Winn-Dixie history

He purchased a Miami store, the Rockmoor Grocery, and his family changed its name to “Table Supply” in 1927.

They steadily scaled out, opening moderately performing stores around Miami-Dade before entering the Fort Lauderdale market in 1929.

While they did not appreciate the chain’s competition, they had a down right fit when area manager Artemus Davis launched a November 1930 advertising campaign.

In 1931, the Davis family bought the Lively Stores chain for $10,000, to create a chain of 33 Table Supply stores across Florida from Miami to Tampa.

William Milton Davis died in 1934, leaving his four sons in charge of the company.

In April 1935 senator Henry C. Tillman of Hillsborough County introduced the “Florida Recovery Act.” Its goal was nothing short of completely banning all chain stores from the state.

1939: The company gains control of the Winn & Lovett Grocery Company, which operates 78 stores in Florida and Georgia.

1944: The company adopts the Winn & Lovett name and moves its headquarters to Jacksonville, Florida.

That changed in 1945 with the purchase of Kentucky-based Steiden Stores and its 31 locations.

An additional 46 Florida stores were gained in 1949 through the acquisition of Margaret Ann Stores.

Merger with Dixie Home Stores in 1955 Created Winn-Dixie

In 1956, Winn-Dixie bought Ketner-Milner Stores in North Carolina, H. G. Hill Stores in Louisiana and Mississippi, as well as King Stores in Georgia.

In 1962 the company acquired Hill Grocery Co., Inc. and its 35 stores in the Birmingham, Alabama, area.

In 1965 the company promoted longtime VP Bert Thomas to the role of president, the first time someone not named Davis was at the helm.

1966: The Federal Trade Commission forbids Winn-Dixie from acquiring any retail grocery stores in the United States for ten years.

And since the FTC’s jurisdiction stopped at the border, W-D turned internationally for growth in 1967.

In 1976, Winn-Dixie purchased the Buddies Supermarket chain, based in Fort Worth, Texas, expanding the Winn-Dixie moniker into Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico.

After the company refused to negotiate with the union and a pro-union boycott began, Winn-Dixie sold its New Mexico stores in 1979.

Just days before the 1982 investor’s meeting, president Bert Thomas died of a stroke and heart attack at age 64.

Due to its acquisitions and new store openings, Winn-Dixie ranked as America’s 11th largest retailer by 1983.

1984: The first Winn-Dixie Marketplace store opens.

J. E. Davis gifted land and money to kick start the Mayo Clinic Jacksonville campus in 1986.

A year later Winn-Dixie emerged with half the number of stores as its 1987 peak.

Winn-Dixie announced in 1988 that it would no longer accept promotion allowances for products on a market by market basis, but only chainwide.

In January 1990 Winn-Dixie abandoned the acquisition of 24 B&B Cash Grocery Stores in the Tampa, Florida, area that had been announced the previous October.

Starting in 1991, Winn-Dixie increased its store sizes even further, renovated or closed hundreds of its older and smaller stores, and altered the layout and conception of the Marketplace stores, some of which were as large as 55,000 square feet.

In 1994 alone the company spent $650 million on renovations to convert or open new Marketplace stores.

1995: Winn-Dixie acquires the Thriftway Food Drug chain, operator of 25 outlets in the greater Cincinnati area.

By 1996 there were 504 Marketplaces in the chain (compared to 634 Winn-Dixies), and many of these larger format stores included a "Food Pavilion," which was a large single aisle featuring a bakery, produce, deli, a combination meat-seafood service area, and a sit-down eating area.

During fiscal 1999, the company's 52-year streak of increasing its dividends came to an end, and the following year the company's overall revenues fell for the first time in more than 60 years.

In connection with the restructuring, Winn-Dixie recorded charges of $396 million; as a result, Winn-Dixie suffered a net loss of $228.9 million for fiscal 2000.

In October 2001 the company launched a new advertising campaign called "The Real Deal" that touted "real good food, from real good people, at a real good price." The next year Winn-Dixie followed an industry trend by launching a customer loyalty card.

The biggest shift to this format was in Atlanta, where 38 locations began sporting the Save Rite banner in 2002.

Early in 2003 the company said that it would accelerate its development of new stores, with this neighborhood-focused strategy in mind.

In April 2004, Winn-Dixie announced the closure of 156 stores, including all 111 stores located in the Midwest.

On February 22, 2005, Winn-Dixie filed for bankruptcy.

On February 28, 2006, it was announced that 35 more stores were to be sold or closed within the coming months, with the Central and South Florida areas being the most affected.

On December 19, 2011, Winn-Dixie agreed to be sold to BI-LO for $530 million.

As of March 9, 2012, Winn-Dixie became part of Bi-Lo Holdings, the parent company of both BI-LO and Winn-Dixie, ending 67 years of Davis family ownership.

On October 8, 2013, all remaining Sweetbay Supermarket locations were rebranded as Winn-Dixie.

Bi-Lo Holdings changed their name to Southeastern Grocers in 2015.

Beginning in 2016, SE Grocers began to transition to a unified private label brand under the "SE Grocers" brand, with 4 different tiers.

That generosity has continued to this day, with a two million dollar donation in 2017 to the Jacksonville Zoo.

On March 15, 2018, Southeastern Grocers announced they would file a plan of reorganization under Chapter 11 by the end of March.

In February 2019, Southeastern Grocers announced plans to close 22 locations in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.

Employees have been required to wear masks beginning in March 2020 at the start of the pandemic and were encouraged to wear gloves.