Thursday, November 06, 2014YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Bottom Dollar Food will close its 66 stores by year end, including four in the Mahoning Valley, the discount grocery chain’s parent company, Delhaize Group, announced Wednesday.
In a news release posted on the Belguim company’s website, Delhaize announced it has entered into a deal to sell Bottom Dollar Food’s 66 store locations and associated lease liabilities to Aldi Inc. and no longer operate in the discount segment of food retail in the United States. All of the stores are expected to remain open until the end of 2014. After that, Bottom Dollar Food will close the stores and retire the banner’s operations.
Bottom Dollar Food, based in North Carolina, opened its first store in King of Prussia, Pa., in October 2010, opened three stores in Youngstown in February 2012 -- on Glenwood Avenue, East Midlothian Boulevard and Mahoning Avenue – and subsequently opened a store in Warren.
Aldi operates several discount stores throughout the Mahoning and Shenango Valleys including in Boardman, Howland, Warren and Austintown.
The announcement is consistent with Delhaize’s “previously stated strategy of focusing on its core operations in the traditional supermarket segment,” according to the release. After the stores are closed, employees will be offered severance and eligible employers will be offered career transition services. Bottom Dollar employs 2,200.
“This decision was difficult given the impact on our associates, customers and communities in which we operate,” said Gene Faller, vice president of retail operations for Bottom Dollar Food. “We want to thank our associates, customers and communities for their support over the past four years.”
Delhaize Group is an international food retailer present in seven countries on three continents. At the end of the third quarter of 2014, Delhaize Group's sales network consisted of 3,386 stores. In 2013, Delhaize Group posted $27.8 billion in revenues and $237 million in net profit. At June 30, the company employed approximately 152,500 people worldwide.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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