Bi-Lo Holdings will close 23 Bi-Lo and Winn-Dixie stores on or before Nov. 17, a spokesman for the Jacksonville, Fla.-based retailer told SN Tuesday.

Employees at the stores, located in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina and South Carolina, were informed of the pending closures Friday.

Spokesman Brian Wright told SN that the stores slated for closure were under-performing and represented less than 3% of the total store base.“With much of our attention during the last two years placed on merging 207 Bi-Lo and 480 Winn-Dixie stores and integrating 163 acquired Delhaize America stores, we purposely delayed what is normally an ongoing process of reviewing our network of stores,” Wright said.

The company plans to open 25 new or remodeled stores during the current quarter, Wright added.