Super store's super draw
Bi-Lo's newest Lowcountry facility will offer shoppers more than 36,000 items
Bi-Lo executives are hoping that customers won't drive to their newest Hanahan grocery store just for a jug of milk or a loaf of bread.
The Post and Courier
Irene Hough, a deli bakery specialist, loads freshly baked bread into displays as the new Super Bi-Lo prepares to open at Tanner Plantation in Hanahan.
Instead, they're aiming to draw shoppers to their Super Bi-Lo location, the first of its kind in the Charleston area, with an expanded selection of food items.
For example, a walk down the store's shiny aisles shows that it offers seven flavors of single-portion Kraft Easy Mac packages, including bacon and alfredo, and six combinations of toppings on the Southern Home frozen pizzas — just for the line of thin crust pies.
The store also has a noticeably larger selection of imported spices, a chicken wing bar and a wine selection that's 40 percent larger than conventional Bi-Lo stores. Freshly cooked rotisserie chickens are guaranteed to be in stock during certain hours of the day.
Rusty Streetman, the Upstate-based chain's regional vice president, said a regular Bi-Lo typically stocks about 30,000 items, but the Super Bi-Lo concept stores have more than 36,000 items on the shelves. Customers have responded favorably to the new layouts, which require about 130 employees.
"Every time we've opened up this concept, we've done well," he said.
The Post and Courier
The new store has deli options such as a wing bar and an olive bar.
Bi-Lo is marking the opening today at 7:30 a.m. of its 48,000-square-foot store, which is in a new shopping center at the entrance to Tanner Plantation off North Rhett Avenue. The first 100 shoppers in line get a $50 gift card.
It marks the Southeastern company's
20th Super Bi-Lo location since it introduced the concept in 2005. The next one is scheduled to open on James Island in October and offer even more items, including beer kegs.
"Those'll sell great on Folly Beach," Streetman said.
The Super Bi-Lo emerged as other large retailers, such as Wal-Mart and Target, have made a big push into in the grocery business by putting supermarkets and discount stores under one roof. Unlike those chains, Streetman said that Bi-Lo's deluxe version of itself will still focus solely on the food.
The expanded selection not only offers more flavors but more sizes too. One of the store's bulk sections stocked one-gallon jugs of Duke's Mayonnaise and a can of almost seven pounds of orange-colored nacho cheese, while the frozen section had mini-cups of Ben and Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream.
Another Super Bi-Lo feature is that some parts of the store are open longer than usual. For instance, the pharmacy — complete with a drive-thru — is the chain's only Charleston-area location open on Sundays. It also has extended hours the rest of the week.
Bi-Lo hopes that customers will embrace the concept, even during a time when they might not be looking to put extra items in the cart. Higher gas prices and inflation have pushed up the price of many basic food items. For instance, a gallon of Coburg milk at the new store was priced above $6.
Bi-Lo spokesman John Taylor said that customers have coped with the higher prices by opting for more store-brand items like the company's Southern Home private-label foods, which typically sell for 20 percent less than name brands.
THE COMPANY
Founded: 1964 by Frank Outlaw
Headquarters: Mauldin, near Greenville
Locations: About 220 in the Carolinas, Georgia and Tennessee
Employees: About 17,000
Top executive: Brian Hotarek
Owner: Private equity firm Lone Star Funds, which in April 2007 said it was seeking a buyer for the supermarket chain. No deal has materialized.
Background: Bi-Lo last year said would invest $40 million to overhaul most of its 14 existing Charleston-area stores, by either remodeling them or converting them to the Super Bi-Lo format, by 2010.
Reach Katy Stech at 937-5549 or kstech@postandcourier.com.
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Comments
Tammie (anonymous) says...
"The next one is scheduled to open on James Island in October and offer even more items, including beer kegs."
I'm expecting to see ColdBeer hanging out on the island a lot more...:-)
August 20, 2008 at 8:09 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
common_sense (anonymous) says...
The problem is, the new stoplight there was supposed to have been up & running this past March. Now, it's a complete traffic clusterfcuk.
Thanks Hanahan. You'd think with all the taffic violation revenue your town pursues that you'd have the funds to install the light.
I'm just sayin...
August 20, 2008 at 9:35 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
prosperous_hb (anonymous) says...
Common Sense, are you talking about putting a red light at Tanner Plantation? If they do that, I think it would make traffic even more of a mess.
August 20, 2008 at 9:44 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
wjhamilton3 (anonymous) says...
Barbara Daniels, our comanager at the Shelmore Bi-Lo in Mt. Pleasant, is part of the management team at this new store. She was very active with the community and is a great person. We wish her well at the new store.
August 20, 2008 at 10:13 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Tammie (anonymous) says...
LOL @ Wpc
I hope the one on James Island has a SunTrust bank in it like the one on Bees Ferry Road! (I'm partial because that's my bank..lol)
August 20, 2008 at 10:33 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
palmettotree (anonymous) says...
I was hoping that they would sell gas at a decent price. How super can it be if it just has more of what they have already?
August 20, 2008 at 10:57 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
SCHoser (anonymous) says...
It was a nightmare in Tanner this morning-more than usual while school is in. Hopefully it was just due to the grand opening. The only time the light is going to help is during rush hour in the morning, and sometimes the evening rush hour gets a tad backed up. A light there at North Rhett will not make things any worse at all, and will help in the AM. Alas, once again, Hanahan has screwed this one up big time. The police in Hanahan can do one thing right, and only one thing right-traffic tickets. Other than that, they are pretty useless. I saw one officer at the Super Bi-Lo this morning, and he was leaning against his MUSTANG and just talking away on his cell phone, having a good ole' time. Never mind the fender benders and hot tempers flaring around him, along with the massive traffic jam. I used to wonder what Hanahan did with all the monies from the tickets, but seeing a new patrol car every other week answers that question....I mean, how many damn mustangs do they need?
August 20, 2008 at 11:59 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
common_sense (anonymous) says...
I am prosperous HB, and SCHoser has hit it on the head. A light has been needed at Tanner Plantation long before Bi-Lo came along. Now with the rumors I'm hearing about a "super" sized tennant looking next door, traffic will be worse without a light.
Sorry, no more Rhett speedway.
I'm just sayin...
August 20, 2008 at 12:14 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
palmettotree (anonymous) says...
If they didn't build houses that WERE NOT needed in the first place they wouldn't need a light up there. There are way too many lights now in some areas. Why cut down trees to build houses that are sitting empty? All it is is because people want new houses. They don't want to fix up the old ones. Plus all it did was give the illegals a job in the area.
August 20, 2008 at 1:02 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
prosperous_hb (anonymous) says...
Cool. Now I can understand it. I only travel that side in the afternoons, not mornings. Well, I wish you guys luck with new store.
August 20, 2008 at 1:44 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
SCSIGirl2 (anonymous) says...
palmettotree - remember, the illegals would not have come if there were no jobs to be hired on for. Blame the cheap employers who don't want to pay decent wages to local folks, but want to make money for their investors.
August 20, 2008 at 4:01 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
moonpie (anonymous) says...
You know they don't put red lights up in the beginning of a project. They have to let a few people get killed first and then it will becaome a priority!
Next bad place is Cane Bay.
August 20, 2008 at 6:41 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
chucktonian (anonymous) says...
LOL mooncalf...
You can't find a decent steak at ANY Charleston-area grocery store. It's like trying to find a good pizza...impossible. All anyone sells is "New-York Style" drivel.
August 20, 2008 at 9:10 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
guidedbystewart (anonymous) says...
Actually, EVO has awesome piza!
August 20, 2008 at 10:05 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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