected to prioritize its Florida business, focusing on the state where its heart, heritage and hometown pride have always lived and whose demographics offer the strongest opportunity for growth. While five southern Georgia stores will remain under the Winn-Dixie banner (in Brunswick, Folkston, Lake Park, St. Simons Island and Valdosta), the newly bannered merchant will ultimately operate approximately 130 supermarkets and 140 freestanding or grocery adjacent liquor stores.
In turn, SEG has agreed to sell 32 Winn-Dixie stores and eight Harveys Supermarkets in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi to a collection of respected regional grocers, including Food City, Piggly Wiggly of Alabama, Super 1 Foods, Corner Market and Renfroe’s Market.
Commenting about the next steps in transforming the grocery retailer, Hucker asserted: “For a century, Winn-Dixie has proudly called Florida home. Our story is built on the resilience and spirit of its people, and that foundation will guide our future. As we enter our next century as The Winn-Dixie Co. – a brand-new 100-year-old company – we are accelerating growth where our roots run deepest while staying true to our purpose of feeding and enriching the communities, families and neighbors who have supported us for generations.”
Also part of the company’s renewed focus on Florida will include dozens of remodels and new store projects that are both planned and already underway, with upgrades designed to create appealing, community-centered stores that reflect the needs of local customers.
The grocery merchant is also expanding its liquor store portfolio with innovative formats, growing its own brand and product assortment in early 2026 – and piloting new customer conveniences and partnerships such as third-party online grocery delivery and return kiosks.
In an interview with Hucker, who has been the company’s CEO since 2017, he reflected on the period between August 2023, when Aldi announced plans to acquire roughly 420 SEG stores from its private equity owners, and February 2025, when news broke that Hucker and his team would re-acquire many of those locations. It was, he admitted, a test of patience. Yet through it all, he never wavered in his conviction that the company founded by the Davis family in 1925 still has its best days ahead.
“When we complete this journey, it will be very rewarding,” he noted. “This transformation is not just about evolving; it’s about strengthening our purpose: empowering people to feed and enrich our communities and ensuring that people remain at the heart of everything we do. Our story has always been about people – the associates who bring care to every aisle, the customers who’ve made us part of their daily lives and the communities that continue to believe in us. We always say ‘we’re in the people business; we just happen to sell groceries’ – a belief so central to who we are, we even trademarked it. We have a lot of momentum going forward – a wonderful culture, great energy, excellent store locations and a plan to continually improve our offerings. And we’re strategically positioned with almost all of our stores based in the fastest growing state in the country that also offers tremendous diversity.”
‘Round The Trade
In his first major move since taking the helm of Target as interim CEO in August, Michael Fiddelke announced that the struggling Minneapolis-based mass merchant will lay off 1,000 corporate employees and leave 800 job openings unfilled. That number amounts to about 8 percent of its corporate workforce. Fiddelke, who will become permanent chief executive next February (longtime CEO Brian Cornell will remain on the board as executive chairman), said: “The truth is, the complexity we created over time has been holding us back. Too many layers and overlapping work have slowed decisions, making it harder to bring ideas to work.” Fiddelke, who has spent his entire career at Target (most recently as CFO) is right. Over the past five years, the retailer that was once admired for its out-of-the-box merchandising has become boring and directionless. From a financial perspective, all you need to know is that Target has underperformed for 11 consecutive quarters…the New York Times is reporting that Amazon is contemplating replacing more than 500,000 jobs with robots. The story notes that such a shift could save “Godzilla” about 30 cents on every item that the company picks, packs and delivers. In recent months, we’ve been reporting on a few Amazon stories that involve workforce reductions or store closures. Last month, we noted that the company’s struggling Amazon Fresh unit has closed eight U.S. units this year and is shuttering all 14 Amazon Fresh stores in the UK.
Local Notes
Anybody wanna guess when Shoppers Food will finally pull the plug on its entire operation? Last month, the division of UNFI said it will close four more Maryland stores on November 8 in Capitol Heights, College Park, Germantown and Laurel, leaving the Bowie, MD-based regional chain only 13 stores in a market where it operated 55 supermarkets only a decade ago. Last month, Shoppers shuttered stores in Essex, MD, New Carrollton, MD, Waldorf, MD and Westminster, MD. In perhaps the most disingenuous statement of the year, a UNFI spokesperson said: “As we work to strengthen our retail business in the future, we’re taking steps to optimize our footprint where necessary while continuing to enhance the customer experience in our remaining stores.” “Enhance the customers experience?” Strengthen our retail business for the future?” I can actually see the mercury spurting out of my BS-O-Meter…Giant Food has enlisted Washington, DC-based tech company Upside to help the B-W market leader offer its customers personalized cash-back rewards. The Upside platform utilizes AI technology to analyze thousands of data points and determine personalized pricing that incentivizes customers to choose Giant over its competitors. If the algorithm determines a customer was already planning to shop at Giant, the retailer doesn’t pay for that cash back offer. The new program began last month and Giant will share the results with other ADUSA brands for potential future opportunities.
Jeff Metzger is publisher emeritus of Food World and Food Trade News and founder of Taking Stock LLC, a grocery industry advisory and consulting firm.
