JACKSONVILLE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Southeastern Grocers Inc. (SEG), parent company and home of Fresco y Más, Harveys Supermarket and Winn-Dixie grocery stores, together with the SEG Gives Foundation, is concluding 2023 by celebrating a WINNing year for the customers and communities it serves. Throughout this year, the grocer introduced new products and provided more value through online and in-store programs to help customers save time and money. Additionally, SEG has continued to be a steadfast community partner by donating more than $3,727,000 back into the community to support neighbors in need.
Raymond Rhee, Chief People Officer for Southeastern Grocers, said, “Reflecting on the remarkable journey we’ve taken over the past year, we are immensely grateful for the incredible dedication of our associates and the unwavering support of our loyal customers. Throughout 2023, we celebrated many WINNs as we worked together to improve our stores, support our neighbors and lend a helping hand to community members in need. As we turn the page on a new chapter in 2024, we look forward to another year of nourishing communities and fostering genuine connections – both inside and outside of our neighborhood stores.”
2023 has been a year of growth and renewal for the grocer, with 17 store remodels providing customers with improved, localized shopping experiences and enhanced offerings, along with the opening of two brand-new Winn-Dixie stores in its home state of Florida. In August, SEG unveiled a new ground-up store in the recently developed Apopka City Center in Orange County, and a second new store opening in September in the new College Park development in its hometown of Jacksonville to support the Arlington community’s revitalization efforts.
With customer satisfaction in mind, SEG also expanded its online shopping service for Harveys Supermarket and Winn-Dixie customers with the launch of curbside pickup in February to provide busy customers with additional convenience and value. When shopping online at participating stores, customers can enjoy easy delivery or curbside pickup in as little as two hours while receiving the same great benefit of in-store prices, savings and promotions. SEG’s commitment to serving customers also extends to the grocer’s line of Own Brand products, which offers customers an average savings of more than 20% compared to national brands on nearly 8,000 items. In 2023, SEG won more than 150 awards for its Own Brand products and market exclusive lines, including top recognition from grocery industry outlets, Store Brands and Progressive Grocer, in addition to World Dairy Expo and USA Wine, Beer and Spirits Ratings.
This year, SEG also announced a new exclusive product line – Know & Love – designed to provide a range of products made with ingredients customers “know,” to create the everyday products they’ll “love.” The curated line prioritizes ingredients, quality and value that customers can trust. Ingredients are selected for quality and every product is free from nearly 100 undesirable ingredients such as certified color additives, partially hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup and sweeteners such as aspartame, saccharin and sucralose. The thoughtfully selected products are rigorously taste-tested and budget friendly. With many products already available, the SEG Know & Love product line will continue to roll out gradually through 2024 – ultimately offering more than 1,000 clean label products including dairy, produce, ready-made foods, beverages and household items.
The grocer continues to offer customers significant savings through the rewards program, which was included in Newsweek’s America’s Best Loyalty Programs list for the third consecutive year. To further help customers save time and money, SEG launched its new seasonal discount program to hold down the prices of most-shopped grocery essentials. The “Price Hold” program lowers prices on more than 1,000 popular items to help customers stretch their grocery budget when shopping items marked in blue Price Hold signage throughout Winn-Dixie stores.
As a grocer deeply rooted in the communities it serves, SEG remains unwavering in its support of causes customers and associates care about the most. In 2023, SEG and the SEG Gives Foundation donated more than $3.7 million to more than 1,300 community partners throughout the Southeast. This includes $560,000 and more than 13 million pounds of food to fight food insecurity throughout the Southeast in partnership with Feeding America and its food bank partners; $460,000 to support emergency preparedness and disaster relief efforts; and $750,000 to Folds of Honor to provide 150 educational scholarships to the legacies of fallen and disabled service members.
SEG also supported various community initiatives in 2023, including a donation of $350,000 to the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, a donation of $225,000 to support nine pediatric care facilities in the Southeast, supported more than 420 local schools ahead of the academic school year and much more. Additionally, in its fourth year, SEG’s Romay Davis Belonging, Inclusion and Diversity Grant program provided 40 nonprofit organizations with a total of $400,000 to help address racial disparities in education, health care and food insecurity. In recognition of the company’s ongoing commitment to social responsibility, the grocer was included on Forbes’ list of Best Brands for Social Impact in May and honored with a Progressive Grocer Impact Award in November.
SEG’s people-first culture has also earned the grocer recognition from national outlets throughout the year, including: certification as a Great Place to Work® for the fourth consecutive year; Newsweek’s America’s Greatest Workplaces list with a 5-star rating for its dedication to fostering a culture of diversity and inclusion in addition to prioritizing professional development; Fortune’s Best Workplaces in Retail list which uses employee feedback to highlight the top 20 companies with workplace cultures that reflect a genuine commitment to meet associates’ needs; Newsweek’s America's Most Trustworthy Companies list as one of only 700 U.S. companies recognized for customer and employee trust; Forbes’ America's Best In-State Employers list as a top employer in Georgia; and Newsweek’s America's Greatest Workplaces for Parents and Families and America's Greatest Workplaces for Women in recognition of the grocer’s efforts to provide superior work-life balance and develop female leaders in the workforce.
Looking ahead to 2024, SEG plans to continue serving neighbors in need while investing in the communities it serves throughout its five-state footprint.
About Southeastern Grocers
Southeastern Grocers Inc. (SEG), parent company and home of Fresco y Más, Harveys Supermarket and Winn-Dixie grocery stores, is an omnichannel retailer and one of the largest conventional supermarket companies in the U.S., serving customers in brick-and-mortar grocery stores and liquor stores as well as online with convenient grocery delivery and curbside pickup throughout Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi. Fresco y Más, Harveys Supermarket and Winn-Dixie are well-known and well-respected regional brands with deep heritages, strong neighborhood ties, proud histories of giving back, talented and caring associates and a strong commitment to providing the best possible quality and value to customers. For more information, visit www.frescoymas.com, www.harveyssupermarkets.com and www.winndixie.com.
About SEG Gives Foundation
SEG Gives Foundation is the charitable arm of Southeastern Grocers Inc. (SEG), parent company of Fresco y Más, Harveys Supermarket and Winn-Dixie stores. The SEG Gives Foundation aligns giving with causes that are priorities to the communities SEG serves, including the fight against hunger, support for military service members and their families, relief to those affected by extreme weather and natural disasters and championing belonging, inclusion and diversity by combating social injustice to bridge the gap of inequities faced by many individuals, families and communities. Southeastern Grocers strives to be ingrained in its communities and, through the SEG Gives Foundation, better the lives of its customers and neighbors.
