Retail Watchers

Safeway wasn't a lost cause in the divisions it divested I kind of disagree. The Dallas division was plagued with a union instability that was threatening the whole company - not just that division. When you combine that with an older and smaller store base containing mostly in-town, non-suburban s...

That is my impression. The first time I went into one of these decades ago I was blown away by how cheap everything was. Compared to other stores it almost felt like free food. And the quality was above average for generics. The store was orderly and spartan. NOW- the price gap between them and oth...

The stores there seemed to sell before they were closed. One store was sold to Kroger (which closed it within a year), several were sold to H-E-B and never reopened as anything, and a few got converted to Fiesta Mart which also would close them. (Fiesta seemed to be a poor operator for the former M...

They never seemed to take off in Texas (only a handful of stores in the Texas Triangle, plus some new-builds in Houston and Dallas). They aren't busy and rarely have more than one checkstand open. I'm sure they still turn a profit but they sure haven't been enthusiastic on TX expansion and not hard...

Wasn't LA Pantry format? That's radically different from what they build today. Lake Charles was indeed a Pantry store, opened in a former Delchamps that failed before the majority of the chain, also known as Strike 1. The store was next to a successful D1 Walmart that moved up the road soon after,...

Admittedly it's been a while since I've visited a Publix. I remember their chicken tender sub--good stuff! But there's nothing of the sort like at H-E-B, and H-E-B quality ranges wildly in quality. There's the H-E-B brand, the Hill Country Fare brand (sometimes co-existing on the same products), an...

Right, but unless Aldi is planning something big, they probably aren't going to run full-size stores for very long. It's been speculated that once SEG finishes with them they'll offload the scraps to another buyer like C&S and/or independents (if not close them entirely). Aldi's Announcement sa...

The deal officially closed today, SEG is now owned by Aldi Sud with plans to convert a "significant number" of stores over the next few years. I wonder if any stores will be on the sale block... I don't believe they intend to sell anything. Stores that do not become Aldi will stay WD or H...

Things I have with Walmart+ that do not come with this program: Free Paramount+ 10 cent/gallon gas discount Free delivery of all orders Free Flat Repair regardless of where tire came from Scan & Go This new Target plan gets you free delivery from Shipt *if* you spend $35 or more. And you still h...

There is a problem with using the Arby's app for these deals. They do not force franchisees to use it. Two of the largest franchisees, Love's Travel Centers and Pilot Flying J, do not allow them, instead using their own systems there. So if your local Arby's is in one of these two, you can forget th...