Harveys to close temporarily for renovations

ALBANY — Six Albany Harveys, as well as those in Dawson, Cordele, Tifton and Sylvester, will be temporarily closing from May 17 to May 23 to allow for minor renovations and improvements, now that the supermarket chain has been purchased by Bi-Lo Holdings, LLC.

Overall, the layout of the stores is expected to remain the same according to Miranda Major, an account coordinator with St. John & Partners public relations firm, who is handling the Harveys transition.

“Most of the changes will be minor,” Major said. “Where the peanut butter is today, the peanut butter will be tomorrow.”

According to Jimmy Purvis, Harveys regional vice president, the major changes will focus on technology systems, rewards programs and products.

Three new savings plans have been announced, including the Fuelperks Reward program that will allow customers to earn gasoline discounts.

In addition to the savings programs, shoppers will also notice the addition of the Southern Homes private product line, as well as other additional offerings.

“We will be adding Southern Homes and some additional assortment items to give customers even more variety to choose from,” Purvis said.

Purvis said that majority of the closure time will be spent implementing new technology and training associates and that the familiar Harveys green will remain unchanged. He said that many of the things Harveys is known for will remain in place.

“We’re committed to delivering freshness and quality and serving our customers,” Pruvis said. “We’re just asking our customer to bear with us while we complete the changes. We look forward to welcoming them back once we reopen.”

The changes being made to the Harveys stores are coming on the heels of Bi-Lo Holding’s February buyout of the Harveys, Sweetbays and Reids supermarket franchises from the Dellhaize Group, a conglomerate from Belgium.

According to reports, Bi-Lo Holdings, which also owns Winn-Dixie Supermarkets in addition to it’s namesake stores, acquired 58 Harveys locations in the deal.

Once the deal is complete Bi-Lo Holdings will own and operate 830 grocery stores and 555 in-store pharmacies, throughout eight southeastern states, making it the fifth largest supermarket chain in the United States and the second largest in the Southeast, based on the number of stores.

Despite the various changes, Purvis said none of them will affect the employment status of current Harveys employees who wish to remain with the company.

All of the locations temporarily closing on May 17 are expected to reopen on May 23. In all, 17 locations in south Georgia will be part of the conversion process including stores in Albany, Dawson, Tifton, Cordele, Sylvester, Fort Valley, Montezuma, Fitzgerald, Gray, Macon and Ocilla.