Dive Brief
According to a Tuesday press release, Save A Lot sold 32 of its stores to Yellow Banana, LLC, a subsidiary of minority-owned holding company 127 Wall Holdings LLC. Yellow Banana will manage the new locations it has acquired under the Save A Lot brand.
According to the press release, each store will undergo a “significant” remodel in the next year to show Save A Lot branding. The stores will also receive a wider selection of regional and local products.
The stores generate an annual revenue of more than $130 million and are sold to local owners. This helps the discount grocer transition to wholesale.
Dive Insight
Tuesday’s announcement of Save A Lot’s latest sale marks the last batch of corporate-owned stores that Save A Lot has sold. The new owners have also agreed to keep the Grocer’s branding.
Save A Lot, a discount grocery chain, announced that it would sell 51 stores in Tampa to Fresh Encounter, an Ohio-based grocery company. The store also stated that it will sell more than 300 stores at other retailers who will keep the Save A Lot name. The grocery chain is trying to preserve its brand and reduce its debt.
Yellow Banana will retain more than 400 associates, and they will continue to receive their wages, retirement benefits, and health insurance. The announcement also stated that the new owner plans to hire additional employees. The stores will be renovated with new decor, updated lighting and flooring, as well as updated produce and meat cases.
Save A Lot has struggled in recent years with high debt loads and industry competition. Kenneth McGrath, the then-CEO of Save A Lot, announced in July that he would be leaving the grocery store to go to Lidl. The grocer also released an advertisement campaign that featured a music video and a store jingle. This follows other unconventional campaigns by retailers like Aldi and Lidl. This campaign was used to highlight Save A Lot’s store remodel push. It has been accelerating in recent months, and now aims at touching all 1,000 Save A Lot locations by 2024.
After the “Save A Lot” closure, North Baton Rouge now has one less grocery shopping option
BATON ROUGE (La. (WAFB) North Baton Rouge now has one less grocery store option after “Save A Lot” closed on the weekend, resulting in older residents losing vital resources.
Frankie Smith is a resident of North Baton Rouge since 1991. Food is her passion. She cooks home-cooked meals every day for the elderly in the community.
“Half the time they don’t have food, so if they don’t have anyone to bring them food, they can drop it at their door.” Smith says that half of them don’t eat meals. This is very concerning.
Although she loves to cook, she is worried that she won’t be able to find bulk prices at other local grocery stores. Smith adds, “We don’t have anything here that we can eat healthy.” Although she is disappointed that she will have to search for a new shop, she doesn’t want to disappoint her neighbors who depend on her for warm meals.
Smith claims it’s more than a grocery store closing. To her, it’s lighting out at another North Baton Rouge business. The Metro Council of East Baton Rouge wants to revitalize this area. The North Economic District was created to attract more businesses to this part of the parish. Metro Council Member Chauna banks says that more must be done. “So, in order to have North Baton Rouge a grocery store, we need anchors that draw people, and this was not one of those anchors.
Banks believes that there is no housing or development in the area for many years, so it is a big loss.” Banks also says that city leaders should consider a new approach to North Baton Rouge’s scattered communities, as not every neighborhood has the exact same needs. Banks adds that it will be a difficult task, as it has been for the Economic Development District. Because it is so large, it requires more situational operations.
Many people in the Evangeline area will walk to “Save A Lot”, even though other grocery stores are nearly a mile away. Older residents will need to find a way to get there.
According to “Save A Lot”, some of the reasons they shut down the store were financial issues and didn’t fit in their long-term plans.
Save A Lot Stops “Acting like a Grocery Store”
Save A Lot, which announced earlier this month plans to renovate all 1,000 units within its portfolio by 2024, has launched a new campaign, “Like, A Lot A Lot” on July 29. It said the campaign brings out the brand’s value-driven focus through a unique, viral song and video.
Drew Kirsch won the MTV VMA Video of the Year award for “You Have to Calm Down” by Taylor Swift. Drew Kirsch was enlisted by the discount grocery store to direct and produce the video. It features customers dancing and singing in the grocery aisles, as well as hip-hop and pop stylings. The video also features vocals from three young singers and hip hop artists, Tamara Bubble and Leon Evans.
You can stream it on Spotify and Apple Music, and YouTube. It has been made into animated ads of 15 and 6 seconds featuring Save A Lot products that can be used across many platforms.
