BATAVIA, Ill., Aug. 16, 2023—Aldi announced today that it has agreed to buy the parent company of Winn-Dixie food stores and its other subsidiaries.

Florida-based Southeastern Grocers Inc. also owns Harvey Supermarkets and Fresco y Más food stores.

Harveys, established nearly a century ago, are located in Florida and Georgia, while Fresco y Más, founded in 2016, serves Hispanic and Caribbean communities throughout south, west and central Florida.

The acquisition includes approximately 400 Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarket locations across Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and Louisiana, including the one in Crestview and the other four stores in south Okaloosa County.

Some acquired stores will convert to Aldi, while other will remain Winn-Dixies and Harveys.

“ALDI will operate Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarket stores with the same level of care and focus on quality and service, as we also evaluate which locations will convert to the ALDI format to better support the neighborhoods we’ll now have the privilege of serving,” said Jason Hart, Aldi chief executive officer. “For those stores we do not convert, our intention is that these continue to operate as Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarket stores.”

Aldi plans to add 120 new stores this year to reach a total of more than 2,400 stores by the end of the year, according to the release.

A new Aldi store opened recently in the new Crestview Commons shopping center that opened this year.

Aldi is short for Albrecht-Diskont which translates to Albrecht Discount. The German-based company was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946.

The business was split into two companies in 1960, Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd. Aldi Süd opened its first U.S. store in Iowa in 1976. Aldi Nord acquired Trader Joe’s in 1979.

The two businesses operate more than 10,000 stores worldwide.