Kroger to buy Roundy's for $800 million

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Re: Kroger to buy Roundy's for $800 million

Post by storewanderer »

I don't think they will open Mariano's in the wrong locations. Kroger has proven to be really slow at new store development and is very careful with new stores.

Remember they also have a dozen or so F4L Stores scattered around Chicago so this is not their only concept there. I don't think F4L has done great there but it is still open so it must do good enough.

I wouldn't expect any rash moves or attempts to "catch up" to the store count of Jewel Osco. There were ample opportunities for Kroger to develop namesake stores in Chicagoland but it did not materialize beyond the replacement store for a much older store down in Bourbonnais that opened perhaps a decade ago.
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Re: Kroger to buy Roundy's for $800 million

Post by rwsandiego »

storewanderer wrote:...I wouldn't expect any rash moves or attempts to "catch up" to the store count of Jewel Osco. There were ample opportunities for Kroger to develop namesake stores in Chicagoland but it did not materialize beyond the replacement store for a much older store down in Bourbonnais that opened perhaps a decade ago.
You are right. If Kroger wanted to develop Kroger stores they would have bought up a bunch of former Dominick's stores or bough the whole chain when Safeway out it up for sale. Jewel has more than 175 stores in Chicagoland. Just by sheer number of stores they have the largest market share. That, coupled with name recognition and a reputation (albeit a bit tarnished under Albertsupervalberus) built up over 84 years, makes them very hard to beat.
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Re: Kroger to buy Roundy's for $800 million

Post by Andrew T. »

Updates on the Roundy's front, from today's shopping trip:

* The "Copps" sign on the McKee Road store in Madison has been removed and replaced by a temporary banner, in anticipation of Pick 'n Save rebranding. I'd been meaning to shoot pics of the other local Copps stores before the signs came down; I wonder if it's too late now?
* A flower department (complete with refrigerated cases, plumbing, and sink) has been added next to produce.
* Kroger-sourced "Fresh Food, Low Prices" tags are appearing in the fresh meat case.
* Virtually all private-label drug items are now Kroger-brand.
* The shelves of discontinued/closeout items precipitated earlier in the transition are mostly gone.
* Point-of-sale terminals still haven't been upgraded. The ones they have now don't even have chip readers.
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Re: Kroger to buy Roundy's for $800 million

Post by storewanderer »

Wasn't rebranding Copps to Pick N Save something they had said they were doing before the Kroger acquisition?

At this point I'd say why rebrand to Pick N Save? Why not rebrand to straight Kroger and be done with it? Maybe the stores are not yet operationally stable enough to be branded Kroger.

Kroger owned stores are always a great source for discontinued/close out products. I find so many excellent prices in their markdown areas...
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Re: Kroger to buy Roundy's for $800 million

Post by pseudo3d »

storewanderer wrote:Wasn't rebranding Copps to Pick N Save something they had said they were doing before the Kroger acquisition?

At this point I'd say why rebrand to Pick N Save? Why not rebrand to straight Kroger and be done with it? Maybe the stores are not yet operationally stable enough to be branded Kroger.

Kroger owned stores are always a great source for discontinued/close out products. I find so many excellent prices in their markdown areas...
Plans usually change with new owners. Personally, I would keep Copps and not bother rebranding until the chain is fixed (the loser stores flushed out, the remaining stores having their operations patched), THEN rebrand to Kroger.
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Re: Kroger to buy Roundy's for $800 million

Post by Andrew T. »

storewanderer wrote:Wasn't rebranding Copps to Pick N Save something they had said they were doing before the Kroger acquisition?

At this point I'd say why rebrand to Pick N Save? Why not rebrand to straight Kroger and be done with it? Maybe the stores are not yet operationally stable enough to be branded Kroger.
As far as I know the rebrand announcement didn't come about until last May, after the acquisition.

Copps is arguably the better brand (and as an independent company, they ran the better stores), but it seems that standardizing on Pick 'n Save is a purely pragmatic decision. There are twice as many Pick 'n Save stores as Copps stores, so it would cost twice as much to rebrand Pick 'n Save to Copps as it would to do things the other way around. Roundy's also introduced a new logo for Pick 'n Save shortly before the acquisition, so they might as well get some mileage out of that.
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Re: Kroger to buy Roundy's for $800 million

Post by Andrew T. »

The transition continues! New-logo Pick 'n Save signs have gone up at most of the Copps stores in the Madison area.
IMG_6926s.jpg
The outside isn't the only thing that's changed in the last two weeks. The interior of this particular store (Junction Rd., originally an A&P-owned Kohl's location) has new flooring and a new arrangement in the produce department, new shelving in liquor, and new decor on the walls; replacing the blah and almost-nonexistent Roundy's decor of years past.
IMG_6928s.jpg
IMG_6930s.jpg
IMG_6931s.jpg
IMG_6932s.jpg
I'm not sure if this is a Kroger decor package, or if it's a new package commissioned specifically for the Roundy's division. I ventured into a number of Kroger stores in downstate Illinois and Missouri this month, and none of them looked like this.

That said, I'm happy with the way the store looks. The colors are bold and the wall signs are clear and legible, both a change from the way Roundy's used to be.

Lastly, the Kroger brand has replaced the Roundy's brand on yet another product: Nuts.
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Re: Kroger to buy Roundy's for $800 million

Post by BillyGr »

Andrew T. wrote:The transition continues! New-logo Pick 'n Save signs have gone up at most of the Copps stores in the Madison area.

IMG_6926s.jpg
Is it bad (or good) that even before reading any further I thought gee, that looks like an A&P store? Even knowing it was an odd area for one (not thinking about them owning Kohl's or that they upgraded with newer stores while the owned them).

Perhaps not quite as well known as their older Centennial design, but it may be getting close...
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Re: Kroger to buy Roundy's for $800 million

Post by Andrew T. »

BillyGr wrote:
Andrew T. wrote:The transition continues! New-logo Pick 'n Save signs have gone up at most of the Copps stores in the Madison area.

IMG_6926s.jpg
Is it bad (or good) that even before reading any further I thought gee, that looks like an A&P store? Even knowing it was an odd area for one (not thinking about them owning Kohl's or that they upgraded with newer stores while the owned them).

Perhaps not quite as well known as their older Centennial design, but it may be getting close...
A&P had an erratic latter-day presence in WI. AFAIK they exited the state altogether in 1979, then bought their way back in by way of Kohl's four years later. They cut back their trade area in the 1990s, while imposing their store designs and branding endeavors on the markets that remained (there were "Kohl's Sav-a-Center" and "Kohl's Food Emporium" amalgamations) until they shut down in 2003.

The Copps>Pick 'n Save store in Monona also originated as an A&P-owned Kohl's store, and shares the same facade design and floor tiles. I may pay that one a visit sometime; I expect it's going through the same renovations as the illustrated store.
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Re: Kroger to buy Roundy's for $800 million

Post by klkla »

Andrew T. wrote:I'm not sure if this is a Kroger decor package, or if it's a new package commissioned specifically for the Roundy's division. I ventured into a number of Kroger stores in downstate Illinois and Missouri this month, and none of them looked like this.
There are elements of that design in the Ralphs Fresh Fare in downtown Los Angeles, which was remodeled within the last year although it's not an exact match. Did it look like they were finished or still working on it?
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