Sweetbay Supermarket is a grocery store aimed to please both the bargain shopper and the upscale customer.
History
Opening its doors in Seminole, Fla. in November 2004, Sweetbay Supermarket was formerly known as Kash n’ Karry. Through a series of acquisitions and failed efforts to save the Kash n’ Karry stores, the chain was reorganized and absorbed into Sweetbay Supermarkets as an entity of Food Lion LLC, a subsidiary of Delhaize America (Delhaize Group of Belgium).
In 1914, Italian immigrant Salvatore Greco began selling fruits and vegetables in the streets of Tampa, Fla. In 1922, he and his wife, Giuseppina, opened a storefront at their home and developed it so that, in 1947, they could build a proper store under the name Big Barn. They continued to expand their business and had opened nine stores by 1960s under the name Tampa Wholesale. They renamed their chain again in 1962, this time calling it Kash n’ Karry – based on the cash-and-carry program of World War II where people would bring in their cash and carry out groceries.
In 1979, Kash n’ Karry sold its stores to Lucky Stores Inc. of Dublin, Calif. – a subsidiary of American Stores. With a total of 84 stores by 1985, from Fort Myers to Gainesville, the company successfully marketed to both discount shoppers and up-scale customers. By 1989, Kash n’ Karry owned 117 stores, some of which offered full-service banking with First Florida Bank, florist services and a “Nature Friendly” tag system. Acquisitions also abounded for the company that year, with American Stores management partnering with Gibbons, Green van Amerongen Ltd.
Success was short-lived: by 1994, Kash n’ Karry was bankrupt, in part because it was growing too fast for the available market, and there was too much competition from similar supermarket chains. Food Lion LLC purchased Kash n’ Karry in 1996 and part of the buyout allowed Kash n’ Karry to refinance its outstanding debt at a much lower interest rate, resulting in annual savings of $9 million. With the formation of Delhaize America in 2000, Kash n’ Karry became a subsidiary of Delhaize Group of Belgium. The last Kash n’ Karry store closed its doors on Aug. 29, 2007.
Management of Kash n’ Karry stores was transferred in 2002 to Hannaford Bros. Co., which also handled supply. The change was made in an effort to regain control in the Florida market, but it ultimately failed. With the restructuring, however, Sweetbay Supermarkets was created, following the Hannaford model. The first Sweetbay opened in Seminole, Fla. in November 2006, and Kash n’ Karry began to roll its operations into Sweetbay Supermarkets.
Stats
Headquarters: Tampa, Florida
Number of Stores: 104
Number of Employees: 9,000
Annual Revenue: $19.2 billion
Geography: Florida’s west coast
Demography: bargain hunters, upscale shoppers
Services: Pharmacy, Healthy Living program
Important Links
Corporate Home Page
Online Shopping
Circular and Specials
Jobs and Careers
Store Locations
Will never shop your store again that’s due to your Cashiers in your managers was long time Sweetbay shopper never again
Also, I forgot about the manager slicing meat for customer and then slicing a cucumber for another customer. Evidently he was not used to the grocery store old saying; “The customer is the boss.”
Kash n’ Karry or Sweet Bay have shown a great ability to build a business as they have. It’s a shame they couldn’t control their growth and continue to keep control of their grocery store.
Im glad youre closing you re-design stores double and triple prices then pass the charge on to customers.And have the unmidigated gall to claim youre saving us money?I guess R.F.Kennedy was right if you tell the same lies enough times people will regard it as truth.
Today was my last day shopping at Sweetbay on Tampa/Cr-1 Palm Harbor. I have shopped there for several year, but today was the last straw. The deli department has miserable employees, no one smiles, no thanks you, discourteous and rude. To top it off, the manager cut some cold cuts for me, then used the same slicer to cut some cucumbers! Now that's unsanitary and could spread ecoli. So beware, when shopping at the Sweetbay Deli's and be prepared to be treated rudely.