Shop ‘n Save to change name of some stores

SCARBOROUGH – Shop ‘n Save stores from Biddeford to Yarmouth soon will have a new name: Hannaford. The name change is part of the chain’s strategy to expand and renovate Portland-area stores, build new ones and drive home an image of brand quality.

The Shop ‘n Save name will be changed at 11 stores in October. Hannaford Bros. Co. officials say all 46 Maine stores eventually will be renamed, along with those in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. The company’s stores in Vermont and New York were renamed Hannaford three years ago.

“This will be the biggest expansion and investment in an existing market that we’ve ever done,” said Ronald Hodge, president and chief operating officer of Hannaford Bros. Co.

The name change isn’t a complete surprise. And it is only part of the company’s three-year plan for its Portland-area stores.

Those plans include new, expanded and renovated stores, and a greater emphasis on fresh products. The new Falmouth store, which opened last summer, has 40 percent more space devoted to meat, cheese and produce.

Hannaford, whose home offices are in Scarborough, was acquired last year by Delhaize America Inc., the nation’s fifth-largest supermarket company.