Stadium Fred Meyer being re-set

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Stadium Fred Meyer being re-set

Post by SamSpade »

Store is spinning it as "listening to you" and resetting the sales floor. Some things are being eliminated (stupid things like pricey footwear) and others supposed to be enlarged. They have also closed the single-stall restrooms at the front of the store and now require you to go to the upper level restrooms above the 2014 constructed deli department.
Current Layout: Stadium after 2014 remodel completion
New layout: Changes Coming
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Re: Stadium Fred Meyer being re-set

Post by pseudo3d »

SamSpade wrote:Store is spinning it as "listening to you" and resetting the sales floor. Some things are being eliminated (stupid things like pricey footwear) and others supposed to be enlarged. They have also closed the single-stall restrooms at the front of the store and now require you to go to the upper level restrooms above the 2014 constructed deli department.
Current Layout: Stadium after 2014 remodel completion
New layout: Changes Coming
"Expanded Natural Foods section" is a huge red flag.
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Re: Stadium Fred Meyer being re-set

Post by storewanderer »

Wasn't this the store with the Ralphs Fresh Fare interior for a while? I don't remember this store having much of any general merchandise back when it was in that configuration... seemed like a food store. I also felt like the size of this store was no more than about 60,000 square feet... There were a few aisles of kitchen items and hardware as I recall (probably the same or a little more depth than South Medford has now, which isn't saying much).

Meanwhile zero capex for the Coos Bay Fred Meyer. Why?
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Re: Stadium Fred Meyer being re-set

Post by klkla »

pseudo3d wrote:"Expanded Natural Foods section" is a huge red flag.
What kind of red flag?
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Re: Stadium Fred Meyer being re-set

Post by pseudo3d »

klkla wrote:
pseudo3d wrote:"Expanded Natural Foods section" is a huge red flag.
What kind of red flag?
Some of the recent Fred Meyer remodels have significantly downscaled or eliminated the general merchandise departments to add more natural/bulk/organic foods. It may make FM a better and more comprehensive supermarket but it undermines the one-stop shopping FM is known for.
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Re: Stadium Fred Meyer being re-set

Post by SamSpade »

storewanderer wrote:Wasn't this the store with the Ralphs Fresh Fare interior for a while? I don't remember this store having much of any general merchandise back when it was in that configuration... seemed like a food store. I also felt like the size of this store was no more than about 60,000 square feet... There were a few aisles of kitchen items and hardware as I recall...
Yes, but this store was renovated from the Northwest Best (aka Ralphs Fresh Fare) look to the present Fred Meyer/Kroger Marketplace decor through 2014. It took a very long time as they tore down part of the parking structure, built a 3-level store above the remaining space by extending to W. Burnside where Hollywood Video and an upper parking deck existed. The store was never closed, but my shopping habits changed as the only restrooms available were portapotties in the parking garage. Afterward, I like the new side of the store, but kind of struggle with how grocery is laid out in the old store. I still hear comments like this about the Burlingame major remodel from friends as well.
Old store (exterior):
Image
Image (from parking structure before tear down, entrance change)
Old store (interior):
Image
Image
Construction era (ughhhh):
Image

There's lots of new store images online plus most folks have seen the Marketplace interior, but I'll show the renderings from the final proposal - turned out about the same. There is a Papa Murphy's Pizza and an Onpoint Credit Union in the lower level of the arcade/accessible from parking.
http://djcoregon.com/news/2012/08/24/no ... enderings/
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Re: Stadium Fred Meyer being re-set

Post by SamSpade »

Walker Road at SW 158th Ave in Beaverton is also being reset. This is a large full line store near Nike's campus. There were no signs to indicate what was going on from the entrance we used (near garden/home). It looks like grocery may be enlarging nutrition (or, ick, mixing it back into regular aisles?). Home was also undergoing reset with a large corner 100% empty except for some pegboard shelving.

The whole Health and Beauty area was kind of roped off with new white shelving being installed with signs indicating "health and beauty department coming soon" - is Kroger trying to act more like Target / KMart (2016 prototype) / drugstores in this area?

It feels like just a few years ago they put in the glass shelving and added "spa" amenities for bathing at home with aisle signs that look that way (some Smiths definitely have HBA signs and staging that is similar, but maybe not with as much selection)?

This Fred Meyer is relatively isolated, with its major competition being a bit further away and unique access issues due to the Nike campus, US 26 and how Washington County built roads in this area. Arguably the nearest mass merchandiser is Costco.
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Re: Stadium Fred Meyer being re-set

Post by storewanderer »

Smiths just finished mixing nutrition back into the regular aisles at the store I normally shop. They have significantly expanded the amount of nutrition product available, but customer perception is that they took nutrition items away since the aisle is gone.

It is also interesting as earlier this year they mixed nutrition back into the regular aisles at another location here, and at that location, the items are very well signed with hanging signs above, to the side of, and also on the main aisle hangers denoting the nutrition items.

But at this store they just reset, there are no signs. The items are all grouped together, near, but away, from the regular items (for instance the nutrition cereals are across the aisles from the conventional cereals, same for chips, etc.).

One misstep after another at Kroger this year. Really disappointing.
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Re: Stadium Fred Meyer being re-set

Post by SamSpade »

Activity in Portland westside suburbs continues - while Walker Road is likely finished now (haven't been able to loop back over there), the Hillsboro Imbrie Drive store is under remodel to the current Kroger Marketplace decor and layout. Both of these stores are near the area's largest employers - Nike and Intel.

Presently, books and magazines moved out of the junction between home and grocery into entertaiment to make room for relocated grocery / health / beauty / etc. aisles and nutrition refrigerated/frozen items are also "temporarily" moved out of their coolers.

I am really surprised this store is seeing any renovation budget! It is in great condition and other than having one decor set ago (the Fred Meyer "theme park" if you will) doesn't really seem like one to bother with especially with back to school shopping now and the holidays coming right up.

Just please don't buy me one of those "geode home decor" items. That was some of the scariest home clearance I've ever seen.

Google Maps: Imbrie Drive Fred Meyer
Yelp: Fred Meyer (and fuel center)
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Re: Stadium Fred Meyer being re-set

Post by SamSpade »

So the reset at Stadium actually is pretty great. It moved kitchen items over by the rest of home (where they should have been, honestly). Took health & beauty and stuck them into where all that useless apparel and footwear were (sports team apparel, Nike shoes) in front of pharmacy and moved seasonal in front of kitchen to where the other health and beauty shelves were located. They then figured out how to move around some of the shelving where these were previously located to add quite a bit of "nutrition center" items so that you have quite a nice 'natural/organic' store in-between the service departments (floral, beer, wine, deli, bakery, sushi, Starbucks, Murray's cheese) and the regular market (service meat remains on a rear wall). They also added all the doors over refrigerated cheeses, yogurts, etc.

The flow felt more logical and pretty good while I was in there today, although I was on a quick shop not a full-basket shop. Good or bad? There were no carts available on a Saturday afternoon at the entrance.

Cash wraps were also slightly reconfigured to add more self checks at one end of the tills, probably because this is a 'small shop' neighborhood of dense apartments and condos alongside those that have more sizable homes in the west hills. Unfortunately on my trip one end was closed, but I still got through pretty fast.

New store directory:
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