Integration of Albertsons and Safeway

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Re: Integration of Albertsons and Safeway

Post by babs »

rwsandiego wrote: May 31st, 2018, 11:03 pm
babs wrote: May 31st, 2018, 10:23 pm
storewanderer wrote: May 31st, 2018, 7:30 pm I guess since the old group of private label executives decided to put Signature Select on everything, the recent batch of new private label executives decided they needed to have a premium label so they did this...

Sounds like a copycat of Kroger's Hemisfares line. Ever heard of it? Maybe not, since it is barely stocked, barely promoted... products are too upscale and too high priced for a mainstream grocery store. Excellent dry pasta though. The $16/pint oilve oil (marked down to 3.50 about to expire) was also excellent.
Hemisfare barely promoted?
I've received many digital coupons promoting it. Keep in mind that Kroger is doing a lot of targeted digital marketing. I guess I must be in the target market for it.
Neither Ralphs (when I lived in SoCal) nor Fry's ever sent me a digital coupon for Hemisfares line. In fact, I've never seen more than one or two items. in the store.
Kroger own a marketing agency that sends out offers targeted to shoppers based on demographics and shopping patterns. Many coupons are not posted to the general public. You only get them if you match the target. It's actually a smart way of doing. So just because you don't see an offer, doesn't mean one doesn't exist. As a former vendor to Kroger and other chains, I can tell you that's a lot more going target marketing going on behind the scenes than you may see. It makes a lot of sense. Why would I pay to play in a program that isn't targeting at the customers who might actually be interested in my products?
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Re: Integration of Albertsons and Safeway

Post by rwsandiego »

babs wrote: June 1st, 2018, 7:46 am
rwsandiego wrote: May 31st, 2018, 11:03 pm
babs wrote: May 31st, 2018, 10:23 pm

Hemisfare barely promoted?
I've received many digital coupons promoting it. Keep in mind that Kroger is doing a lot of targeted digital marketing. I guess I must be in the target market for it.
Neither Ralphs (when I lived in SoCal) nor Fry's ever sent me a digital coupon for Hemisfares line. In fact, I've never seen more than one or two items. in the store.
Kroger own a marketing agency that sends out offers targeted to shoppers based on demographics and shopping patterns. Many coupons are not posted to the general public. You only get them if you match the target. It's actually a smart way of doing. So just because you don't see an offer, doesn't mean one doesn't exist. As a former vendor to Kroger and other chains, I can tell you that's a lot more going target marketing going on behind the scenes than you may see. It makes a lot of sense. Why would I pay to play in a program that isn't targeting at the customers who might actually be interested in my products?
That's the funny part - I'm actually the target (or should be) for higher-end lines such as HemisFares. I buy HemisFares-like products at Whole Foods on a regular basis, subscribe to cooking magazines, have a high level of disposable income, and have no kids. Then again, there isn't a Fry's (yet) in Downtown Phoenix, which is my neighborhood. That comes in 2019 or 2020. The closest Fry's is five miles away across the street from Whole Foods.

Getting back to the topic of Safebertsons (or do you say Albertsway?), it will be interesting to see what they do with Signature Reserve. Safeway Select never impressed me. It seemed like a decent store brand (I feel the same about Private Selection and always have), but that was about it. I do prefer Open Nature and O Organics over Simple Truth. Open Nature and O Organics products taste better to me and the packaging is more upscale. Simple Truth reminds me of Topco's Food Club brand.
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Re: Integration of Albertsons and Safeway

Post by pseudo3d »

The HemisFares brand isn't just an upscale brand, it's an imported foods brand (or at least styled after import foods). There's no SWY/ABS equivalent.
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Re: Integration of Albertsons and Safeway

Post by storewanderer »

pseudo3d wrote: June 2nd, 2018, 10:17 am The HemisFares brand isn't just an upscale brand, it's an imported foods brand (or at least styled after import foods). There's no SWY/ABS equivalent.
Maybe I'll start to call it Alrite. That's about the par their operation is at and a little bit of a step up from where Safeway was as a stand alone company.

It feels like the items on Signature Reserve that are being announced/planned are very similar to the current Hemisfares line.
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Re: Integration of Albertsons and Safeway

Post by babs »

rwsandiego wrote: June 1st, 2018, 7:45 pm
babs wrote: June 1st, 2018, 7:46 am
rwsandiego wrote: May 31st, 2018, 11:03 pm
Neither Ralphs (when I lived in SoCal) nor Fry's ever sent me a digital coupon for Hemisfares line. In fact, I've never seen more than one or two items. in the store.
Kroger own a marketing agency that sends out offers targeted to shoppers based on demographics and shopping patterns. Many coupons are not posted to the general public. You only get them if you match the target. It's actually a smart way of doing. So just because you don't see an offer, doesn't mean one doesn't exist. As a former vendor to Kroger and other chains, I can tell you that's a lot more going target marketing going on behind the scenes than you may see. It makes a lot of sense. Why would I pay to play in a program that isn't targeting at the customers who might actually be interested in my products?
That's the funny part - I'm actually the target (or should be) for higher-end lines such as HemisFares. I buy HemisFares-like products at Whole Foods on a regular basis, subscribe to cooking magazines, have a high level of disposable income, and have no kids. Then again, there isn't a Fry's (yet) in Downtown Phoenix, which is my neighborhood. That comes in 2019 or 2020. The closest Fry's is five miles away across the street from Whole Foods.

Getting back to the topic of Safebertsons (or do you say Albertsway?), it will be interesting to see what they do with Signature Reserve. Safeway Select never impressed me. It seemed like a decent store brand (I feel the same about Private Selection and always have), but that was about it. I do prefer Open Nature and O Organics over Simple Truth. Open Nature and O Organics products taste better to me and the packaging is more upscale. Simple Truth reminds me of Topco's Food Club brand.
Having done some work in the private label side of the biz, there's a very good chance the Open Nature/O Organic product is identical to Simple truth. Meaning it's made in the same plant, same product, same item, etc... There just aren't that many producers out there that can do private label, especially organic well. The margins are tight. But the brain is so influential when it comes to taste. If the packaging of the product is poor, it tells your brain that it's going to taste inferior. Yet it could be the same item.
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Re: Integration of Albertsons and Safeway

Post by architect »

babs wrote: June 3rd, 2018, 2:04 pm
rwsandiego wrote: June 1st, 2018, 7:45 pm
babs wrote: June 1st, 2018, 7:46 am
Kroger own a marketing agency that sends out offers targeted to shoppers based on demographics and shopping patterns. Many coupons are not posted to the general public. You only get them if you match the target. It's actually a smart way of doing. So just because you don't see an offer, doesn't mean one doesn't exist. As a former vendor to Kroger and other chains, I can tell you that's a lot more going target marketing going on behind the scenes than you may see. It makes a lot of sense. Why would I pay to play in a program that isn't targeting at the customers who might actually be interested in my products?
That's the funny part - I'm actually the target (or should be) for higher-end lines such as HemisFares. I buy HemisFares-like products at Whole Foods on a regular basis, subscribe to cooking magazines, have a high level of disposable income, and have no kids. Then again, there isn't a Fry's (yet) in Downtown Phoenix, which is my neighborhood. That comes in 2019 or 2020. The closest Fry's is five miles away across the street from Whole Foods.

Getting back to the topic of Safebertsons (or do you say Albertsway?), it will be interesting to see what they do with Signature Reserve. Safeway Select never impressed me. It seemed like a decent store brand (I feel the same about Private Selection and always have), but that was about it. I do prefer Open Nature and O Organics over Simple Truth. Open Nature and O Organics products taste better to me and the packaging is more upscale. Simple Truth reminds me of Topco's Food Club brand.
Having done some work in the private label side of the biz, there's a very good chance the Open Nature/O Organic product is identical to Simple truth. Meaning it's made in the same plant, same product, same item, etc... There just aren't that many producers out there that can do private label, especially organic well. The margins are tight. But the brain is so influential when it comes to taste. If the packaging of the product is poor, it tells your brain that it's going to taste inferior. Yet it could be the same item.
I have actually tried several Simple Truth items which have clearly been either unique to Kroger or a rebranding of a specialty brand carried at other stores. Although many private label brands are produced by the same manufacturers in the same plants, major accounts such as Kroger and Albertsons have the scale to be able to tweak products to their liking and shopper preferences. Kroger's work to increase the selection of Simple Truth products over the past few years has been quite impressive considering the extensive market research associated with the brand. On the other hand, Safeway/Albertsons' natural/organic private label selection has seemed quite limited until recently, where they are now finally starting to catch up with Kroger. The products also seems to be increasing in both quality and presentation.

Side note, in both the Tom Thumb and Albertsons ads for the DFW area this week, the new Signature Select and Signature Farms logos were on extensive display. Overall, they present quite well and definitely catch the eye more than the old generic Safeway/Signature Kitchens branding.
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Re: Integration of Albertsons and Safeway

Post by CalItalian »

pseudo3d wrote: June 2nd, 2018, 10:17 am The HemisFares brand isn't just an upscale brand, it's an imported foods brand (or at least styled after import foods). There's no SWY/ABS equivalent.
At the top Ralphs location of the chain (Fresh Fare location, largest Ralphs by square footage, in an upscale area across the street from UCLA in Westwood Village), they are currently reconfiguring the store. All but 10 HemisFares products were discontinued from the location. Ralphs use to really push HemisFares products with a specific 2-week period devoted to a county (Italy, Spain) and digital coupons but I've yet to see anything this year.
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Re: Integration of Albertsons and Safeway

Post by rwsandiego »

CalItalian wrote: June 6th, 2018, 11:22 am
pseudo3d wrote: June 2nd, 2018, 10:17 am The HemisFares brand isn't just an upscale brand, it's an imported foods brand (or at least styled after import foods). There's no SWY/ABS equivalent.
At the top Ralphs location of the chain (Fresh Fare location, largest Ralphs by square footage, in an upscale area across the street from UCLA in Westwood Village), they are currently reconfiguring the store. All but 10 HemisFares products were discontinued from the location. Ralphs use to really push HemisFares products with a specific 2-week period devoted to a county (Italy, Spain) and digital coupons but I've yet to see anything this year.
That's interesting. You'd think that location would be right up Hemisfares' alley. As I said earlier, I never saw Hemisfares in the San Diego Ralphs stores, including the Hillcrest and La Jolla Village Fresh Fares and Del Mar.
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Re: Integration of Albertsons and Safeway

Post by architect »

rwsandiego wrote: June 6th, 2018, 6:56 pm
CalItalian wrote: June 6th, 2018, 11:22 am
pseudo3d wrote: June 2nd, 2018, 10:17 am The HemisFares brand isn't just an upscale brand, it's an imported foods brand (or at least styled after import foods). There's no SWY/ABS equivalent.
At the top Ralphs location of the chain (Fresh Fare location, largest Ralphs by square footage, in an upscale area across the street from UCLA in Westwood Village), they are currently reconfiguring the store. All but 10 HemisFares products were discontinued from the location. Ralphs use to really push HemisFares products with a specific 2-week period devoted to a county (Italy, Spain) and digital coupons but I've yet to see anything this year.
That's interesting. You'd think that location would be right up Hemisfares' alley. As I said earlier, I never saw Hemisfares in the San Diego Ralphs stores, including the Hillcrest and La Jolla Village Fresh Fares and Del Mar.
Overall, it seems that Kroger is toning down promotion for Hemisfares. In their DFW locations, the Simple Truth, Private Selection, Kroger and PSST banners are each receiving heavy promotion (with both Simple Truth and Private Selection undergoing notable product line expansions). On the other hand, the Hemisfares line seems to be getting a reduced presence. Maybe many of the products were just too high end and specialized to sell well across their store base? It is still strange though, considering how much Kroger invested in developing the brand.
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Re: Integration of Albertsons and Safeway

Post by BillyGr »

Don't think this was posted yet - in my email I have a message (from Shaw's) saying that starting tomorrow (6/22) MyMixx will be Just for U.

So an integration of their two programs, it appears.

Not sure if it's all the stores or if they are doing them separately...
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