Pavilions Long Beach converting to Vons

[ClownLoach]

Apparently the sign was changed this week and the Long Beach store is now under the Vons banner.

[storewanderer]

Apparently the sign was changed this week and the Long Beach store is now under the Vons banner.

They went all out. Repainted Lifestyle decor+awful looking cement floors.

They should have just converted it and left the interior alone. This was a mint condition Lifestyle store.

I am surprised they didn't do the NorCal thing and leave all the old Lifestyle floors, etc. but remove the Lifestyle decor and put up the Modern decor.

Amazon Fresh has a more attractive looking store than this frankenstore now.

[ClownLoach]

Apparently the sign was changed this week and the Long Beach store is now under the Vons banner.

They went all out. Repainted Lifestyle decor+awful looking cement floors.

They should have just converted it and left the interior alone. This was a mint condition Lifestyle store.

I am surprised they didn't do the NorCal thing and leave all the old Lifestyle floors, etc. but remove the Lifestyle decor and put up the Modern decor.

Amazon Fresh has a more attractive looking store than this frankenstore now.

Supposedly they were surprised by the three colors of concrete underneath and will be putting down a new floor before the holidays. This might be why it was heard they wouldn't rebrand till then.

Either way it's been a frankenstore as a Pavilions for over a decade. It had received the "Pavilions Lifestyle" decor with the backlit frosted glass images, pennants and so on when that decor package rolled out. But then it was remodeled about 10-12 years ago to regular lifestyle and truthfully all the Pavilions product was pulled at that time except for the meat and seafood counter. My guess was they were going to change it back then to Vons but got cold feet, so they left it as a Safeway era Pavilions-in-name-only store.

They've been pretty consistent lately moving to polished concrete on SoCal remodels especially with Modern decor. Haven't seen any Colorful Lifestyle stores get concrete floors (not these repaint only, but full new decor package).

[storewanderer]

Supposedly they were surprised by the three colors of concrete underneath and will be putting down a new floor before the holidays. This might be why it was heard they wouldn't rebrand till then.

Either way it's been a frankenstore as a Pavilions for over a decade. It had received the "Pavilions Lifestyle" decor with the backlit frosted glass images, pennants and so on when that decor package rolled out. But then it was remodeled about 10-12 years ago to regular lifestyle and truthfully all the Pavilions product was pulled at that time except for the meat and seafood counter. My guess was they were going to change it back then to Vons but got cold feet, so they left it as a Safeway era Pavilions-in-name-only store.

They've been pretty consistent lately moving to polished concrete on SoCal remodels especially with Modern decor. Haven't seen any Colorful Lifestyle stores get concrete floors (not these repaint only, but full new decor package).

It'll be interesting to see what kind of a new floor they put in.

The Vons Lifestyle interior was in excellent condition though. The flooring was perfect, the store clearly is not a tough wear store. Although dated it looked like that interior had been applied recently, not 10-12 years ago. There were many other Pavilions that had the standard Vons Lifestyle interior including a brand new build Pavilions up somewhere around Woodland Hills that went out of business a few years after opening. The new build Pavilions up there was also just like a standard Vons in product mix. I think that pretty much described every Pavilions in that awful 2009-2014 period of Safeway.

I also learned recently they are still doing Colorful Lifestyle remodels to some stores.

Remodel activity in NorCal has really dropped off. Lately in NorCal the remodel activities are more loss prevention focused. A store in Vallejo just rolled out security gates, controlled entry/exit, and various other tactics. There are multiple other stores also getting these "enhancements" in NorCal.

[Alpha8472]

In the San Francisco Bay Area, even in the low crime suburbs there are some bizarre barriers at the doors.

One store made a wall of bottled water packs around the doors. You cannot go out an entrance door. You have to go the long route anf pass by the cash registers and go out the exit door. Perhaps there were too many grab and runs.

[veteran+]

Does anyone have an idea of what style interior is the Pavilions Marketplace in West Hollywood?

[storewanderer]

Does anyone have an idea of what style interior is the Pavilions Marketplace in West Hollywood?

That one had the standard Lifestyle interior but was remodeled into the Pavilions interior in the past few years.

That Pavilions interior has also been seen in some Hawaii, NorCal, Las Vegas, and Arizona stores.

They came out with that interior when they were trying to merge with Rite Aid and put a lot of photos in the shareholder pro merger materials.

[ClownLoach]

Supposedly they were surprised by the three colors of concrete underneath and will be putting down a new floor before the holidays. This might be why it was heard they wouldn't rebrand till then.

Either way it's been a frankenstore as a Pavilions for over a decade. It had received the "Pavilions Lifestyle" decor with the backlit frosted glass images, pennants and so on when that decor package rolled out. But then it was remodeled about 10-12 years ago to regular lifestyle and truthfully all the Pavilions product was pulled at that time except for the meat and seafood counter. My guess was they were going to change it back then to Vons but got cold feet, so they left it as a Safeway era Pavilions-in-name-only store.

They've been pretty consistent lately moving to polished concrete on SoCal remodels especially with Modern decor. Haven't seen any Colorful Lifestyle stores get concrete floors (not these repaint only, but full new decor package).

It'll be interesting to see what kind of a new floor they put in.

The Vons Lifestyle interior was in excellent condition though. The flooring was perfect, the store clearly is not a tough wear store. Although dated it looked like that interior had been applied recently, not 10-12 years ago. There were many other Pavilions that had the standard Vons Lifestyle interior including a brand new build Pavilions up somewhere around Woodland Hills that went out of business a few years after opening. The new build Pavilions up there was also just like a standard Vons in product mix. I think that pretty much described every Pavilions in that awful 2009-2014 period of Safeway.

I also learned recently they are still doing Colorful Lifestyle remodels to some stores.

Remodel activity in NorCal has really dropped off. Lately in NorCal the remodel activities are more loss prevention focused. A store in Vallejo just rolled out security gates, controlled entry/exit, and various other tactics. There are multiple other stores also getting these "enhancements" in NorCal.

They definitely had put in the Vons Lifestyle interior at least ten years ago to replace the "Pavilions Lifestyle"; it was probably the first Long Beach area store to get that version of it. The "Pavilions Lifestyle" had not been in place for very long, as such it seemed odd that the store would be remodeled twice in just a few years. It never got the "Safeway Pavilions" decor; it went straight from white/purple/red stripes to "Pavilions Lifestyle". It got the remodel about the same time they opened the new Lido store in Newport Beach when it moved across the street and opened with Vons Lifestyle decor as well (but a separate suite next door that was a luxurious liquor store similar to Malibu). I was sure at that time they were downgrading to a Vons as all the major merchandising changes occurred then.

What is bizarre is reading the reviews as well as comments on a Vons sponsored Facebook post; clearly the many "regular weekly shoppers" had not been in this location in a decade or more based on the changes they described. Literally the only changes were new colorful paint on the lifestyle decor as we've seen before, new aisle hangers, some new lighting, the concrete floor disaster, and now a Vons sign. I think they were moving the Starbucks out of the tiny vestibule but that wasn't done my last visit there. There are comments that many aisles were removed and the store is hollowed out, that just is not the case at all. Aisles were removed on the right side over a decade ago for bakery tables and floral pods when they remodeled to "Pavilions Lifestyle" and turned the left set of aisles (main grocery) to run front to back instead of sideways. The complaints of removed assortment are changes that were made in all Albertsons/Vons stores this spring such as redoing the spice racks.

The store has been a Vons for over a decade now and they really were doing a disservice to anyone who knows what the Pavilions format is supposed to be by having the wrong banner on the building. I just think they got cold feet a decade ago and didn't change the sign then for some reason. But for anyone who expects the Pavilions line of products - they couldn't find them in this store for over a decade now anyway.

[veteran+]

Does anyone have an idea of what style interior is the Pavilions Marketplace in West Hollywood?

That one had the standard Lifestyle interior but was remodeled into the Pavilions interior in the past few years.

That Pavilions interior has also been seen in some Hawaii, NorCal, Las Vegas, and Arizona stores.

They came out with that interior when they were trying to merge with Rite Aid and put a lot of photos in the shareholder pro merger materials.

So that incorporates the "Market Place" designation as well?

There are some other strange things too. There is very low theft in this store and very little locked up but al the other egress-ingress doors are blocked. Floral-Gift & Starbucks (both large areas) doors are blocked. Which blocks the very nice outdoor sitting area. Also, Starbucks area only 50% used.

Exit doors for elevator area and Self Serve stations are blocked as well.

[ClownLoach]

Does anyone have an idea of what style interior is the Pavilions Marketplace in West Hollywood?

That one had the standard Lifestyle interior but was remodeled into the Pavilions interior in the past few years.

That Pavilions interior has also been seen in some Hawaii, NorCal, Las Vegas, and Arizona stores.

They came out with that interior when they were trying to merge with Rite Aid and put a lot of photos in the shareholder pro merger materials.

The Albertsons with this decor in North Las Vegas is bizarre. Ultra low low low end store in a beautiful building. Pavilions decor, Albertsons layout, Food4Less tier assortment. Someone must have grossly misjudged the location as high end because Summerlin is relatively close on the beltway. It appears it could have possibly opened with the Pavilions style high end liquor but then reduced the department at least by half and moved to full shelves of house brand well drink grade spirits. I think they removed a few produce islands as well. It's a really low class store.