Food Lion to Reopen 71 Richmond, VA Stores

Food Lion will reveal its newly renovated stores in the greater Richmond, Va., area Oct. 11. The Salisbury, N.C.-based supermarket chain invested $110 million in its 71 stores in the region to perform remodels, reduce prices, hire hundreds more associates and give back to local communities.

“We’ve spent the past several months making significant investments in our stores, customers, associates and communities to create a new grocery shopping experience,” noted Food Lion President Meg Ham. “Now, customers can easily find fresh, quality products at affordable prices to nourish their families, delivered with caring, friendly service every time they shop. As Food Lion celebrates our 60th anniversary this year, we invite everyone to come out and experience the fresh, new changes we've made in order to deliver the products and services our customers expect.”

As part of the reopening festivities, the company will give away $10 gift cards and thermal tote bags to the first 100 customers at each of its greater Richmond-area locations after the 7:45 a.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony. Food Lion is also donating 7,100 meals to 71 local feeding agencies supported by its stores, and teaming up with FeedMore to help the hungry gain access to more food by donating $100,000, or the equivalent of nearly 500,000 meals, to help improve the distribution of healthy food and boost access to fresh, nutritious meals in 34 cities and counties. The donations help further the grocer’s commitment to provide 500 million meals to individuals and families in need by the end of 2020 through its Food Lion Feeds program.

Changes to the stores include the grouping of similar products; new signage to help locate items more quickly; a more streamlined checkout process with better technology and bigger display screens; better quality and freshness of products throughout the store, including produce and meats; lower prices for thousands of items across all departments; greater variety and assortment across all departments relevant to customers at each store, such as more local products like produce, natural and organic selections, and craft beer; and improved customer service achieved by hiring more than 1,000 associates throughout the region and investing in more training for nearly 4,000 associates in the market.

To enhance its product selection, Food Lion expanded fresh produce and meat selection backed by its double-your-money-back guarantee, increased gluten-free and organic items, and upped its selection of Nature's Place beef, pork, poultry, salads, fruit and bakery items, all of which are free from unwanted ingredients. Further, shoppers can now buy more local products from the “local goodness” section and choose from an expanded variety of craft beers, limited-reserve wines and more. Affordable meal options include weekend deals from Friday to Sunday and hot meals with sides available seven days a week. There’s also a wider variety of grab-and-go items and pre-sliced deli meats and cheeses, which are sliced fresh daily and available for customers to pick up without waiting in line for them.

When it comes to lower prices, meanwhile, Food Lion’s three Easy Ways to Save are as follows:

• Hot Sale: Top weekly specials, and the best prices throughout the store, only available with an MVP loyalty card.
• WOW: Lower prices on thousands of essential items, offered for longer periods of time.
• Low Price: Staple items priced affordably every day.
   

The chain is also testing a new walk-in garden cooler in its produce section at 14 Richmond-area stores.

With the completion of the Richmond market, Food Lion has remodeled and made customer-centric improvements to 544 of its 1,000 stores over the past three years, in keeping with the grocer’s ongoing Easy, Fresh and Affordable… You Can Count On Food Lion Every Day! strategy.

Part of Delhaize America, a U.S. division of Zaandam, Netherlands-based Royal Ahold Delhaize Group, Food Lion has more than 1,000 stores in 10 Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic states, and employs more than 63,000 associates.