SweetBay leaving the Villages???

[neilbcox]

Someone mentioned yesterday that Winn Dixie has purchased the Sweat Bay stores in The Villages. Is that fact or just a rumor?

Please say it is not so! We do not need another large chain store which stocks 70% private label!:mornincoffee:

[784caroline]

Its true....Winn Dixie it is!!!

[NJblue]

Wasn't there something put out lately that even though Winn Dixie bought Sweet Bay, that they were going to maintain it as a separate entity - i.e., keep the Sweet Bay name.

[JB in TV]

NJblue, I seem to recall it being mentioned thah the name change will take place in March...

[jhrc4]

Sweet Bay, Winn Dixie, Save-a-Lot are all Owned by the same company. Sweet Bay located in Sumter Landing will be re-modeled and renamed " Winn Dixie ". Yes Sweet Bay as it is known is will be heading out, in name only.

[NJblue]

Sweet Bay, Winn Dixie, Save-a-Lot are all Owned by the same company. Sweet Bay located in Sumter Landing will be re-modeled and renamed " Winn Dixie ". Yes Sweet Bay as it is known is will be heading out, in name only.

Too bad. Ownership and merchandise aside, I always liked the name "Sweet Bay" and found myself attracted to these stores based on name alone. "Winn Dixie" has a negative connotation for me.

[jmvalcq]

It's better for Winn Dixie to change the name now and get a good customer base before Publix opens their new store on 44 & Powell Rd. I saw the new Publix plans to totv last night.

[gustavo]

Someone mentioned yesterday that Winn Dixie has purchased the Sweat Bay stores in The Villages. Is that fact or just a rumor?

Please say it is not so! We do not need another large chain store which stocks 70% private label!:mornincoffee:

It is true.

[Skip]

Someone mentioned yesterday that Winn Dixie has purchased the Sweat Bay stores in The Villages. Is that fact or just a rumor?

It's always a rumor until it happens; then it's a fact and all the ones spreading the rumor will say: "I told you so!"

Skip

[Paperboy]

Winn Dixie @ Pinellas Plaza to take place sometime in March according toan employee

[Matzy]

Actually, SweetBay left The Villages in May 2013 when it was sold to BI LO LLC.
Winn Dixie also is owned by BI LO, a super market chain located in South Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia. 54% of the BI LO LLCompany is in hand of a Dutch-Belgium owner.
In May 2013, Sweetbay and its sister supermarket chains Harveys and Reid's were sold to BI-LO LLC for $265 million. Also included in the transaction were leases to 10 Sweetbay locations that closed in January 2013.
On October 8, 2013, BI-LO announced it would retire the Sweetbay brand, and rename all Sweetbay locations to Winn-Dixie.

[DianeM]

Whether it be called Sweet Bay or Winn Dixie, it's just a supermarket. Not really worth getting all twisted over.

[asianthree]

I hate private labels..so will shop elsewhere

[DianeM]

Private labels are often alongside the name brand goods and are usually equal to or better than for a lot less. We all look at things differently.

[Shimpy]

Too bad. Ownership and merchandise aside, I always liked the name "Sweet Bay" and found myself attracted to these stores based on name alone. "Winn Dixie" has a negative connotation for me.

I agree. Winn Dixie to me means from prior experience having to go thru can goods to find ones that are not expired.
I hate their ads that apply only those carrying their card. If i go into Publix their sale prices are for everyone but Winn Dixie will charge me more than the person behind me because I don't carry their card.

[DianeM]

Ummm so carry their card? Seems like a simple enough solution. I doubt that TV will let them sell sub-standard merchandise with outdated merchandise.

[Shimpy]

It's better for Winn Dixie to change the name now and get a good customer base before Publix opens their new store on 44 & Powell Rd. I saw the new Publix plans to totv last night.

Tell us more, as I haven't heard about this good news. On what corner will it be? Would it be golf cart accessable?

[Shimpy]

Ummm so carry their card? Seems like a simple enough solution. I doubt that TV will let them sell sub-standard merchandise with outdated merchandise.

Yes, a simple solution if you carry a purse. I've got enough to carry in my wallet and don't need to carry a genuine Winn Dixie card to get their sale price. I'll go to Publix where prices are for everyone. Seems by sales most consumers agree with me.

[Bonanza]

Someone mentioned yesterday that Winn Dixie has purchased the Sweat Bay stores in The Villages. Is that fact or just a rumor?

Please say it is not so! We do not need another large chain store which stocks 70% private label!:mornincoffee:

I think that 70% of any store's inventory being "private label" is an exaggeration. Where did you get that figure?

Did you ever stop to think that some large, major, well-known company makes the foods for each major store's "private label?" Most times private label things are as good or even better than the brand name things you already buy. What is your take on what is wrong with them?

Winn Dixie has been in business since the early 1900s. They have always been known for their meats with very competative prices. So bottom line -- what is your real "beef" with Winn Dixie???

BTW -- it's Sweet Bay, not Sweat Bay! In addition, they still ARE in the Villages. They've opened a new store in Pinellas Plaza.

[TNLAKEPANDA]

Oh god Winn Dixie is the worst of all (in my opinion).

[Bonanza]

Oh god Winn Dixie is the worst of all (in my opinion).

While I am not a Winn Dixie shopper because it hasn't been convenient to go there, I would do some shopping there.

Why are you saying "it is the worst of all?"

[LndLocked]

I am not a fan of either

I am a fan of house / generic brands as I find that 96.765% of the time they are just as good as name brands .... except biscuits! Never tried any house / generic brand biscuit that should not be repurposed as hockey pucks!

Do people actually look at the expiration dates of canned goods?? Very sure that the TV powers that be don't or have the ability to do it.

It is border line insane to build a new branded Sweetbay and then rebrand it Winn Dixie within a short time frame. Of course insane biz decisions run rampant in an awful lot to the grocery biz.

[redwitch]

And don't forget Sweet Bay sold a lot of products by Hannaford (their house brand), so house brand shouldn't be an issue. I shop all four grocery stores (Publix, Sweet Bay, Winn-Dixie and Walmart) on a semi-regular basis -- just depends on what I need that week and who has the best sales prices. I also shop Fresh Market occasionally and Trader Joe's about once a month. A store is a store. Know your products, know what you like and are looking for and you'll find it around here. Winn-Dixie ain't bad and they do have great wings in their deli.

[DianeM]

At the end of the day they all carry milk-bread-eggs. Does the logo on the store matter that much.

[janmcn]

Yes, a simple solution if you carry a purse. I've got enough to carry in my wallet and don't need to carry a genuine Winn Dixie card to get their sale price. I'll go to Publix where prices are for everyone. Seems by sales most consumers agree with me.


All the merchants that have affinity cards; Walgreen's, CVS, Winn-Dixie, Wegmans, etc, have key chain size cards for your convenience. Use them to save money, or don't use them and pay more, or avoid these retailers.

[zcaveman]

Location is the thing that drives me. When I first moved here there was Winn-Dixie and Publix in La Plaza Grande and Albertsons in Spanish Plaines. I used to alternate and then decided that Albertson's was closer and better. Then they opened Publix in Mulberry so that is where I go - 5 minutes by cart.

However, Publix does not carry some things I want so I occasionally go to Winn-Dixie.

I tried Sweet Bay and Fresh Market and was not impressed with either. But that is probably just me.

[kennie]

Redwitch. Where is trader Joes?

[LndLocked]

Redwitch. Where is trader Joes?

3724 SW Archer Rd
Gainesville, FL 32608
352-378-9321

Just east of I-75 on Archer Rd (exit 384)

[DDoug]

Bi-Lo owns winn dixie so Sweet bay may become Bi-LO never know Google owner of

[Skybo]

"Winn Dixie" has a negative connotation for me.

Really? Why?

Winn Dixie to me means from prior experience having to go thru can goods to find ones that are not expired.
I hate their ads that apply only those carrying their card. If i go into Publix their sale prices are for everyone but Winn Dixie will charge me more than the person behind me because I don't carry their card.

I like Publix too, but if you refuse to shop at Winn Dixie simply because they have customer cards, then you are biting off your nose to spite your face. So what if everyone gets the same price at Publix if that price is more than you would pay elsewhere? You will likely spend more at Publix than at Winn Dixie for the same items (even without a card). And with a card you, you spend much less, and that's not even counting the two for ones or fuel perks. I usually save $5 or more per fill up using my fuel perks card. Expired products? Never had a problem at WInn Dixie here***

*** Having said all that, I can understand the aversion to WD and Bi Lo from those of us who come from southern towns where Winn Dixie's and Bi Lo's have been around for awhile. In many southern towns, WD and Bi Lo are very old stores that haven't been updated in many years. They've been bypassed by the bigger and fancier "supermarkets" and many of them have an "unclean" appearance and reputation. But that is not the case here, even in Wildwood, and certainly not in The Villages. All in all, I'm pretty happy that Winn Dixie is replacing Sweet Bay.

[CFrance]

I agree. Winn Dixie to me means from prior experience having to go thru can goods to find ones that are not expired.
I hate their ads that apply only those carrying their card. If i go into Publix their sale prices are for everyone but Winn Dixie will charge me more than the person behind me because I don't carry their card.
Actually, if you don't have their card, the checkout person will use their "store" card to get you the discounts.

[LndLocked]

I absolutely HATE the "set" of your garden variety Winn Dixie.

By that I mean the lay out of where products are located within the store. They seem to make a concerted effort to NOT group related products together. The peanut butter is on isle 2 and the jelly is on isle 22! Frozen is dead in the middle so that it is sure to be partially unfrozen when you check out. The produce dept is a crazy maze of randomly placed gondolas, creating cart chaos. No rhyme, no reason, no LndLocked

Count me in those that loath having to carry around a special card to get sale prices. Not only do I not what to have one in my wallet or on my key chain .... I am not going to give them ANY personal info to get one. As for the fuel savings ... I have done the math of those savings and rarely, if ever, see a product I want that's price (including fuel savings) is better than I can get on that same item elsewhere. Plus you have to spend $50.00 (as I remember) before you can qualify and the fuels savings max out at 20 gallons per month. Too much hassle for too little savings on too few items I want, to work for me.

BTW ... I am also NOT a fan of the new reset at the Mulberry Publix.

[Villages Kahuna]

Sweetbay had to be the most poorly managed grocery store I've ever shopped. It became almost laughable. If I went in with a list of five items, they'd be almost certain to be out if two of them. I'm not talking about unique items here--Cheerios, Extra Chunky Jif peanut butter, Ritz crackers. Then my wife caught them selling outdated meat. Enough!

I hope Winn Dixie does better.

[Bonanza]

All the merchants that have affinity cards; Walgreen's, CVS, Winn-Dixie, Wegmans, etc, have key chain size cards for your convenience. Use them to save money, or don't use them and pay more, or avoid these retailers.

OR . . . leave the card at home and give them your phone number. In most places that have these cards, it will work.

[zcaveman]

BTW ... I am also NOT a fan of the new reset at the Mulberry Publix.

I Will definitely agree with you on that! Apparently a committee of non-shoppers set up the new layout.

But that will have to be a topic on another thread.

Z