Winn Dixie - Bi Lo

[tufsu1]

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

[duvaldude08]

Job loses coming to Greenville as a result of merger:

BI-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?

[Tacachale]

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

[mtraininjax]

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.

[thelakelander]

^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.

[mtraininjax]

I 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-10east]

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.

[I-10east]

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. 

[duvaldude08]

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! 

[copperfiend]

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.

[thelakelander]

I 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....

Asked 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

[Dog Walker]

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

[thelakelander]

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

[Dog Walker]

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.

[mtraininjax]

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.