Anyone with a non-ironic appreciation for Southern things must be aghast at word Food Lion may buy Bi-Lo out of bankruptcy. Across many ups-and-downs Bi-Lo has always struck me as the local Southern grocery chain. Food Lion, in contrast, has not felt Southern since the days of Ralph Ketner and LFPINC. Sure, Food Lion has marketed itself as Southern, but it just has not felt that way no matter how many different kinds of hot dog chili are on the shelves. Not with the Belgians in charge.
But there also seem to be real operational differences between the two chains that make an effective marriage hard to envision. Food Lion likes small foot-print stores and there are some big Bi-Los out there, particularly the newer Super Bi-Los. They have a bigger produce area, a dedicated seafood case, and humming bakeries that even Harris Teeter employees have recommended. Ah-ha, you say, that sounds more upscale which sounds like Food Lion’s Bloom tier. Not really.
Blooms are still small-foot print and more importantly feature a distinct lay-out and self-checkout system which will not be easy to over-lay on existing Bi-Los — or Bi-Lo customers. As a result, I would not expect to see many conversions to that model. Where would Bi-Lo fit then? Well, after the direct overlap stores are shuttered, I imagine the remaining stores would exist as a separate brand and tier within the Food Lion family, not unlike the Hannaford unit does in New England.
Bonus Teeter: Matthews’ own Harris Teeter is not Southern? Not exactly. Always struck me as more universally or perhaps New South country clubby than red-dirt Southern. I doubt there are more than three kinds of hot dog chili in any Teeter, and half of the iced teas come from Snapple.
