BI-LO parent company to file for bankruptcy protection, will close five area stores

Bi-Lo Grocery store's parent company, Southeastern Grocers, has plans to file for bankruptcy protection, and the Florida-based corporation will close 94 stores in the region — including one Bi-Lo grocery in each of these Upstate cities: Anderson, Clemson, Greenville, Seneca and Spartanburg.

The corporation released a statement after 5 p.m. today saying it planned to keep about 580 stores open.

In a letter to suppliers, the company said it intends to begin a court-supervised restructuring process by the end of March and anticipates the process taking 90

days.

"The restructuring support agreement ensures that our suppliers, contract counterparties [sic], and all other trade creditors will receive payment in full on account of existing obligations in the ordinary course of business," the letter said.

The company, based in Jacksonville, is still hiring in some markets; the fate of employees working at the five local stores that will be closing remains unclear. The company also did not say when the stores would close.

Company officials said they would not be available for comment Thursday.

"This course of action enables us to continue writing the story for our company and our iconic, heritage banners in the Southeast,” said company CEO Anthony Hucker in a statement.

In its statement, the grocery company also said it has a three-year plan to create "stunning, remodeled stores in a significant portion of our footprint."

The company, which also owns Harveys and Winn-Dixie, said the following 19 stores in South Carolina would be closed:

5277 BI-LO 1706 E. Greenville St. Anderson SC

5748 BI-LO 3386 Railroad Ave Bamberg SC

5808 BI-LO 10560 Dunbarton Blvd Barnwell SC

5539 BI-LO 501 Old Greenville Hwy Clemson SC

1672 Harveys 3315-B Broad River Rd. Columbia SC

1676 Harveys 2230 Decker Blvd. Columbia SC

1678 Harveys 3900-B. N. Main Street Columbia SC

5273 BI-LO 1818 Woodruff Rd. Greenville SC

1681 Harveys 714 Bypass 25 Ne Greenwood SC

5749 BI-LO 9616 Hwy 78 Ladson SC

5410 BI-LO 774 South Shelmore Blvd Mount Pleasant SC

5747 BI-LO 208 E. Mcintyre St. Mullins SC

1677 Harveys 1937 Wilson Road Newberry SC

5266 BI-LO 4391 Dorchester Rd North Charleston SC

5419 BI-LO 115 Rochester Hwy. Seneca SC

5519 BI-LO 140 Fernwood Dr. Spartanburg SC

5753 BI-LO 615 Harry C Raysor Dr S St Matthews SC

5296 BI-LO 1452 Boone Hill Road Summerville SC

5805 BI-LO 2587 Jefferson Davis Hwy Warrenville SC

Also closing will be six BI-LO stores in and around Charlotte, N.C.

BI-LO grocery stores have a long history in the Greenville area, having been founded here in the early 1960s. The company once lent its name to the city's downtown arena, now known as the BonSecours Wellness Arena, and raised millions annually through its BI-LO Charity Classic golf tournament.

That came largely to an end with BI-LO's 2009 bankruptcy. Four years earlier the Lone Star private equity firm had acquired the then Mauldin-based chain, according to reporting last fall by the Bloomberg news agency. That same report said that BI-LO's debts as of a year ago were six times its earnings before taxes.

Southeastern was created in February 2010 in connection with BI-LO's reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.

Meanwhile, competition in the grocery market has been fierce in the Greenville area, where BI-LO competes with Publix, Walmart, Target, Aldi, Whole Foods and Fresh Market, among others. The BI-LO that is closing on Woodruff Road in Greenville is located two blocks from German grocery chain Lidl's new location on that roadway.

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