Aldi said March 7 that it will maintain Southeastern Grocers’ Jacksonville headquarters and the leadership now that the acquisition is completed.
“With this acquisition, ALDI will maintain Southeastern Grocers’ Jacksonville, Florida headquarters as a critical hub for Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarkets operations,” the spokesperson said in a news release.
SEG bases its headquarters in the Prominence Office Park in the Baymeadows area.
“Given SEG Store Support Center teams know their customers and communities across the Southeast best and with much work to be done as we transition, ALDI will continue to lean on these teams to ensure the future success of Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarkets businesses,” the spokesperson said.
“They will be essential in continuing the Southeastern Grocers business as ALDI moves through conversions.”
Asked whether SEG President and CEO Anthony Hucker will remain with the company, the spokesperson responded:
“Over the past few months, ALDI and SEG leadership have been working together to ensure a smooth transition. Since we are operating business as usual for the foreseeable future, the SEG leadership team will continue to lead their business.”
Aldi, a German-based food retailer with U.S. headquarters in Batavia, Illinois, announced March 7 that it completed the purchase of SEG and its Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarket banners and will add 800 stores nationwide by the end of 2028 through a combination of new openings and store conversions.
The news release said a “significant number of Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarkets will convert to the ALDI format over the next several years.”
Starting mid-summer, Aldi will begin a phased approach to the store conversion.
It will start converting about 50 stores during the second half of 2024 to open as Aldi in 2025.
“As announced last August, ALDI intends for a meaningful amount of Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarkets to continue to operate under their current banners,” the release said.
Separately, SEG Executive Chairman Mark Gross said in a statement that the leadership team at Southeastern Grocers, led by Hucker, deserves recognition "for carrying out their transformational journey following emergence from a strategic restructure."
"They made the tough decisions that needed to be made, yet never lost focus on building culture as they navigated COVID and successfully orchestrated this transaction. We are grateful for the creative guidance from RBC Capital Markets, LLC, in bringing this transaction to a successful close.”
Hucker also issued a statement.
"Throughout our transformational journey, it’s our people who have remained core to our business and success," he said.
"It’s because of them that communities across the Southeast can rely on us to deliver the best possible service, quality and value every shopping trip. Our commitment to our associates, customers and communities has not changed. With ALDI, we have a partner who shares and lives our dedication to our associates and giving back to the communities we serve.”