Food Lion LLC Launches Four New Stores Across Upstate

Business Wire, Jan 25, 2007

Bloom Opens Third Greenville Store; Food Lion Breaks Ground in Anderson, Union and Woodruff

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- With three back-to-back groundbreaking ceremonies and a grand opening celebration, Food Lion LLC launched a total of four new stores in South Carolina this week. Construction will begin soon on new Food Lion stores in Anderson, Union and Woodruff. Bloom, the company's newest supermarket concept, also opened a third store on 3093 S. Highway 14 in Greer yesterday.

"We are firmly committed to our South Carolina customers and are excited to be making a big entrance in the Upstate region," said Ruth Kinzey, Food Lion LLC director of corporate communications.

The newest Bloom store, located in the Pelham Road area of Greenville County, officially opened yesterday at 8 a.m. and promises consumers a specialty store experience at traditional supermarket prices. Bloom grocery stores were designed after extensive research into customer needs and expectations.

The new Food Lion stores will be at the following locations:

* Intersection of Highway 24 and Whitehall Road, Anderson

* 320 North Duncan Bypass, Union

* Intersection of Highways 101 and 224, Woodruff

Food Lion officials said construction would start within the next few weeks on the retail developments. Each will include a 35,000 square-foot Food Lion store and eight other retail shops, comprising approximately 8,400 square feet. Two out parcels also are planned.

Completion of the shopping centers and Food Lion store openings are scheduled for fall 2007. The Food Lion stores will employ 60-70 associates each, and the other shops could employ as many as 300 persons total. The new Bloom store employs over 90 associates, and is the sixth store to open in the Upstate. Bloom stores opened last year in Anderson, Clemson, Greenville, Greer and Mauldin.

"Retail plays a key role in encouraging a community to be more self-sufficient," said Shannon Bruning, South Carolina Retail Association representative. "Food Lion is a major retailer in our state and continues to strengthen local economies with their growth."

Food Lion officials said each store will be similar to the recently opened Food Lion stores in Spartanburg County. The stores opened last year in Lyman, Roebuck and near Pine Street feature 35,000 square feet of Food Lion's latest internal and external design features.

Food Lion stores offer a wide selection of international and specialty items, a Nature's Place department offering natural and organic products, and a large wine department, featuring Food Lion's exclusive Braidenwood Estates wine and the new Bohemian Highway wines.

Bloom features lower shelves and interactive information kiosks to help consumers find products, check prices and print out recipes, as well as an intuitive layout of products throughout the stores. Bloom stores also feature hand-held personal scanners, which allow consumers to scan and bag their own groceries as they shop the store.

Food Lion LLC is a subsidiary of Brussels-based Delhaize Group (NYSE: DEG). Food Lion LLC operates more than 1,200 supermarkets, either directly or through affiliated entities, under the names of Food Lion, Bloom, Bottom Dollar Food, Harveys and Reid's. These stores meet local customer needs and preferences for the freshest and best quality products. Food Lion LLC employs approximately 73,000 associates in 11 Southeast and Mid-Atlantic states.