Food Lion Celebrates Completion of Investments in 93 Greater Greensboro-Area Stores; Hires 1,000 New Associates; Donates New Mobile Food Pantry to Expand Triad Area Food Bank Programs

Grand Re-Openings Set for Wed., August 2, with $10 Gift Cards to First 100 Customers at Greater Greensboro, High Point and Winston-Salem, N.C., Area Locations

Public Company Information:
OTCQX: ADRNY

SALISBURY, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--On Wednesday, Aug. 2, Food Lion will unveil a new, easier shopping experience for customers in 93 stores in the greater Greensboro, N.C., market. The company made a significant $178 million capital investment in the market this year, which includes remodeling the stores, lowering prices, hiring hundreds of additional associates and giving back to local communities.

“Food Lion has been a proud neighbor in the greater Greensboro community since 1968, and we're excited to bring these improvements to our 93 stores in the area," said Meg Ham, president of Food Lion. "We've spent the past several months making significant investments in our stores, customers, associates and communities to create a new grocery shopping experience. 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 60^th 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 celebration festivities on August 2, the company will give away $10 gift cards and thermal tote bags to the first 100 customers at its greater Greensboro-area locations following the 7:45 a.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony. A complete list of the remodeled stores, along with the gift card giveaway locations, is available at www.foodlion.com/newsroom.

Among the changes customers will see:

• Fully remodeled stores that provide an easier place to shop for customers by grouping like products, installing new signage to help locate items faster, as well as a more efficient checkout process;
• Lower prices on thousands of items across all departments;
• Improved quality and freshness for products throughout the store, including produce and meats;
• Expanded variety and assortment across all departments that is relevant to our customers in each store, such as more local products like produce, craft beer, and natural and organic selections;
• Enhanced customer service achieved by hiring more than 1,000 associates throughout the region and investing in additional customer-centric training for nearly 7,000 associates in the market.

“With every change we make, we always have our customers at heart," added Ham. "That's why we not only invested in our stores, we also invested in promoting great associates and hiring promising new talent. It's also why, as part of our grand re-opening celebrations, we're partnering again with Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest N.C. to help end hunger in the towns and cities we serve. Giving back to our communities is something we're just as passionate about as serving our customers every day in our stores."

Food Lion Feeds Donates Mobile Food Pantry

Consistent with Food Lion's focus on eliminating hunger in its local communities through Food Lion Feeds, the grocer has donated a mobile food pantry, valued at over $100,000, or the equivalent of more than 700,000 meals, to Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest N.C. The innovative vehicle will bring food to places where there is a need throughout the 18 counties served by the food bank, from schools, to disaster locations, to communities without access to fresh, healthy food.

“We are beyond grateful for the Food Lion Feeds initiative, a deep and focused partnership that continues to bring critical resources to Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC and the work we are doing to make our communities healthy and hunger free,” said Clyde W. Fitzgerald, Jr., CEO for Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC. “This mobile pantry will allow us to work more deeply with neighbors and neighborhoods across the 18-counties we serve to provide increased access to healthy food, nutrition programs and other services.”

The mobile pantry donation is part of the grocer’s commitment to provide 500 million meals to individuals and families in need by the end of 2020 through Food Lion Feeds.

New Store Features for Customers

Food Lion's remodeled stores include new features that make shopping and saving easier, and reflect the grocer's "Easy, Fresh and Affordable" strategy.

Food Lion expanded its product selection in stores by adding an abundant selection of fresh meat and produce backed by Food Lion's double-your-money-back guarantee, increasing gluten-free and organic items and growing its selection of Nature's Place beef, pork, poultry, salads, fruit and bakery items, free from unwanted ingredients. In addition, customers can buy local products from our "local goodness" section and have an expanded variety of craft beers, limited edition wines and much more.

Food Lion has also added easy and affordable meals for families, including weekend deals from Friday to Sunday and hot meals with sides available seven days a week. The grocer now has 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.

Food Lion made savings easier with lower prices, improved signage and its three Easy Ways to Save:

• Hot Sale: Food Lion's top weekly MVP specials, and the best prices throughout the store, only available with an MVP card.
• WOW: Lower prices on thousands of items that matter most to our customers, offered for longer periods of time.
• Low Price: Essential items priced affordably every day.

Knowing customers want to complete their shopping quickly, Food Lion made checkout faster with improved technology and larger display screens and added associates throughout the store to help meet customers' needs.

Food Lion is also testing a new, walk-in garden cooler in its produce section in 16 area stores. A list of stores is available at www.foodlion.com/newsroom.

The Greensboro-area stores received remodels as part of the grocer’s “Easy, Fresh and Affordable…You Can Count on Food Lion Every Day” strategy. With the completion of this market, Food Lion has remodeled 473 of its 1,000 stores, mostly in North Carolina. Later this year, the company will also complete 71 store remodels in the Richmond, Va., market. Food Lion will continue to make customer-centric enhancements across all stores and remodel additional stores in other markets.

Serving 10 million customers each week at more than 1,000 locations in 10 states, the company was founded as Food Town in 1957 and still calls Salisbury, N.C., its hometown.

About Food Lion

Food Lion, based in Salisbury, N.C., since 1957, has more than 1,000 stores in 10 Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic states and employs more than 63,000 associates. By leveraging its longstanding heritage of low prices and convenient locations, Food Lion is working to own the easiest full shop grocery experience in the Southeast, anchored by a strong commitment to affordability, freshness and the communities it serves. Through Food Lion Feeds, the company has committed to provide 500 million meals to individuals and families in need by the end of 2020. Food Lion is a company of Delhaize America, a U.S. division of Zaandam-based Royal Ahold Delhaize Group. For more information, visit www.foodlion.com.

Related Materials:

Greater Greensboro, N.C., Store List (38.64 KB)

Contact:

Food Lion
Christy Phillips-Brown, 704-310-2221
cphillips-brown@foodlion.com
or
Matt Harakal, 704-310-2858
matthew.harakal@foodlion.com