It was also recovering from a tragic air crash that in late 1991 had claimed the lives of Angelo and Lee Bruno, son and grandson of the company ’s founder, and four other company executives. Bruno ’s, under competitive pressure from other chains, notably Wal-Mart and Publix, was at that time restructuring its operations, closing unprofitable stores, remodeling others, and altering some of its marketing strategies. However, it left the Piggly Wiggly distribution center in Vidalia, Georgia, its original base. That year, to cut costs, Bruno ’s moved the Piggly Wiggly Southern corporate offices to Birmingham, Alabama, integrating them as a unit in its home office. By 1993, 57 Piggly Wiggly supermarkets were in operation, located largely in central and southern Georgia, representing 22 percent of its total number of stores. Bruno ’s acquired Piggly Wiggly Southern in 1988, adding it to its FoodMax, Food World, Food Fair, and Bruno ’s Food and Pharmacy franchises. is an immediate subsidiary of Bruno ’s Inc., a food and drug chain company which operates and leases food, drug, and liquor stores in five southeastern states, with the heaviest concentration in Alabama, Georgia, and Florida.

Food retailer Piggly Wiggly Southern, Inc.

Inside piggly wiggly