Photo: Save A Lot
Save A Lot was one of the largest discount grocery chains in the U.S. and now it’s not after having sold off its remaining corporate stores to focus on its wholesale operations.
Save A Lot, which directly operated or licensed around 1,000 stores in 33 states prior to the pandemic, has been selling stores to various ownership groups around the country. Ascend Grocery acquired 33 locations in Florida and Yellow Banana has 38 across five states. Fresh Encounter, Inc. (51 stores), Janes Group (18 stores), Leevers Supermarkets (17 stores), and Save Philly Stores (14 stores) were other ownership groups that added to their respective portfolios.
In all, the company sold nearly 300 locations to various retail partners, which will continue to operate the stores under the Save A Lot banner. The only stores remaining under Save A Lot corporate are 18 locations in the company’s home market of St. Louis. These will serve as laboratory locations to test new programs that may benefit the company’s wholesale customers.
The company has been remodeling stores in recent years and expects to have all locations under the Save A Lot banner updated by 2024. A total of 200 stores were remodeled in 2021. The new look locations are said to be “lighter, brighter and easier-to-shop” than the former model that leaned heavily on a more Spartan aesthetic.
Save A Lot is touting its new role as a wholesaler in opening up opportunities for its retail partners to customize their businesses to meet the needs of the communities they serve.
In its press release to announce its transition to a wholesale model, Save A Lot said it “has built a sustainable, high-growth and community-focused business while remaining true to its mission of providing unmatched value to its customers. Recent store conversions have been met with enthusiasm by customers and media within the local communities they serve.”
Save A Lot announced earlier this month that its new CEO Leon Bergmann would officially join the company on Feb. 21. He replaces interim CEO Craig Herkert, who is assisting in the transition.
Mr. Bergmann is a grocery industry veteran with over 20 years experience. He most recently served as CEO of Harvest Sherwood Food Distributors. He has also held leadership roles at C&S Holdings, Unified Grocers and SuperValu, where he was president of the company’s West region from 2017 to 2018.