Ralphs Riverside Closing Nov. 11, Stater Bros. to replace

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Ralphs Riverside Closing Nov. 11, Stater Bros. to replace

Post by CalItalian »

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Re: Ralphs Riverside Closing Nov. 11, Stater Bros. to replace

Post by storewanderer »

Looks like a store that was last remodeled (or opened?) in 2000-2001.

Still unfortunate Ralphs keeps closing stores. Ralphs closes more stores than the rest of Kroger's entire network which is really a sad state of affairs.
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Re: Ralphs Riverside Closing Nov. 11, Stater Bros. to replace

Post by klkla »

storewanderer wrote:Looks like a store that was last remodeled (or opened?) in 2000-2001.

Still unfortunate Ralphs keeps closing stores. Ralphs closes more stores than the rest of Kroger's entire network which is really a sad state of affairs.
Kroger is definitely following a different strategy with Ralphs than they are in the other divisions. It's clear they're following the money and really focusing on areas where they can capture high margins. Fortunately there are lots of areas like that in their territory plus they have the best real estate portfolio in Southern California.

It's also interesting that Stater Bros is continuing to add stores in their home territory of the Inland Empire. From the article referenced above:

"The company has announced construction of four other supermarkets in Menifee, Norco, Rancho Cucamonga, and Tustin Ranch."

I wonder if some of these are replacing smaller stores.
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Re: Ralphs Riverside Closing Nov. 11, Stater Bros. to replace

Post by storewanderer »

I still stand by my previous comments that I think Stater would be a really good acquisition for Kroger.

The more stores Ralphs closes in Stater territory, the more logical it will be.

The other issue in SoCal is F4L. Maybe it isn't an issue per se but that is not a format that I have much good to say about. I guess it serves a purpose in some neighborhoods that have few choices but I feel like there are other operators who do a better job who have moved into a lot of those underserved neighborhoods.
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Re: Ralphs Riverside Closing Nov. 11, Stater Bros. to replace

Post by CalItalian »

storewanderer wrote:I still stand by my previous comments that I think Stater would be a really good acquisition for Kroger.

The more stores Ralphs closes in Stater territory, the more logical it will be.

The other issue in SoCal is F4L. Maybe it isn't an issue per se but that is not a format that I have much good to say about. I guess it serves a purpose in some neighborhoods that have few choices but I feel like there are other operators who do a better job who have moved into a lot of those underserved neighborhoods.
Except for Las Vegas, I can't recall Kroger closing a Food 4 Less/Foods Co. location.

Four Food 4 Less locations that I semi-frequent: East Hollywood (which is a former Zody's & The Giant), Hawthorne, Signal Hill-Long Beach (Willow) and Long Beach (Anaheim) are very busy stores. In my view, those 4 locations are busier than most Ralphs I frequent. All have Ralphs locations nearby them, too (East Hollywood being the closest, 3 blocks). Food 4 Less is not really in underserved or near food desert areas except for a few South Central L.A. locations. That's a myth. The "clientele" are certainly much different in these Food 4 Less locations than their nearby Ralphs, though. The Ralphs on 4th St vs. the Food 4 Less on Anaheim St, less than 1 mile from each other, draw almost a completely different customer base. Same for the two East Hollywood locations.

My biggest beef with Food 4 Less is lines. I prefer the Long Beach (Anaheim) and Hollywood locations as they have self-checkout.

UPDATE: I searched Orange County. Kroger has closed 14 Ralphs locations (including Buena Park this Friday) and 3 Food 4 Less in 10 years in that county. So there have been some Food 4 Less closures in areas with heavy Latino market competition (such as Santa Ana).
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Re: Ralphs Riverside Closing Nov. 11, Stater Bros. to replace

Post by submariner »

CalItalian wrote:Kroger has closed 14 Ralphs locations (including Buena Park this Friday)
Didn't they JUST remodel that one, assuming you mean my childhood location on Ball & Valley View??
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Re: Ralphs Riverside Closing Nov. 11, Stater Bros. to replace

Post by rwsandiego »

storewanderer wrote:I still stand by my previous comments that I think Stater would be a really good acquisition for Kroger.

The more stores Ralphs closes in Stater territory, the more logical it will be.

The other issue in SoCal is F4L. Maybe it isn't an issue per se but that is not a format that I have much good to say about. I guess it serves a purpose in some neighborhoods that have few choices but I feel like there are other operators who do a better job who have moved into a lot of those underserved neighborhoods.
If Kroger wanted to do business in the Inland Empire wouldn't they simply keep the Ralphs locations? Acquiring Stater Bros would be a lot more expensive than keeping the existing Ralphs stores.
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Re: Ralphs Riverside Closing Nov. 11, Stater Bros. to replace

Post by Jeff »

submariner wrote:
CalItalian wrote:Kroger has closed 14 Ralphs locations (including Buena Park this Friday)
Didn't they JUST remodel that one, assuming you mean my childhood location on Ball & Valley View??
Looks like that one is the one. And yes, recently remodeled. Nice looking store.
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Re: Ralphs Riverside Closing Nov. 11, Stater Bros. to replace

Post by CalItalian »

submariner wrote:
CalItalian wrote:Kroger has closed 14 Ralphs locations (including Buena Park this Friday)
Didn't they JUST remodel that one, assuming you mean my childhood location on Ball & Valley View??
Yes. See latest post on Yelp although I found out from a coupon deals board.
https://www.yelp.com/biz/ralphs-buena-p ... =date_desc
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Re: Ralphs Riverside Closing Nov. 11, Stater Bros. to replace

Post by storewanderer »

I would have thought, after the failure in Northern California where they remodeled a bunch of stores then closed them a few years later, this Ralphs Division would have stopped this odd practice of remodeling stores then closing them shortly after. No other Kroger division operates in this manner.

This is the second recent example of this, the other recent example being that store they sold to 99 Ranch... that store sold to 99 Ranch was a very complete remodel, too; new refrigeration, tore out the tile floor and installed the cement...

At least this remodel in Buena Park appears to be little more than a wall repaint and new aisle hangers, but still, why are they doing this to a store that is being closed? Last ditch effort to save performance by doing a remodel?

At the same time I am not quite sure these Ralphs closing in Buena Park and Riverside are closing due to poor performance. It almost looks as if the landlords would rather have tenants other than Ralphs in these stores...
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