Kroger-Perimeter Downsizing

[storewanderer]

Went into a Kroger in Houston located at 10010 Cypresswood in Houston. This is a former Albertsons but that shouldn't really matter. The store is remodeled to a package similar to what I saw applied to 2 Smiths remodels in NV back in 2022 but maybe the package has been in this store longer? It didn't seem maintained that well. Then again a lot of Kroger Stores don't seem maintained that well (don't get me started on the former "Family Center" in Baytown - AWFUL).

Anyway this Kroger I saw a few things I have not seen before in a standard large modern Kroger Store:
1. Service deli was a tiny counter with only lunchmeat (had Boar's Head) and what appeared to be a sandwich counter. The rest of what was previously a service deli case space was self serve/prepackaged products.
2. Meat/Seafood service counter was not there anymore and had been replaced by shelving or self serve prepackaged products.
3. Produce and bakery areas both seemed smaller

This store felt more like a low volume Safeway type of operation than a Kroger or the type of dumb things Ralphs used to do to kill stores back in the 00's by scaling perimeter back. I find it strange to see Kroger run a scaled back perimeter like this because this is not something I typically see Kroger do. The aisles were better on product mix and obviously pricing though, and the store did seem to have traffic.

Wasn't Kroger's Texas operation being run by a former Safeway NorCal person for a while? I know Dallas was, but did that extend to Houston too? I wonder if they were testing some dumb Safeway ideas in Texas and this store happened to get these ideas?

Giant HEB a couple minutes away that is absolutely exceptional store- huge everything. Giant massive fresh departments. Tons of customers and employees. Absolutely beautiful store. I thought it was one of the nicest HEBs I had seen but after I went to a few more large HEBs it was basically just like the other large HEBs around Houston.

[pseudo3d]

Kroger's Texas operations are run by former H-E-B people, actually. And amazing that you'd diss the Kroger deli operations compared to praising the H-E-B fresh departments, seeing as their deli has nothing but cold cuts, no food by the pound, no hot food.

[storewanderer]

Kroger's Texas operations are run by former H-E-B people, actually. And amazing that you'd diss the Kroger deli operations compared to praising the H-E-B fresh departments, seeing as their deli has nothing but cold cuts, no food by the pound, no hot food.

HEB had prepackaged hot food in the location about a mile north of this Kroger. They also had probably 2,000 square feet worth of food by the pound (salad, ready meals, etc.). I could have sworn there was a small service counter (separate from lunchmeat) with some pasta salads, etc. by the pound too but maybe I am confused. I may be confusing that with the large cheese island/kiosk. But I think there were both kiosks. Also the HEB lunchmeat case was 2-3x the size of the Kroger one.

Also the service meat/seafood case in this HEB was probably 50 feet long if not longer... massive. Giant variety.

Then when you get up to Dallas area the 3 currently open HEB units there have a BBQ restaurant in the store. That concession sells many of the very same items a service deli hot food case sells like food by the pound, fries, chicken strips, etc., and has a little kiosk you can order from to get an order quickly...

[pseudo3d]

HEB had prepackaged hot food in the location about a mile north of this Kroger. They also had probably 2,000 square feet worth of food by the pound (salad, ready meals, etc.). I could have sworn there was a small service counter (separate from lunchmeat) with some pasta salads, etc. by the pound too but maybe I am confused. I may be confusing that with the large cheese island/kiosk. But I think there were both kiosks. Also the HEB lunchmeat case was 2-3x the size of the Kroger one.

Also the service meat/seafood case in this HEB was probably 50 feet long if not longer... massive. Giant variety.

Then when you get up to Dallas area the 3 currently open HEB units there have a BBQ restaurant in the store. That concession sells many of the very same items a service deli hot food case sells like food by the pound, fries, chicken strips, etc., and has a little kiosk you can order from to get an order quickly...

I would like to share a response from Anonymous in Houston, who contributes to Houston Historic Retail and Northwest Retail:

Greetings, this is Anonymous in Houston here, guest blogger at Houston Historic Retail and occasionally at other retail blogs. Someone mentioned this comment about the Cypresswood Krogertsons to me and so I thought I would send a comment about this store via Pseudo3D since I know this store and the area very well.

The current head of the Houston Kroger division, Laura Gump, was a nearly 30 year veteran of HEB and she also spent some time recently as VP of store operations at Home Depot. If Kroger’s Houston stores are looking a bit dumpy lately, it is because their leadership has a lot of experience running dumpy stores. Granted, from what I’ve seen online, Houston’s Krogers aren’t as bad off as, say, Atlanta’s Krogers.

As for the Cypresswood Krogertsons itself, keep in mind that the store is in an area which has many other Kroger stores, mostly ones which were formerly called Signature stores, nearby. I’d describe the Krogertsons as a neighborhood store, a smaller Kroger which one would have to drive past to get to a competitor’s store. There is another Kroger on Cypresswood about 2.5 miles to the east which is the very first Kroger Signature store. It is a nicer store situated in the middle of a wealthy suburban neighborhood and the closest competition that store has is a Randall’s. Those wanting a premium Kroger experience, or at least as premium as one can expect in 2023, will go to that store or one of the other Kroger Signature stores in the area.

At around 55k, the Krogertsons is on the smaller side for Houston Krogers. The bakery is indeed a bit smaller than normal as are all the service departments, but it has all the service departments one would expect a Kroger to have. Like a lot of smaller Houston Krogers, this Krogertsons does not have online order pickup. It is a bit of an odd omission here in 2023, but the benefit is that there is plenty of close-in parking for in-store customers. It is an easy store to get in and out of.

I think HHR guest blogger billytheskink did a great job describing in HHR’s latest ‘The Year of Kroger’ series post why many Houstonians, including yours truly, like these smaller neighborhood Kroger locations. They have 90%+ of the stuff a bigger Kroger has while being very easy to shop at and far less hectic than other Krogers and other supersized grocers: https://houstonhistoricretail.com/2023/ ... -my-store/

Galveston aside, Houston’s Krogers have pitiful hot delis. Actually, this is a Houston thing and not just a Kroger thing. HEB and Randall’s also have very small hot delis which mostly only feature fried chicken and sandwiches. I confirmed with an HEB employee at a larger Houston store that they don't have much more than soups so if you saw something to the contrary, it probably wasn't at HEB or it was something else that you saw. I was recently in Portland, OR and the Fred Meyer and Safeway/Albertsons stores there have much, much nicer hot delis than any typical Houston supermarket. Perhaps it is because fast food is (relatively) cheap and plentiful here, but hot delis are not taken seriously here. This is just the cultural norm for supermarkets here. Grocers did try expanded hot delis here in the 1980s and 1990s, but it didn’t stick.

The produce department at the Cypresswood Krogertsons is a normal size. It has basically everything a much larger Kroger would have. People in the 249 area who want expanded produce selection will go to the Fiesta Mart, but that itself is an interesting story which you can read about here: https://southernretail.blogspot.com/202 ... 0-and.html

The main problems the Cypresswood Krogertsons has are problems most Houston Krogers have: understaffing with only one or two manned checkouts open, cheapskate décor like concrete floors, and poor inventory control on certain items. I made many visits to Fred Meyer in the Portland suburbs and Kroger’s operations are much stronger up there. Things like the dairy case, which are Swiss cheese-like here, were full up there. Fred Meyer had 4-5 lanes open. Kroger has a better operation up there.

But, of course, Kroger is competing mainly against Walmart and HEB here and those are both deep discount operations so expect things to be bad. I reckon the HEB you visited is The Vintage HEB (not that it is vintage, that is just the name of the shopping district it is in). At first glance, the store might look really remarkable. It is packed, it is big, it does a lot of business. This is all true, but when you start to look closely, you’ll find that the parking lot is a madhouse. The spots are tight...even more so when you consider the big cars people drive here. The store is tight and HEB’s maze-like layout only adds to congestion. The departments are large not because they have a ton of stuff, but mainly because they have to be big to hold the huge crowds. Even still, cart crashes are frequent and you’re always dodging ‘personal shoppers’ at the bigger HEBs. It is not a pleasant place to shop aside from the front end where HEB still defaults to manned checkouts with self-checkouts being reserved for people making small purchases. Even with 7-8 open manned checkouts, there are still long lines. Oh, and the stores have all the visual appeal of a Home Depot sans the forklifts. These are high volume stores.

HEB uses a regional model as opposed to the traditional Houston norm of neighborhood stores. This means HEB stores are often on freeways, like The Vintage, and are madhouses. ‘The People of Walmart’ in Houston has quickly become ‘The People of HEB’. In fact, at that very The Vintage store a month ago, two customers got into a dispute and one shot multiple rounds into the store. Fortunately, nobody was injured, but crazy things like that are the norm at HEB.

As Pseudo3D mentioned, HEB doesn’t really have great service departments. They do have some cuts of meat which aren’t available elsewhere, but the quality isn’t any better than Kroger’s and I’d rate Kroger’s produce above HEB’s most of the time. A big problem with HEB is that they don’t sell a lot of national brands. They push their store brands hard. Now, HEB’s store brands are generally good quality and they have some unique flavors, but if you want a normal selection of national brands, you’ll be heading to Kroger or Randall’s.

HEB is cheap, and the manned checkout focus is better than what Kroger offers, but there are many reasons why someone would deem Kroger to still be the better option. After all, Kroger has good store brands as well and their pricing is very competitive...though you have to jump through some hoops at Kroger to get the best prices. But, anyway, shopping at HEB is like shopping at Walmart, but with a better front end and a more chaotic store experience. Oh, and Walmart’s general merchandise is way better than HEB’s even at HEB Plus stores which are not numerous in Houston. If you really want the best prices, you’d go to HEB’s Joe V’s stores anyway where you get an austerity shopping experience not too dissimilar than HEB, but with lower prices on meat, produce, and center store items.

Long story short, for all of Kroger’s faults, there are reasons why many of Houston’s retail enthusiasts shop at Kroger and Randall’s over HEB.

[storewanderer]

The prepared food items I saw at that HEB on Louetta that were being sold by the pound, some looked like Central Market items.

It is funny there were some items I bought at Joe V's (it was actually the second store I visited at the beginning of my trip, after Food Town) and I was so blown away at the pricing. Then I wanted more of some items, but was not planning to nor did I have the desire to re-visit Joe V's at any point during the trip. The same items were 20-40% higher price at HEB (all HEB brands). So I didn't buy any more.

The maintenance and upkeep issues with Kroger seem to be in various geographies. It is like they have no budget to fix things and stuff stays beat up for way longer than it should in stores doing the volume the typical Kroger does.

I was pretty impressed with the Kroger Marketplace I went to near Houston. It was a very nice store and the center store mix exceeded my expectations. They are doing a really good job slotting additional regional items in center store there, far better than most other markets. Even in the Marketplace, there was evidence of removal of some hot food counters in deli (seen this elsewhere in Kroger too) that had previously been food court type counters like Mexican Street Food, Burger, BBQ, or some other concepts that were dictated out by Cincinnati to the divisions with zero flexibility (BBQ that didn't sell meat only- had to buy a plate with sides...) had lousy food at a high price.

I was in a couple Kroger units that were former Albertsons, the other one I went into had a full/normal perimeter, nothing really unusual there. It also had a former Albertsons convenience store.

I went into that half remodeled Fiesta and not having a clue what it looked like before they did what they did in there all I can say is wow, but I am not very surprised. Also outside of produce and what appears to be "get what you pay for" meat, I didn't find Fiesta's center store pricing to be good at all. Many First Street (Smart & Final) items selling at prices higher than Smart & Final sells them for in CA. Makes no sense (Smart & Final's prices aren't great).

Randalls is basically a NorCal Safeway. It is funny, they are stuck running almost like the pre-Albertsons days when Safeway treated everything like NorCal. Their pricing is a lot better than it would have been back then, but merchandising and perishables are the same old same old. It is unfortunate they cannot give United/Market Street a few of the Randalls to run/rebrand to Market Street. I think they could do much better with them. I recall Albertsons placed a United person in charge of Randalls before they shut the division office completely down and gave control to Dallas, but I think things were too far gone by then.