Lion LLC Food is a grocery company headquartered in Salisbury, North Carolina, which operates over 1,100 supermarkets in 10 states of the Southeastern United States under the banner of Lion Food. With about 63,000 employees, Food Lion, LLC. currently owned by Ahold Delhaize after being acquired by Delhaize Group in 1974. One of its founders is philanthropist Ralph Ketner.
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History
Food Lion was founded in 1957 in Salisbury, North Carolina, as Food City by Wilson Smith, Ralph Ketner, and Brown Ketner. The City Food Chain was acquired by Belgium-based Delhaize Group grocery company in 1974. In June 2015, it was announced that the parent company Food Lion, Delhaize Group and Ahold would join Ahold Delhaize. This merger was completed in July 2016.
The name of Lion Food was adopted in 1983; when Food City expanded to Virginia, the chain found several stores called Foodtown in the Richmond area. The expansion into Maryland will be a bigger problem as about 100 independent, but affiliated, stores are called Food Town. Since Delhaize has a lion in its logo, Kota Food has asked to use it on product labels and new store signs. Ralph Ketner realized that the "lion" needed only two new letters and another movement in the chain sign. On December 12, 1982, Ketner announced the name change to "Food Lion," and by the end of March 1983, all the shops had been branded. The name changed, while confusing to American customers, making a sense of economy and history, as Delhaize was once known as "Delhaize Le Lion."
Throughout the 1980s, Food Lion expanded throughout Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The company continued its expansion throughout the late 1980s, opening hundreds of stores in existing markets such as Carolinas and Virginias, and entering new markets such as Georgia and Maryland.
In the early 1990s, the Food Shop of Lions appeared in new markets such as Delaware and southern Pennsylvania; Orlando, Florida; Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Oklahoma; Shreveport; Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex; and Houston. So far, the network is the fastest growing supermarket company in the US, as they open more than 100 new stores each year. In November 1992, an important report on PrimeTime Live that showed unhealthy meat and seafood handling injured the chain as they tried to enter new markets in the Northeast and Southwest. (See the ABC section of PrimeTime Live, below.)
According to industry sources, new stores in Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma are already operating under projected sales. The uninspired small Snack shop began to compete with national retailers, such as Albertsons, Kroger, Tom Thumb, and Jewel-Osco - all of whom have been respected in the Southwest and who operate large stores with more features. , but the effects of a devastating ABC report can not be denied, and sales and revenues plummet. In the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, widespread reports were given about stores that sent half of their staff home early due to lack of business and other stores with "almost zero meat sales". In the fiscal quarter including the 1992 Thanksgiving holiday, Delhaize America reported a 9.5% decline in overall company-wide store sales. As a result, Food Lion was forced to reduce the scale of its expansion plans in Texas and Oklahoma, and delayed its entry into new markets in Missouri, Kansas, and Illinois.
In 1993, Food Lion agreed to pay $ 16.2 million to settle claims that they violated federal laws governing unpaid overtime, minimum wage, and child labor, according to the US Department of Labor. Under the agreement, which at the time was the largest settlement ever undertaken by private companies accused of violating the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the foodstuff chain agreed to ensure that all employees would be well informed about the rights they. In addition, the Labor Department said the top management of Food Lion assures that there will be no retaliation against employees complaining about unpaid overtime or other potential FLSA violations.
On January 7, 1994, Delhaize announced the first major round of shop closures in what would become an annual event. Shops to be shut include 47 of its new stores in Texas and Oklahoma, as well as stores in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Virginia.
Throughout the mid-1990s, the company canceled leases for new stores and closed a number of newly built stores in recently established markets such as Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston and Oklahoma City. Citing the same two-digit store sales decline for the quarter ended in September 1997, Delhaize announced that it was canceling its Midwest expansion, exiting all markets in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana, and closing the 6-year distribution center in Roanoke, Texas. The bruised and battered food lion is forced to return to the East Coast, where it faces increasingly fierce competition from its competitors with larger stores, better customer service, and more variety and facilities; this includes regional winners such as Ingles, Harris Teeter, and Publix; newcomers like specialty retailers Whole Foods Market; and expanding national chains such as Kroger, Target, and Wal-Mart Supercenters.
Beginning in 2003, Food Lion became active in "market updates" where every year Food Lion selects certain cities in their area of ​​operations where they remodel stores and update product offerings. In 2006, Food Lion advancing their market renewal program using demographic and geographic data to find out if certain stores should be labeled as Lions, Bloom, or Dollar Down Foods. If the data is supported that the existing Lion Food is enough for a particular community, the location will only be renovated. If data supports otherwise, the Food Lion store will be overhauled and re-branded as Bloom or Dollar Bottom. In early 2012, Food Lion closed 113 stores. It's located in Georgia, North and South Carolina, Kentucky, and Tennessee and all the stores in Florida.
In 2014, Food Lion starts remodels in their 76 stores in the greater Wilmington and Greenville North Carolina markets. In March 2015, plans were announced for the renovation of 162 locations in the Raleigh, North Carolina market. Raleigh market remodels are expected to be completed in stores on a rolling basis between April and October 2015. In March 2016, the company announced that it would make an investment of $ 215 million in larger Charlotte area stores. These include the renovation of 142 stores, additional price investments, and investments in associations and communities through the Food Lion initiative. In July 2016, as part of a merger between Delhaize and Ahold, Food Lion was required to divest 61 locations to various competitors including Supervalu and Weis Markets in Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia and Virginia to satisfy the Federal Trade Commission's review of two merged parent companies.
On March 14, 2018, Supervalu announced that Food Lion purchased three Farm Fresh locations in Elizabeth City, North Carolina and Hampton and Virginia Beach, Virginia as part of a larger deal to close the Farm Fresh brand. On April 27, 2018, Food Lion announced plans to acquire four BI-LO locations in Florence, Myrtle Beach, Surfside Beach, and Columbia, South Carolina.
The current Lion Food store can be found in Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.
The Lion's sister chain includes Giant-Carlisle, Giant-Landover, Hannaford Brothers, Martin's Food Markets, and Stop & amp; Store.
International store
Food Lion spent seven years trying to establish a presence in Bangkok, Thailand. Operated locally by Bel-Thai Supermarket Co., in 2004 withdrawn from the country, selling all the branches to the Supermarket Tops.
Maps Food Lion
Former Banner
Bloom
Bloom is a top-class food wholesaler of Food Lion that opened on May 26, 2004.
In December 2009, 65 Bloom stores were in North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland, and Virginia.
On March 14, 2011, Delhaize announced that all Bloom supermarkets in North and South Carolina would be closed or converted into a Food Lion banner.
On January 11, 2012, Delhaize announced that the Bloom brand will be discontinued and all Bloom supermarkets will switch to Food Lion or permanently close.
Food Under Dollar
Bottom Dollar Food is a food wholesale model for Food Lion that focuses on offering a limited selection of national brands and private label products. These stores do not have bakeries or delis and more packaged goods. Customers buy bags used to fire their own groceries at Bottom Dollar Food. Stores also use alternative look and deployment techniques such as cutting cases on shelves, and using pallets and bins to reduce costs. Food Lion opened the first Bottom Dollar Food model in High Point, North Carolina, on September 21, 2005.
In December 2009, Bottom Dollar Food had 28 stores in North Carolina, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia. In January 2012, Delhaize announced that it will close six Bottom Dollar outlets and convert another 22 to the Food Lion supermarket as part of the restructuring. In August 2014, it was reported that Delhaize placed all of the Bottom Dollar food location portfolios for sale. In the end Bottom Dollar Food is closed and stores are sold to Aldi in early 2015.
Harveys Supermarket
The Harveys store is primarily located in the rural market within Deep South. In May 2013, all Harveys stores are sold to BI-LO LLC.
Reid's
Reid is a small chain of shops located in the rural communities of South Carolina. Most of these shops were previously branded as Lions Food stores and continue to carry Food Lion branded goods and use Food Lion's infrastructure. In May 2013, Reid was sold along with his brother's supermarket chain Harveys and Sweetbay to BI-LO LLC for $ 265 million. BI-LO then stopped Reid's name, changed the name of Reid's shop to BI-LO.
Shop brand
Delhaize America stores use a common personal brand called Home 360, Natural Place, CHA-CHING, and Taste of Inspirations. Supermarkets Sister Hannaford and Sweetbay are the last two stores to switch, doing so in 2010 and 2011. The move is designed to simplify the company's brand-store product line. The Lion Food Shop has my Essential brand, as well as the Hannaford brand. By the end of 2014, My Essentials, as well as the names of Home 360, have retired and the more traditional Food Lion brand names are used instead.
Slogan
- "LFPINC (LFPISC or LFPIVA)": During the Food Town era, the slogan stands for "Lowest Food Price In North Carolina". Also, it is used in South Carolina and Virginia stores.
- "Extra Low Price": 1990s early 2000s
- "Good Neighbor, Big Price": beginning 2000-2011
- "Get Your Lion Shares": 2011/2012-2014
- "Easy, fresh, and affordable... You can count on Lions... Everyday": 2014-now
- "Live Better with the Lion": 2015-2016
- "How Refreshing": 2016-now
PrimeTime Live controversy
In the 1990s, Food Lion earned a renown level when it became the subject of ABC News's investigation. ABC has received a tip on unsanitary practices at Food Lion. Two ABC journalists acted as Food Lion employees, and witnessed unhealthy practices at Food Lion. Much of what they see is recorded with hidden cameras in the wig they wear. The tape is then featured in a segment of the Primetime Live news magazine, where the Food Lion employee describes unhealthy practices, including bleaching discoloration, pork expired with Clorox and repackaging expired meat with an expiration date new, and the use of a nail polish remover to remove the expiration date of the dairy product package.
The company responded by demanding ABC for fraud, claiming that ABC employees misrepresented themselves; due to unauthorized entry, because ABC employees visit the Food Lion property without permission; and for violation of loyalty obligations, ABC employees record non-public areas of the store and disclose internal company information. During a court battle between Food Lion and ABC, over 40 hours of unused footage were released which helped the Food Lion case. In an unused tape, two undercover manufacturers are seen trying to push the company policy violations; however, employees refuse and follow properly sanitation practices.
Food Lion was awarded US $ 5.5 million by a jury in 1997. The award was subsequently reduced by a judge to $ 316,000. The ruling was later overturned by the fourth US Circuit Court of Appeal in Richmond, Virginia. According to the court: although ABC is wrong to do what they have done, Food Lion does not demand defamation, but rather for tort as a way to overcome the strict First Amendment standard for defamation. Food Lion does this because the company does not oppose the truth of what ABC reported in the broadcast. However, the appeals court upheld the findings that producers engaged in violating their loyalty obligations as employees for Food Lion, and have breached the limits, including a nominal $ 2 penalty.
Lion Ads
Starting in 2013, Food Lion advertisements featured a lion who said, "That's just my two cents." PETA says advertisements should not use native animals, while companies assure them that the animal is being treated well.
See also
References
External links
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- The official Food Lion website
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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