Merchandising mix was highly localized in Metro Detroit into the late 2000s/early 2010s, with local brands and suppliers dominating produce, bakery, deli, dairy and some meat & grocery (e.g. ice cream). For example, popular deli meats & cheeses + salads were dominated by two local companies, and the Detroit Produce Terminal supplied most produce so that a 5 lb. bag of potatoes bought from Kroger was branded as Aunt Mid’s (the largest supplier) instead of Kroger as elsewhere in the country.storewanderer wrote: ↑December 1st, 2022, 12:21 amOuch. No wonder the combined wholesaler was so poor at retail. From what I saw of Spartan back before the Nash merger, they looked stronger... it was in West Michigan though... and they were higher priced and not merchandised as well compared to Jewel or an IN Kroger.buckguy wrote: ↑November 30th, 2022, 6:15 pmSpartan very quickly ran Seaway FoodTown into the ground.Bagels wrote: ↑November 30th, 2022, 3:12 pm
Spartan was equally a terrible operator. I'd bet they've closed at least 2/3 of the stores they've acquired in the last 20 years. They seem to do well only in West Michigan, where they are the only traditional grocery store operator. Even there, they've closed the majority of even the large format modern stores they've picked up.
Spartan acquired VG’s and immediately changed its merchandise mix to everything Spartan brand, which made it an outlier locally (VG’s was Spartan’s then-largest customer, but its perimeter used local brands – e.g. Lapari deli meats, cheeses & salads became Spartan, as did those 5 lb. bags of potatoes, as Spartan avoided the Detroit Produce Terminal / union labor). VG’s was well known for its high-quality deli (referred to as a kitchen) and bakery – Spartan eliminated the “kitchen” aspect of the deli (VG’s sold inexpensive, artisan-style made to order sandwiches and these became prepackaged generic Spartan variety) and converted everything in the bakery to the standard TopCo crap you could buy for less at Meijer.
IMO, Spartan/VG’s closely resembled today’s Albertsons – they’re a high-low retainer with a heavy emphasis on private label brands & genericy (Kroger as well now) perimeter. Spartan and Safeway were two of the largest retailers to publish printable private label coupons on their website in the late 1990s/early 2000s. Spartan introduced “customized” coupons in the early 2010s with its Yes! card (you downloaded them online, I don’t think they had an app). Included customer specific pricing as well. I’m sure they used the same vendor as Safeway.
I never really shopped at VG’s (the specific store opened as a Farmer Jack in 2001 after I moved to CA, and became a VG’s in 2007) but I did go in it when visiting family. Prices were high but they ran great sales, doubled coupons to $1 and had awesome printable private label coupons. Like I said, it reminded me very much of the modern Albertsons chain. Would’ve made a great pick-up for them had they not decided to sell.
(And while I think Spartan is a lousy operator overall, I should add that many of the stores/chains they purchased were struggling, so the number of closures shouldn’t be entirely surprising.)