Photograph courtesy of Save A Lot
By Christine LaFave Grace
Source: www.winsightgrocerybusiness.com, November 2021

Move is part of discounter’s efforts to shift stores to local ownership

Following the sale of 32 company-owned stores in the Midwest in September, discount grocer Save A Lot said Tuesday it is transferring ownership of six additional stores to Yellow Banana, founded and led by a former Save A Lot category manager.

Of the six stores that are part of the sale, two are located in Dallas and four are in Jacksonville, Fla. The move is part of St. Ann, Mo.-based Save A Lot’s effort to drive more of its approximately 1,000 corporate stores in 32 states to local ownership. With the close of the deal, Yellow Banana will operate 38 Save A Lot stores in five states.

“Yellow Banana’s acquisition will enable these six stores to remain open, providing critical support to both the communities in question and the nearly 100 store associates employed,” Save A Lot stated in a news release. All six stores will undergo a significant remodel in 2022, the company said, to reflect Save A Lot’s updated brand image. Enhancements and upgrades will be made to lighting, flooring and décor as well as to produce and meat cases, and Yellow Banana will work to expand local and regional product assortments.

The remodels and more-localized assortments are a key component of Save A Lot’s brand-wide refresh, which seeks to give the discounter a more-modern feel and a better competitive positioning against the likes of Aldi and Lidl. In the past year, Save A Lot has focused on providing “an enhanced hometown shopping experience,” Save A Lot Chief Sales and Marketing Officer Tim Schroder said in July.

Tuesday’s announcement noted that Yellow Banana intends to keep on all current employees at their current wage and benefits levels and plans additional hiring from local communities.

Yellow Banana, founded by Yale Law classmates Walker Brumskine, Ademola Adewale-Sadik and Michael Nance, is a subsidiary of 127 Wall Holdings. 127 Wall co-founder Joseph Canfield, a grocery veteran and former Save A Lot category manager, serves as CEO of Yellow Banana.

“The Yellow Banana team has great confidence in the Save A Lot brand and format, and we look forward to delivering affordable, high-quality food to working families in the important Southern cities of Dallas and Jacksonville,” Canfield said in the release. Adewale-Sadik, who serves as Yellow Banana’s president, said the company is eager to deepen its relationship with Save A Lot and expand upon its mission of tackling food deserts across the U.S.

Save A Lot’s Schroder said Yellow Banana’s “clear commitment to connecting the business to the local community and appetite for growing the business will ensure Save A Lot continues to serve customers for years to come.”

The six stores Yellow Banana is adding are located at:

  • 3021 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Dallas
  • 2611 South Lancaster Road, Dallas
  • 762 Edgewood Avenue North, Jacksonville
  • 5276 Blanding Boulevard, Jacksonville
  • 8000 Lem Turner Road, Jacksonville
  • 5995 University Boulevard, Jacksonville