Kroger closing all Triangle stores (14 total), at least 8 being "sold" to Harris Teeter

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Kroger closing all Triangle stores (14 total), at least 8 being "sold" to Harris Teeter

Post by architect »

My guess if that this move is to eliminate union employees and to streamline banners in the market, though it has still resulted in very bad PR for Kroger. Over 1,500 employees are losing their jobs.

http://www.newsobserver.com/news/busine ... 90544.html
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Re: Kroger closing all Triangle stores (14 total), at least 8 being "sold" to Harris Teeter

Post by storewanderer »

Wow... wow... this is really an oddly behaving Kroger lately.

To be fair I went to a few Kroger Stores in that market a couple years ago and thought they were pretty lousy. Almost Food 4 Less level (not quite that bad... but not very good). They came off as a low end operator. The Harris Teeter Stores are so nice... and the Kroger Stores were not. But the pricing was definitely a lot better than Harris Teeter and quality seemed fine as well.

Also cannot believe they are letting a store go to Food Lion... Food Lion?
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Re: Kroger closing all Triangle stores (14 total), at least 8 being "sold" to Harris Teeter

Post by Super S »

Not exactly a well-written article. Not if Kroger owns Harris-Teeter...it's more of a banner changeover really.

For example, It would be like if QFC announced they were closing and selling stores to Fred Meyer.
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Re: Kroger closing all Triangle stores (14 total), at least 8 being "sold" to Harris Teeter

Post by architect »

storewanderer wrote: June 13th, 2018, 6:50 pm Wow... wow... this is really an oddly behaving Kroger lately.

To be fair I went to a few Kroger Stores in that market a couple years ago and thought they were pretty lousy. Almost Food 4 Less level (not quite that bad... but not very good). They came off as a low end operator. The Harris Teeter Stores are so nice... and the Kroger Stores were not. But the pricing was definitely a lot better than Harris Teeter and quality seemed fine as well.

Also cannot believe they are letting a store go to Food Lion... Food Lion?
From what I have read from local residents, pricing has improved recently at Harris Teeter. However, despite the reality of lower prices, the brand still has a reputation for high pricing, which will make it increasingly difficult to compete with multiple upscale grocers (Wegman's and Publix) entering the market.

Overall, I feel that this move is going to backfire for Kroger, as it will drive away price-conscious mainstream customers while also shifting focus towards an increasingly diluted upscale customer base.
Super S wrote: June 13th, 2018, 8:46 pm Not exactly a well-written article. Not if Kroger owns Harris-Teeter...it's more of a banner changeover really.

For example, It would be like if QFC announced they were closing and selling stores to Fred Meyer.
As strange as this sounds, it seems that Kroger is somewhat keeping Harris Teeter at arm's length, technically classifying them as a subsidiary rather than a division. Therefore, in a business sense, Kroger may be "selling" the stores to Harris Teeter from an accounting standpoint. This also likely gives them more leeway in laying off the current unionized employees and starting fresh with a non-union workforce. Regardless of what is going on behind the scenes though, sloppy reporting like this certainly doesn't help the situation.
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Re: Kroger closing all Triangle stores (14 total), at least 8 being "sold" to Harris Teeter

Post by storewanderer »

Super S wrote: June 13th, 2018, 8:46 pm Not exactly a well-written article. Not if Kroger owns Harris-Teeter...it's more of a banner changeover really.

For example, It would be like if QFC announced they were closing and selling stores to Fred Meyer.
A banner changeover would involve switching the sign, remodeling the place, and opening back up with the same employees.

I think the kicker here is they appear to be firing all of the employees and converting from a Union banner to a non-Union banner.

I hope they make the impacted employees whole here... even if it means making them non-Union but hire back in at previous wages. Hard to know if it will work like that. Then there are the other issues like the union benefits, pension plan, etc. which are not so easily transferrable to a non-Union shop.
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Re: Kroger closing all Triangle stores (14 total), at least 8 being "sold" to Harris Teeter

Post by rwsandiego »

storewanderer wrote: June 13th, 2018, 6:50 pm Wow... wow... this is really an oddly behaving Kroger lately.

To be fair I went to a few Kroger Stores in that market a couple years ago and thought they were pretty lousy. Almost Food 4 Less level (not quite that bad... but not very good). They came off as a low end operator. The Harris Teeter Stores are so nice... and the Kroger Stores were not. But the pricing was definitely a lot better than Harris Teeter and quality seemed fine as well.

Also cannot believe they are letting a store go to Food Lion... Food Lion?
Apparently, Food Lion money roars as loudly as everyone else's.

All kidding aside, I thought I mis-read when I saw that.
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Re: Kroger closing all Triangle stores (14 total), at least 8 being "sold" to Harris Teeter

Post by storewanderer »

I am surprised they have any money.

Come to think of it, I think RDU was where I went into a remodeled Food Lion Store that was actually quite busy (had a couple checkouts open at the same time and active with customers throughout) and had produce stacked multiple layers (not single layer with shelving showing like a typical Food Lion). I was really confused. I had never seen a healthy looking Food Lion before until that store.
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Re: Kroger closing all Triangle stores (14 total), at least 8 being "sold" to Harris Teeter

Post by Knight »

The Kroger Company's Kroger Mid-Atlantic Division is exiting North Carolina completely through the closing, divestment, and transfer of its stores.

I wonder what could the future holds for Kroger's South Carolina stores in the Kroger Atlanta Division.

Kroger and Harris Teeter coexist in Beaufort County, South Carolina. Kroger has stores in Aiken, Horry, Lexington, and Richland counties. Harris Teeter has stores in Berkeley, Charleston, Dorchester, Florence, Lancaster, and York counties. It will be returning to Greenville County in either July or August.

I have heard speculation Harris Teeter could return to Lexington and Richland counties. This speculation could be realized if the Kroger Atlanta Division transfers its South Carolina stores except Aiken County to Harris Teeter.
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Re: Kroger closing all Triangle stores (14 total), at least 8 being "sold" to Harris Teeter

Post by wnetmacman »

None of this is a surprise to me. Kroger elimiinated HT from Nashville, where they were more dominant. They are now eliminating Kroger from heavy HT territory.

Kroger's long known mantra is to only operate stores in places where they can be a solid #1 or #2. If taking on HT has caused the Kroger stores to drop, this will be why. Plus, they are handing over 8 of the Kroger stores to HT. I would hate to see that one that Food Lion is getting.
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Re: Kroger closing all Triangle stores (14 total), at least 8 being "sold" to Harris Teeter

Post by pseudo3d »

Maybe the news article neglected to say that H-T was owned by Kroger because that would imply that the jobs will all be kept, but due to H-T's organizational structure, not necessarily.
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