Sweetbay Supermarkets picks up pace of converting Kash n’ Karry stores

The success of Sweetbay Supermarkets in the Naples and Bonita Springs area has accelerated the conversion of Kash n’ Karry stores across the state.

The Tampa-based grocer has been transforming area stores since November to a more upscale look with healthier offerings, wider selections and better service.

Photo by Darron R. Silva, Daily News

Linsey Fisher of Naples shops for fresh vegetables recently at the Sweetbay in North Naples. “They have much more stuff than anywhere else,” Fisher said of the store’s produce selection.

From all appearances, the new strategy is working.

Sales at the revamped stores in Southwest Florida have risen by more than 40 percent on average, according to officials from Sweetbay’s parent company, Delhaize Group.

Kash n’ Karry stores in Sarasota and Bradenton, as well as the Tampa-St. Petersburg area where there are 49 stores, are slated to be converted to Sweetbay by the end of 2006, a year ahead of schedule.

“We’ve been very pleased with the consumer response we’ve gotten to Sweetbay,” said Steve Smith, head of marketing.

He said Kash n’ Karry has a great price image and that Sweetbay has kept that model.

Sweetbay is facing a challenge, however, with its increased selection. Customers are paying the same for groceries, but they’re buying more of them, so the total dollar amount at the checkout is higher.

Photo by Darron R. Silva, Daily News

Meat cutter Miguel Hinojosa puts freshly cut meat into a display case at a Sweetbay Supermarket in North Naples. The meat section has been part of the chain’s success, including stores in Bonita Springs and at several sites in Collier County.

“The receipt when they’re done looks like they spent more because they’re buying things they hadn’t planned on buying,” Smith said.

The company also took a risk by using Hannaford — a Delhaize grocery chain in the northeastern United States — as its private label instead of Sweetbay, he said.

“We’ve seen a great recognition of the Hannaford brand,” Smith said.

In addition to converting area Kash n’ Karry stores, the company has built two Sweetbay stores in northern Collier County. The store on Collier Boulevard and Vanderbilt Beach Road opened in March. The Sweetbay at Immokalee and Airport-Pulling roads is expected to open in the first quarter of 2006.

Walter Reedy, manager of the Sweetbay on Collier Boulevard, said business at the store started strong, dipped a little over the summer, but picked up again in August.

The shopping center around the store has yet to fill out. Opening soon is an Exxon Mobil station, Fifth Third bank and a Burger King. Reedy is looking forward to having more traffic in the area and to seeing seasonal residents return.

Sweetbay plans to have 110 stores by the end of 2007. It started with 103 Kash n’ Karry stores after closing 35 stores last year that weren’t performing or were too old or too small to accommodate changes.

The only Collier store to be converted is in Golden Gate on Golden Gate Parkway. Construction is under way to add 10,000 square feet to the present 33,000.

The opening date is scheduled for April.

Kash n’ Karry is a property of Delhaize America, the U.S. division of the Belgian retailer Delhaize Group. Delhaize America, based in Salisbury, N.C., operates more than 1,400 supermarkets in the United States under the Kash n’ Karry, Food Lion, Hannaford Bros. and Harveys brand names.