Baker City, OR to get a second Safeway

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Re: Baker City, OR to get a second Safeway

Post by pseudo3d »

Super S wrote:
rwsandiego wrote:The editorial by the Baker City Herald fails to point out that the court only allowed Albertsons to bid on Haggen stores when no other bidder emerged for the store. Apparently, no other grocer (or other type of bidder, for that matter) wanted the location. The newspaper ought to level its criticism at the town government for failing to lure a competitor, thus creating a monopoly.

I'm going to take a guess and say the original Safeway will close at some point. Maybe then a competitor who is more comfortable with operating a small store will emerge and take it over.
What puzzled me from day one of the merger though, is why they chose to divest the much newer and nicer Albertsons store and keep the old Safeway open. Especially with the proximity of Baker City to Boise. Any way you look at it, this is a very odd situation.
There was probably a reason for each store, and while in California especially, it was usually the smaller store, it wasn't always that way. The Albertsons in Uptown Dallas was probably more for selling it off for money (indeed, MSFM did quite well with it) and didn't have to be divested. The Lucky in San Ysidro, meanwhile, had no stores nearby and probably gotten rid of as a junker, and it would've done Haggen wise to resell it.

It was probably the reason that plagued Albertsons in other markets, despite being newer, nicer, and (often) bigger, it just wasn't as popular as old standbys. That's also probably why it became Safeway afterward.
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Re: Baker City, OR to get a second Safeway

Post by storewanderer »

Or they will keep paying the lease on the empty building to keep the competition out. For that I reference the following article:

http://www.sierrawave.net/bishop-residents-skeptical/

"'The $27,000 a month lease by Vons has kept the former Kmart from getting into the hands of other grocery outlets that might give them competition and apparently efforts to discuss the purchase of Cottonwood Plaza with the new owner has not been considered."

What is the situation here? For many years in Bishop there was a small Vons at each end (both former SoCal Safeways) and an old Kmart (the property noted above) toward the middle of town. In the early 00's, Vons/Safeway purchased property toward the end of town and built a brand new large store to consolidate the two smaller stores into and also a new Kmart was constructed next door to replace the Kmart in town. That Kmart opened right before the bankruptcy and was one of the last new build Kmart Stores. I think the Kmart Store building is actually owned by Safeway but I may be wrong on that.

How does the Vons in Bishop operate? Well, go over to Vons.com and try to find an ad circular for that store. You won't find it. Why? It doesn't run the weekly ad. It runs some specials which are displayed in store on an 8.5 by 11 inch sheet of paper fresh out of the photocopier (usually on a colored piece of paper) but not as many specials as a normal location and none of the in-ad coupons, but it will honor Just for You prices/promotions (I think the Catalina Island locations are on the same no-circular and higher pricing programs). It has drastically higher prices than a standard Vons, particularly on perishable items like produce, dairy, meat, and frozen.

There are a few independent stores, scattered, under 10k square feet in size scattered around, and a very small Smart & Final (maybe it is 12k square feet) but otherwise the next nearest major chain grocers are 2+ hours away. There is another Vons 45 minutes away in Mammoth Lakes which is on the same "no ad" program.
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Re: Baker City, OR to get a second Safeway

Post by pseudo3d »

storewanderer wrote:Or they will keep paying the lease on the empty building to keep the competition out. For that I reference the following article:

http://www.sierrawave.net/bishop-residents-skeptical/

"'The $27,000 a month lease by Vons has kept the former Kmart from getting into the hands of other grocery outlets that might give them competition and apparently efforts to discuss the purchase of Cottonwood Plaza with the new owner has not been considered."

What is the situation here? For many years in Bishop there was a small Vons at each end (both former SoCal Safeways) and an old Kmart (the property noted above) toward the middle of town. In the early 00's, Vons/Safeway purchased property toward the end of town and built a brand new large store to consolidate the two smaller stores into and also a new Kmart was constructed next door to replace the Kmart in town. That Kmart opened right before the bankruptcy and was one of the last new build Kmart Stores. I think the Kmart Store building is actually owned by Safeway but I may be wrong on that.

How does the Vons in Bishop operate? Well, go over to Vons.com and try to find an ad circular for that store. You won't find it. Why? It doesn't run the weekly ad. It runs some specials which are displayed in store on an 8.5 by 11 inch sheet of paper fresh out of the photocopier (usually on a colored piece of paper) but not as many specials as a normal location and none of the in-ad coupons, but it will honor Just for You prices/promotions (I think the Catalina Island locations are on the same no-circular and higher pricing programs). It has drastically higher prices than a standard Vons, particularly on perishable items like produce, dairy, meat, and frozen.

There are a few independent stores, scattered, under 10k square feet in size scattered around, and a very small Smart & Final (maybe it is 12k square feet) but otherwise the next nearest major chain grocers are 2+ hours away. There is another Vons 45 minutes away in Mammoth Lakes which is on the same "no ad" program.
Despite Albertsons becoming more Safeway-esque, that doesn't mean that they'll be adopting all the horrible policies that Safeway did pre-merger.

I would say that before anyone starts forming conclusions, I would wait about a year to see what their plans are, as usually after buying nearby stores, stores (usually) start spreading out. Now I know it's an old example from a chain that barely resembles the store of the same name today, but locally, the downtown Safeway (built 1965 from a rebuilt 1950 location) was just less than a mile away from a Weingarten they bought in 1984, so in 1986, they packed up to have a larger store about a mile to the north, giving the chain two stores within two miles of each other.
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Re: Baker City, OR to get a second Safeway

Post by SamSpade »

The current Safeway store, at 1205 Campbell, is 35,862 square feet and was built in 1977.

The former Albertsons/Haggen building is 43,870 square feet and was built in 2001.
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Re: Baker City, OR to get a second Safeway

Post by pseudo3d »

Given the smaller size and older age of the 1977 Safeway, I'd bet that Safeway will end up moving. I also wouldn't be surprised if it lacked a pharmacy (from the small size and the Rite Aid next door).
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Re: Baker City, OR to get a second Safeway

Post by SamSpade »

Surprisingly it has a pharmacy squeezed in there. It is a very crowded store (with the Lifestyle floorplan), including an in-store branch of Wells Fargo Bank (counter layout) and a Safeway Starbucks kiosk. I cannot imagine what it's like on a current Saturday with in-town, nearby town, and tourist shoppers.
Pharmacy Phone: 541-523-6743
Pharmacy Hours:Mon-Fri 9:00 am-7:00 pm
Sat 9:00 am-6:00 pm
Sun 10:00 am-6:00 pm

Last time I was in Baker City, I stopped across the road at Bi-Mart. Before that, Haggen in its final days (photos elsewhere here) and the bathroom lighting was almost 100% burnt out. That was a dicey situation. I believe their prescription list was sold to Rite Aid.
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Re: Baker City, OR to get a second Safeway

Post by pseudo3d »

Whoops, it looks like it will re-open as an Albertsons after all.

http://www.bakercityherald.com/news/453 ... albertsons
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Re: Baker City, OR to get a second Safeway

Post by klkla »

pseudo3d wrote:Whoops, it looks like it will re-open as an Albertsons after all.

http://www.bakercityherald.com/news/453 ... albertsons
This really just confirms what I've long suspected about the new Albertson's. They don't have a long time strategy and are just making random decisions. Example: The horrible lighting retrofits, the three random Safeways in Florida, the lack of any clear direction on banners in a lot of markets, the horrible rollout of 'Three's a Crowd' ETC...

From the article:

"In May the firm announced that it was going to open the store as an Albertsons. ... Just over a month later, Jill McGinnis, communications manager and public affairs for the company’s Portland division, wrote in an email to the Herald that the company had decided to operate two Safeway stores in Baker City. ... [yesterday] Albertsons Communications Manager Jill McGinnis confirmed Wednesday afternoon that the former Haggen store will be opened as an Albertsons."
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Re: Baker City, OR to get a second Safeway

Post by pseudo3d »

klkla wrote:
pseudo3d wrote:Whoops, it looks like it will re-open as an Albertsons after all.

http://www.bakercityherald.com/news/453 ... albertsons
This really just confirms what I've long suspected about the new Albertson's. They don't have a long time strategy and are just making random decisions. Example: The horrible lighting retrofits, the three random Safeways in Florida, the lack of any clear direction on banners in a lot of markets, the horrible rollout of 'Three's a Crowd' ETC...

From the article:

"In May the firm announced that it was going to open the store as an Albertsons. ... Just over a month later, Jill McGinnis, communications manager and public affairs for the company’s Portland division, wrote in an email to the Herald that the company had decided to operate two Safeway stores in Baker City. ... [yesterday] Albertsons Communications Manager Jill McGinnis confirmed Wednesday afternoon that the former Haggen store will be opened as an Albertsons."
I wouldn't go to say "no long term strategy" (that could best define Sears/Kmart as they try to become profitable by destroying the last of the company), as Albertsons has at least seem to have a goal of running good supermarkets, getting sales up, and a mission statement on what they want to do and how they want to accomplish it. Execution, of course, leaves much to be desired (lighting, 3s a Crowd, etc.) but there's a difference between "poor execution" and "they have no idea what they're doing".

For Baker City, OR, I suspect that Safeway really is the stronger brand there and that Albertsons is torn between wanting to return to the original banner and not rock the boat too much OR just go in with their combined brand, and both are risky. Ideally, I think they want to have stores on both sides of town with one brand, but they can't sit around on an empty store while they try to get a replacement ready.
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Re: Baker City, OR to get a second Safeway

Post by veteran+ »

klkla wrote:
pseudo3d wrote:Whoops, it looks like it will re-open as an Albertsons after all.

http://www.bakercityherald.com/news/453 ... albertsons
This really just confirms what I've long suspected about the new Albertson's. They don't have a long time strategy and are just making random decisions. Example: The horrible lighting retrofits, the three random Safeways in Florida, the lack of any clear direction on banners in a lot of markets, the horrible rollout of 'Three's a Crowd' ETC...

From the article:

"In May the firm announced that it was going to open the store as an Albertsons. ... Just over a month later, Jill McGinnis, communications manager and public affairs for the company’s Portland division, wrote in an email to the Herald that the company had decided to operate two Safeway stores in Baker City. ... [yesterday] Albertsons Communications Manager Jill McGinnis confirmed Wednesday afternoon that the former Haggen store will be opened as an Albertsons."
I concur!

The Cerberus Albertsons (pre merger with Safeway) seemed to have more focus and direction.

Perhaps there are too many chiefs still present from previously absorbed companies? Safeway is the likely suspect but that is only a guess.

Though I know it is not possible, I wish for the kind of management team that was around under Joe Albertson pre ACME, Shaws, Jewel, etc.

That, was the Albertsons I was so impressed with when they rolled out all those awesome combo stores! They were filled with friendly and service oriented employees as well (in my experiences).
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