Dive Brief:
- Food City announced on Wednesday its plans to acquire Cooke’s Food Store/Fresh n’ Low stores with hopes of finalizing the acquisition by Oct. 1.
- The company stated it will keep the Cooke’s/Fresh n’ Low name and make efforts to re-hire “the vast majority” of Cooke’s current store associates.
- This acquisition comes as Food City continues to grow in e-commerce, retail partnerships and other areas beyond the traditional grocery market space.
Dive Insight:
Family-owned and operated since 1936, the Cooke’s family business consists of the Cooke’s Food Store & Pharmacy as well as five Fresh n’ Low locations, all within or surrounding the Cleveland, Tennessee, area.
The local grocer is known for its full-service pharmacy, deli and fresh cut meats and produce. Its store locations range from 15,000 to 35,000 square feet in size.
Once the deal is finalized, shoppers at the local stores can expect to continue to see many of the brands available at the stores today. Food City, which is operated by K-VA-T Food Stores, plans to keep the Cooke’s/Fresh n’ Low name and “operate both formats in a similar fashion for the immediate future,” per the release.
The Food Partners acted as the financial advisor to Cooke’s during this process, according to the press release.
“We’re extremely excited to add the Cooke’s family of stores to our existing Food City locations, which have served the Cleveland community for many years,” Steven C. Smith, Food City’s president and CEO, said in the press release. “We plan to make some large investments in the greater Cleveland area to ensure the future success of our new teammates.”
Cooke’s Food Store/Fresh n’ Low will be the latest acquisition for Food City as the company continues to grow its grocery footprint. Previously, Food City has bought several Piggly Wiggly operations in Southwest Virginia and Eastern Kentucky and has also acquired White Stores, Winn Dixie and Bi-Lo locations, per its website.
In e-commerce, Food City announced in early July that it would expand its partnership with DoorDash to include on-demand grocery delivery in over 100 stores across Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky and Virginia.
Beyond grocery, Food City also has roughly 100 pharmacies, according to its website. In the beginning of May, Food City revealed its partnership with Algood Drugs to provide immunizations, prescription refills and other full-range pharmacy services to the Food City Pharmacy in Cookeville, Tennessee.
