Metro Jacksonville

The Business Journal is reporting the HQ will be in Jacksonville. Good news.

http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/news/2012/03/12/bi-lo-holdings-moving-its-headquarters.html

Wow. That's great news.

intesresting, considering most of the top Winn Dixie execs are cashing out

yeah. the early thoughts on this were the HQ would be moving to Greenville, especially after Lynch announced he would be resigning.

Nice. 

I know the people who work at the headqurters are happy. It can only be a good thing for the city as a whole.

Whew. Thats was a close one.

Genuinely did not see this one coming.

Fantastic news.

Quote from: KenFSU on March 12, 2012, 10:18:54 AM
Genuinely did not see this one coming.

Fantastic news.

Yeah, no kidding.  Happy Monday everyone!  OK, what's next???

I suppose that they'll stay on Edgewood(?).  Would be pretty cool to see another Fortune 500 company logo on a downtown building.

Most of the top Winn-Dixie executives were let go to be replaced with Bi-Lo people.  Only one Lynch hire was retained at the Exec VP level.  They did all have severance packages so it's not like they've been thrown out into the street.

Quote from: blizz01 on March 12, 2012, 10:40:50 AM
I suppose that they'll stay on Edgewood(?).  Would be pretty cool to see another Fortune 500 company logo on a downtown building.

I have thought about this for years. All of our other fourtane 500 companies are downtown. A HQ like winn dixie should be downtown. They need to be off Edgewood.

I don't think it will be a F500. Isn't the new company privately owned? I wouldn't be surprised if all of this is being set up to sell to a larger company.

Quote from: thelakelander on March 12, 2012, 05:29:32 PM
I don't think it will be a F500. Isn't the new company privately owned? I wouldn't be surprised if all of this is being set up to sell to a larger company.

It would still be nice to have it HQ downtown though. But you posed a good question about if it will remain fortune 500

Job loses coming to Greenville as a result of merger:

QuoteBI-LO Corporate Headquarters is packing up and moving to Florida. Around 450 people currently work at the company's corporate office in Mauldin. BI-LO is not saying how those employees will be affected by the move.

Ben Haskew, President and CEO of the Greenville Chamber of Commerce, says, “Unfortunately there will be some lost jobs. We don't know yet exactly which jobs will move.”

Haskew says he was disappointed to learn BI-LO corporate is leaving Greenville. He says the company has made an impact, not just in the Upstate job market. Haskew says, “BI-LO has been a wonderful community and corporate citizen here, you know the BI-LO Center is an example, BI-LO Charities and what they've done with their annual golf tournament, but more importantly what they've given to charitable organizations in the community.” The executive director of BI-LO Charities says the company will continue to be involved in the communities it serves. 

The corporate move to Jacksonville comes as BI-LO merges with Winn-Dixie. A BI-LO spokesperson says no grocery stores are expected to close, and there will still be a strong regional presence with distribution and store support.

Winn-Dixie's headquarters are in Jacksonville. A BI-LO spokesperson says the company chose that city because it is centrally located for the eight-state operation. The Jacksonville Business Journal is also reporting that BI-LO is getting more than $6 million in incentives to re-locate to Florida.

Dr. Tom Smythe, a Furman University economics professor says, “The reality is as part of a merger you're trying to reduce cost, especially at sort of the corporate, administrative level.”

Smythe estimates at least half of the 450 corporate level jobs could be affected.

full article: http://www2.wspa.com/news/2012/mar/12/9/bi-o-winn-dixie-merger-complete-headquarters-will--ar-3395101/

the announcement today w/ the Mayor and Lt. Gov. said we'd be getting 100 new jobs...so that's my guess on how many Greenville will lose

Quote from: thelakelander on March 12, 2012, 10:02:18 PM
Job loses coming to Greenville as a result of merger:

QuoteBI-LO Corporate Headquarters is packing up and moving to Florida. Around 450 people currently work at the company's corporate office in Mauldin. BI-LO is not saying how those employees will be affected by the move.

Ben Haskew, President and CEO of the Greenville Chamber of Commerce, says, “Unfortunately there will be some lost jobs. We don't know yet exactly which jobs will move.”

Haskew says he was disappointed to learn BI-LO corporate is leaving Greenville. He says the company has made an impact, not just in the Upstate job market. Haskew says, “BI-LO has been a wonderful community and corporate citizen here, you know the BI-LO Center is an example, BI-LO Charities and what they've done with their annual golf tournament, but more importantly what they've given to charitable organizations in the community.” The executive director of BI-LO Charities says the company will continue to be involved in the communities it serves. 

The corporate move to Jacksonville comes as BI-LO merges with Winn-Dixie. A BI-LO spokesperson says no grocery stores are expected to close, and there will still be a strong regional presence with distribution and store support.

Winn-Dixie's headquarters are in Jacksonville. A BI-LO spokesperson says the company chose that city because it is centrally located for the eight-state operation. The Jacksonville Business Journal is also reporting that BI-LO is getting more than $6 million in incentives to re-locate to Florida.

Dr. Tom Smythe, a Furman University economics professor says, “The reality is as part of a merger you're trying to reduce cost, especially at sort of the corporate, administrative level.”

Smythe estimates at least half of the 450 corporate level jobs could be affected.

full article: http://www2.wspa.com/news/2012/mar/12/9/bi-o-winn-dixie-merger-complete-headquarters-will--ar-3395101/

I just read on the daily record that Winn Dixie will remain a fortune 500 company! And 6 Million incentives?? Did we miss something?

Well keeping our jobs at the expense of folks in Greenville losing theirs is bittersweet to say the least.

Gee, last time I looked, Greenville did not have an NFL team, so that probably had a major impact on the decision. That, CSX, FNF and a number of other prominent companies surely had nothing to do with it.

^A few articles I saw said the $6.6 million incentive package was the major influence.  Winn-Dixie's existing corporate facilities shouldn't be overlooked either.  I really don't think having a NFL team or not mattered.

QuoteI really don't think having a NFL team or not mattered.

Never underestimate the power of money flowing into a city as a result of the NFL being in your city. Stats show having a Professional Football Team is more valuable than any other pro sport. It causes a city to have a presence in the media. Sure the 6.6 million helped, but still, Jax is a major market on so many more levels than Greenville. And the company that owns Bi-Lo is in ANOTHER NFL city, Dallas.

Did they really want to move backward to Greenville? Methinks no.

I'm not surprised that Winn Dixie's HQ is still here as a subsidiary of BI-LO at all, in fact, I would've been shocked if it moved to SC. That's how being a subsidiary works, we already have all of the W/D infastructure here is Jax, so a move to SC wouldn't make any sense at all, esp if they are still doing business in Jax. Just like Food Lion HQ (Salisbury, NC) is a subsidiary of The Delhaize Group which is based in Brussels, Belgium.

Okay, I should read the articles more thoughly, believe me, I'm anything but I know it all. While it didn't surprise me that W/D HQ is staying in Jax, I'm very surprised that BI-LO is moving it's HQ to Jax, I didn't see that one coming. This entire acquisition is very weird; Usually the main HQ doesn't move to the city where the subsidiary is based. Too bad for Greenville. 

Quote from: I-10east on March 13, 2012, 12:42:20 AM
Okay, I should read the articles more thoughly, believe me, I'm anything but I know it all. While it didn't surprise me that W/D HQ is staying in Jax, I'm very surprised that BI-LO is moving it's HQ to Jax, I didn't see that one coming. This entire acquisition is very weird; Usually the main HQ doesn't move to the city where the subsidiary is based. Too bad for Greenville.

Do what I do I-10! next time delete the other comment and act like it never happened!  ;D

Quote from: mtraininjax on March 12, 2012, 10:58:47 PM
Gee, last time I looked, Greenville did not have an NFL team, so that probably had a major impact on the decision. That, CSX, FNF and a number of other prominent companies surely had nothing to do with it.

I wonder if the company remains a sponsor of the Jaguars.

Quote from: mtraininjax on March 12, 2012, 11:42:51 PM

QuoteI really don't think having a NFL team or not mattered.

Never underestimate the power of money flowing into a city as a result of the NFL being in your city. Stats show having a Professional Football Team is more valuable than any other pro sport. It causes a city to have a presence in the media. Sure the 6.6 million helped, but still, Jax is a major market on so many more levels than Greenville. And the company that owns Bi-Lo is in ANOTHER NFL city, Dallas.

Did they really want to move backward to Greenville? Methinks no.

More news from Greensville....

QuoteAsked about the incentives, Byars said there were “many reasons” why Jacksonville was chosen.

“We went through a very stringent, detailed process,” he said. “Key leadership spent a great deal of time on this, and they really didn’t leave any stone unturned in the way that they went about doing it.”

“Number 1, what we were looking for was to ensure that we had the greatest opportunity for growth and success for the combined company,” Byars said. “That was our number one priority â€" to make sure we were making the right decision.”

From an operating standpoint, and Jacksonville’s location, “it just made sense that that would be the selection.”

Gov. Nikki Haley and local elected officials were involved in the discussions, Byars said.

Rob Godfrey, a spokesman for Haley, called the headquarters decision “unfortunate” and said it illustrates why she “fights so hard for a competitive tax structure and business environment.”

“The governor can only sell our state if we have the right tools to work with,” Godfrey said.

Butch Kirven, chairman of Greenville County Council, said the Governor’s Office, the state Commerce Department and the county were involved in trying to keep Bi-Lo jobs in the Greenville area.

Kirven said he believes the company’s decision may have turned on factors besides incentives, such as how many employees would be affected by moving operations from Jacksonville to Greenville in contrast to moving them from Greenville to Jacksonville.

“I know incentives were discussed and offers were put on the table,” Kirven said. “And I think that we were very competitive with Florida, but in the end, I think the company made a business decision in their best interest, of course, and maybe the incentive differential was not the major factor to them.”

full article: http://www.greenvilleonline.com/article/20120313/BUSINESS/303130007/Bi-Lo-plans-strong-regional-presence-Greenville-after-headquarters-moves-Florida

Make you a bet that in four or five years we will hear that the whole package has been bought by one of the major international grocery powers.  The way the whole thing has been done, including the headquarters move, just points in that direction.

Here's one candidate: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrefour (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrefour)

^I agree.  Sounds like everything is being set up for a future sell.

Quote from: I-10east on March 13, 2012, 12:42:20 AM
Okay, I should read the articles more thoughly, believe me, I'm anything but I know it all. While it didn't surprise me that W/D HQ is staying in Jax, I'm very surprised that BI-LO is moving it's HQ to Jax, I didn't see that one coming. This entire acquisition is very weird; Usually the main HQ doesn't move to the city where the subsidiary is based. Too bad for Greenville. 

It's not surprising when the subsidiary is several times the size of the acquiring company.  BiLo is just being used as a vehicle for the investment company anyway.

Of course it will eventually be sold, probably Kroger or Safeway or someone on the west coast who wants an east coast presence. The Private Equity Firm in Dallas will want a return on the investment at some point, or it will be sold back to the employees, but the sale is probably coming in under 5 years.

Greenville, much smaller than Jax in population, is an incredibly hip small southern city. They are very similar to Austin TX but as I said a lot smaller. They actually have Starbucks in downtown Greenville, and had a Whole Foods a couple years before we did.  Having lived and worked there on and off for several years I can tell you it boasts a very high quality of life. And the downtown area is really beautiful with the Reedy River Falls, Peace Center for Performing Arts, Bi-Lo Center (10,000 seats) and their cool downtown business dictrict.

Quote from: MusicMan on March 13, 2012, 09:01:03 PM
Greenville, much smaller than Jax in population, is an incredibly hip small southern city. They are very similar to Austin TX but as I said a lot smaller. They actually have Starbucks in downtown Greenville, and had a Whole Foods a couple years before we did.  Having lived and worked there on and off for several years I can tell you it boasts a very high quality of life. And the downtown area is really beautiful with the Reedy River Falls, Peace Center for Performing Arts, Bi-Lo Center (10,000 seats) and their cool downtown business dictrict.

I hear good things. Pictures look beautiful.

If Greenville were consolidated like Jacksonville, it's population would be 450,000.  It is smaller than Jax, but the city population is deceiving small because of SC's restrictive annexation laws.  The Greenvillle-Spartanburg metro area is very
similiar in size to Metro Jax in population. 

Considering there were over 1,000 employees in Jax and less than 500 in Greenville, that was probably the overriding factor. 

QuoteGee, last time I looked, Greenville did not have an NFL team, so that probably had a major impact on the decision. That, CSX, FNF and a number of other prominent companies surely had nothing to do with it.

Lake - Front cover of this week's Jax Business Journal stated that the MAIN reason the Bi/Lo people came around to Jacksonville was due to the size of the city. The NFL would not have been here without that same size and in fact having the NFL helped bring in FNF, maintain CSX, and allow others to come to Jacksonville.

From the JBJ Week of March 19:

QuoteAnd while financial incentives were important, the decision to relocate to Jacksonville was ultimately made based on size, scope and location.

I still think its a stretch to say the NFL helped bring them here but the city size and amount of local facilities both (Bi-Lo and FNF) took over makes a strong case for shifting headquarter operations to Jax.

Well, respectfully, I disagree. Without the NFL here, it would really bite the big one for many, many reasons. Those reasons can be viewed during the 1980s in our string of disappointments.