SALISBURY, N.C. — Delhaize America’s Food Lion chain is adopting a new strategy based on low prices and an easier shopping experience.

Delhaize America’s Food Lion chain is adopting a new strategy based on low prices and an easier shopping experience.

"Our customers have told us that they want a grocery experience where it’s easy to shop, easy to save and easy to figure out what is for dinner tonight," says Food Lion president Beth Newlands Campbell. "Based on their feedback, and continuing to build on Food Lion’s long-standing heritage of low prices and convenient locations, we will work to own the easiest full-shop experience in the Southeast, anchored by a strong commitment to freshness, affordability and the communities we serve."

Food Lion’s "Easy, Fresh and Affordable" strategy features a variety of elements, including customer service training for store associates and revamped product assortments. Small touches aimed at making the shopping experience better include the addition of blue bags, in addition to its traditional white bags, at the checkout. The blue bags are used for cold and frozen items to make them easily identifiable and make unpacking groceries easy for customers at home, a feature that the company says should be especially useful in warmer months.

Food Lion is also remodeling stores in key markets, with 29 stores in Wilmington, N.C., now being revamped to reflect the company’s newest store format, which was introduced in December in Concord, N.C. The stores are being redesigned to make the shopping experience easier for customers, Newlands Campbell said, and they will be among the first to display Food Lion’s new logo, which is also being featured in the chain’s television advertising, weekly ad flyer and website.

"With our new logo, we have an opportunity to show our customers that we’re fresh, while remaining true to our legacy of low prices," said Newlands Campbell. "Beginning later this year, we’ll also bring our customers items in our stores that are consistent with the logo on the front, as we deliver new Food Lion store brand products that will help our customers save."

Food Lion expects to remodel about 77 stores this year. The company operates more than 1,100 supermarkets in 10 Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic states.