Fred Meyer news release: Record Black Friday

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Fred Meyer news release: Record Black Friday

Post by SamSpade »

Fred Meyer's new president certainly seems to be trying to highlight his success. . .
(I thought Fred Meyer's advertising this year has been rather different, although the famous "sock sale" did take place)
Fred Meyer Record Black Friday Sales (news release: KIFI-TV)
Same news release, another source in case it is purged (KPVI-TV)
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Re: Fred Meyer news release: Record Black Friday

Post by storewanderer »

Hopefully this is a renewed focus on the non food business of Fred Meyer. Given all of the Kmart closures, Target continuing to be so poor, and the appeal of a one stop shop format especially in a climate like the Northwest, the non food business of Fred Meyer has great potential and the previous management of Fred Meyer seemed to be downplaying that and blaming problems with increased focus on online sales, etc. It is good this new guy sees the potential, or appears to.

Hopefully downsizing non food mix and things like Spokane Test and Medford South will be reversed immediately.
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Re: Fred Meyer news release: Record Black Friday

Post by babs »

LOL, that train has left the station! Have you been to any Fred Meyer this year? Just about all their stores have been remodeled to shrink the home section and expand food. Joe has been leading this change. Next up is a complete revamp of apparel with a focus on their own private label brand. Black Friday sales were up because they opened at 5am on Thanksgiving and on Black Friday, the specials went all day instead of ending at 11am as they have in prior years. That's a big change that allowed more half priced socks to be sold.
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Re: Fred Meyer news release: Record Black Friday

Post by Super S »

babs wrote: December 3rd, 2017, 12:07 am LOL, that train has left the station! Have you been to any Fred Meyer this year? Just about all their stores have been remodeled to shrink the home section and expand food. Joe has been leading this change. Next up is a complete revamp of apparel with a focus on their own private label brand. Black Friday sales were up because they opened at 5am on Thanksgiving and on Black Friday, the specials went all day instead of ending at 11am as they have in prior years. That's a big change that allowed more half priced socks to be sold.
Hopefully Fred Meyer doesn't eliminate all name brand apparel. As stores like Macy's, Sears/Kmart, and JCPenney continue closing, Fred Meyer has, in some towns, become the only source for some of those items. I actually find the Longview Fred Meyer to have a better selection than the very small JCPenney in the nearby Three Rivers Mall in Kelso (the whole mall for that matter), where Sears and Macy's have already closed. Fred Meyer also has stores in areas with even less nearby competition such as the Oregon Coast.

But it also makes me wonder if the brand names are a magnet for shoplifters, especially when you see things like the apparel department walled off at the Gateway store. It makes a case for possibly having more localized mix depending on location.
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Re: Fred Meyer news release: Record Black Friday

Post by storewanderer »

babs wrote: December 3rd, 2017, 12:07 am LOL, that train has left the station! Have you been to any Fred Meyer this year? Just about all their stores have been remodeled to shrink the home section and expand food. Joe has been leading this change. Next up is a complete revamp of apparel with a focus on their own private label brand. Black Friday sales were up because they opened at 5am on Thanksgiving and on Black Friday, the specials went all day instead of ending at 11am as they have in prior years. That's a big change that allowed more half priced socks to be sold.
So what you are saying is the reason sales were up, was because they were selling Black Friday specials for more hours? It is certainly easier to sell more when you sell for more hours.

I was in quite a few Fred Meyer locations south of Seattle a couple months ago and didn't see anything downsized in the full size stores. One store I went to was smaller and had little non food at all but I wouldn't have expected it to based on its size.
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Re: Fred Meyer news release: Record Black Friday

Post by babs »

I'm not as up to speed on the Seattle stores but in the Portland area most stores has their home departments downsized and food grew in size in recent months. These locations include Tualatin, Beaverton, Sunset, Walker Road, Johnson Creek, Raleigh Hills, Glisan, Peninsula, and Stadium. It's clearly where they are headed. Their apparel department struggles in many locations and will undergo changes in 2018. I don't know if going to a mostly private label assortment will pay off for them or not but it appears they are willing to roll the dice to make FM more of a fashion destination with a larger profit margin.

As for Black Friday, it was a major change after 20 plus years to extend Black Friday sales to all day rather than end at 11am. Looks like it paid off for them.
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Re: Fred Meyer news release: Record Black Friday

Post by storewanderer »

Yes, if they are making those changes around Portland it seems pretty likely the changes will be made elsewhere too.

I suppose the success of the new private label clothing line will depend on the quality/style of the items as well as the prices. I have noticed some pretty overstocked clothing areas in their stores and it seems like they are not marking items down fast enough to move them effectively. This includes what I have seen at Marketplace format locations in various regions as well. Some other chains like JC Penney and Macy's seem to be having similar problems.

11 AM would be too early to end Black Friday specials anyway. Maybe 1 PM or 2 PM would be reasonable. However, It is more customer friendly to keep it going all day.

I did a good bit of Black Friday shopping online this year. An option not available for general merchandise at Fred Meyer. I'm beginning to wonder if that will ever change.
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