BI-LO and Bruno’s Cut Back Stores

New York City, Weighed down by pressure from Wal-Mart Stores and Publix Super Markets, Bruno’s Supermarkets plans to close 20 stores in March. Of the 20 stores on the list for closure, 13 are in Alabama, four are in Georgia, two are in Florida and one is in Mississippi. The company said the cutbacks allow the chain to weed out underperforming stores and improve its focus on more profitable markets. Demographic shifts and traffic patterns also factored into the decision.

BI-LO, which operates 282 supermarkets in the Carolinas, Georgia and Tennessee, on Tuesday announced plans to close nine of its locations.

The two chains were purchased by Lone Star Funds, a Dallas-based private investor, in a $660 million deal late last year. The two grocery chains, which combined have more than 400 stores in the Southeast, plan to merge their operations as BI-LO Holdings LLC, and relocate Bruno’s corporate offices to Mauldin, S.C.