Coming from WAY out of left field, Wylie Albertsons converting to Tom Thumb (complete with Florida decor)

[architect]

Earlier tonight, I was driving around in Wylie, TX and passed by the town's Albertsons. On the exterior, I noticed that all signage had been removed (with a temporary Albertsons banner in its place) along with trailers in the parking lot, so I decided to take a look to see what was up. Turns out, this store is converting to a Tom Thumb (according to an employee), and the conversion is already substantially complete! This store is an early 2000's-build Albertsons, and is located in a rapidly growing area which has been absolutely devoid of any Tom Thumb locations (largely due to the fact that this area started growing after Safeway took the reigns with Randalls, and dramatically slowed down expansion). The grocery market is this area has also become extremely competitive, with a Kroger Marketplace, a Brookshires, an potential HEB site, a SuperTarget and multiple Walmarts located in Wylie, along with a Sprouts and another Albertsons in nearby Murphy. This store's conversion to Tom Thumb is likely being undertaken as a defensive measure, in order to market the store as more upscale. It will be interesting to see if Albertsons undertakes similar conversions at other locations. In particular, I could see the Casa Linda Albertsons being converted, as the area is moving more upscale and would likely lend itself better to the Tom Thumb banner.

As far as the renovation itself goes, most of the changes seem to be primarily a matter of changing out decor and rearranging stock. Most noticeably, the existing pharmacy (which currently sits in a pod near the entrance, facing away from the entry doors) is moving to the opposite front corner of the store. This change is also creating a ripple effect with stocking, as dry grocery items and other general merchandise are essentially swapping sides of the store, with dry grocery now being located towards the perishables departments and pharmacy/general merchandise items being located near the future pharmacy location. Most decor has been already swapped out, including department signage, aisle markers and flooring. Sadly, the aisle markers for this store do not have the local "aisle names" seen at other locations. I will keep an eye out on the progress of the renovation.

Photos:

[pseudo3d]

Let's face it, Tom Thumb is really the stronger brand in Dallas-Fort Worth, and while I think that United should be running the show, this is the first "suburban" Tom Thumb in a while, and while I'm sure it's fine, it seems a little bland, and REALLY empty. I wonder what the fate of the Murphy store two and a half miles will be, with its far stronger competition.

[architect]

Let's face it, Tom Thumb is really the stronger brand in Dallas-Fort Worth, and while I think that United should be running the show, this is the first "suburban" Tom Thumb in a while, and while I'm sure it's fine, it seems a little bland, and REALLY empty. I wonder what the fate of the Murphy store two and a half miles will be, with its far stronger competition.

I would echo your "bland" comment regarding this store. Although the decor is definitely an upgrade, it feels very sterile in person, especially due to the size of this store which leaves a ton of bare wall space. As far as traffic is concerned, I visited this store at an off-peak time. However, during the middle of the day, the traffic through this store (along the nearby Murphy store) is only moderate. Over the long haul, I do not anticipate that Albertsons will continue to operate both stores, as they are close enough together to cannibalize one-another. One thing is for sure: this new Tom Thumb fills in a large hole in Tom Thumb's geographic coverage, at least amongst the fastest-growing areas of DFW. Interestingly, two other locations which could make for great Tom Thumb conversions would be the two remaining Albertsons locations in McKinney, one of which is less than 2 miles from the the former Tom Thumb turned Minyard Sun Fresh (since closed). If this were to occur, the Albertsons banner would almost entirely be eliminated from the fast-growing Collin County suburbs (the Murphy store would be the only remaining location in the county).

[storewanderer]

It is interesting how sterile and bland this looks on a store with the higher ceilings and exposed walls.

We will see how this goes. Based on the age of the store it was certainly due for a remodel anyway so why not do a rebrand. I am sure Tom Thumb is more productive on a sales basis in that market than Albertsons is anyway. They need to make business decisions, not ego decisions like Albertsons did in 1999.

And that awful floor... it looks dirty and depressing. I think I prefer dark brown cement to that floor.

Also I see all of the drug items with red tags- that is clearance/discontinued. Look at that number of SKU cuts to move from Albertsons expansive drug mix to Safeway's limited drug mix.

This is indeed a repeat of Florida.

[lake]

Are we sure it's really going to be a Tom Thumb. Employees aren't always the most reliable. It is very possible that they could have said in a meeting "The store will look like a Tom Thumb" and the employee assumed that it will become one too. It seems odd that they'd have no signage referencing this and keep the Albertsons banner hanging despite the remodel being complete.

Also, that store looks terribly bland as if Albertsons went to "Generic Grocery Store Inc" and bought the most generic package. No where does it even say what store you're in or give any reference to the heritage or reputation of the store. The Florida stores are even a little more personalized than this.

[architect]

It is interesting how sterile and bland this looks on a store with the higher ceilings and exposed walls.

We will see how this goes. Based on the age of the store it was certainly due for a remodel anyway so why not do a rebrand. I am sure Tom Thumb is more productive on a sales basis in that market than Albertsons is anyway. They need to make business decisions, not ego decisions like Albertsons did in 1999.

And that awful floor... it looks dirty and depressing. I think I prefer dark brown cement to that floor.

Also I see all of the drug items with red tags- that is clearance/discontinued. Look at that number of SKU cuts to move from Albertsons expansive drug mix to Safeway's limited drug mix.

This is indeed a repeat of Florida.

Are we sure it's really going to be a Tom Thumb. Employees aren't always the most reliable. It is very possible that they could have said in a meeting "The store will look like a Tom Thumb" and the employee assumed that it will become one too. It seems odd that they'd have no signage referencing this and keep the Albertsons banner hanging despite the remodel being complete.

Also, that store looks terribly bland as if Albertsons went to "Generic Grocery Store Inc" and bought the most generic package. No where does it even say what store you're in or give any reference to the heritage or reputation of the store. The Florida stores are even a little more personalized than this.

I definitely agree with you guys, and would add that this store looks even more bland in person. Albertsons is one of the few chains in the area using such a "white" decor; Kroger, HEB, and Brookshires are all currently using much more bright, colorful decor packages.

Also, this store has a 99% chance of becoming a Tom Thumb, as multiple building permits had been posted at the entrance, including one for a signage change to Tom Thumb signage along with signs for the pharmacy and Starbucks. The remodel was not quite complete yet during my visit, as the checklanes still needed to be replaced, the old pharmacy needed to be demo'ed, and a portion of the flooring near bakery/deli still needed to be replaced. Albertsons is likely waiting to rebrand until after the remodel is complete, much like the Florida Safeway conversions.

It will be interesting to see how the Tom Thumb brand fares in Wylie. Although Wylie is a rapidly-growing suburb, it is somewhat in its own bubble and may have a much lower awareness of the Tom Thumb name and legacy as a result. In addition, the Kroger Marketplace just down 544 will continue to make competition difficult. This situation could have played out completely different if Tom Thumb had expanded to Wylie even under Safeway's leadership, as they would have become the established grocer in the area. Right now, it may just be too little, too late.

[pseudo3d]

I didn't even notice that the aisle markers lacked the street names that the Florida/Randalls Midtown stores use. The floor also could've used some more thought, I suspect it was used because the original floor had the distinct departments on the ground (Beverage Boulevard, the "Baby" flooring, etc.--on Google you can see the floral floor as well). It looks like the new flooring was overlaid on the original flooring. The deli department still seems to use the original tile though. If true about the flooring, I wonder how they make the "transition" between different parts of the store.

The reduced drug store mix does seem to be the biggest problem, though, as that stuff would've come out of the Ponca City warehouse, which Albertsons owns (it was bought from American Stores in 1992 and never sold off during the LLC days). That business move made sense for the Florida stores (halfway across the country), but not for this one (only 250 miles).

[architect]

I didn't even notice that the aisle markers lacked the street names that the Florida/Randalls Midtown stores use. The floor also could've used some more thought, I suspect it was used because the original floor had the distinct departments on the ground (Beverage Boulevard, the "Baby" flooring, etc.--on Google you can see the floral floor as well). It looks like the new flooring was overlaid on the original flooring. The deli department still seems to use the original tile though. If true about the flooring, I wonder how they make the "transition" between different parts of the store.

The reduced drug store mix does seem to be the biggest problem, though, as that stuff would've come out of the Ponca City warehouse, which Albertsons owns (it was bought from American Stores in 1992 and never sold off during the LLC days). That business move made sense for the Florida stores (halfway across the country), but not for this one (only 250 miles).

The deli floor is actually being replaced, it just hasn't been completed yet. Throughout the store, most floors have been replaced, with just the front-end and deli areas remaining.

As far as the reduced drug mix goes, an expanded selection won't do much if their prices stay as ridiculous as they currently are, especially for generics. In DFW, their generics are often twice the price of Kroger or Wal-Mart.

[pseudo3d]

I didn't even notice that the aisle markers lacked the street names that the Florida/Randalls Midtown stores use. The floor also could've used some more thought, I suspect it was used because the original floor had the distinct departments on the ground (Beverage Boulevard, the "Baby" flooring, etc.--on Google you can see the floral floor as well). It looks like the new flooring was overlaid on the original flooring. The deli department still seems to use the original tile though. If true about the flooring, I wonder how they make the "transition" between different parts of the store.

The reduced drug store mix does seem to be the biggest problem, though, as that stuff would've come out of the Ponca City warehouse, which Albertsons owns (it was bought from American Stores in 1992 and never sold off during the LLC days). That business move made sense for the Florida stores (halfway across the country), but not for this one (only 250 miles).

The deli floor is actually being replaced, it just hasn't been completed yet. Throughout the store, most floors have been replaced, with just the front-end and deli areas remaining.

As far as the reduced drug mix goes, an expanded selection won't do much if their prices stay as ridiculous as they currently are, especially for generics. In DFW, their generics are often twice the price of Kroger or Wal-Mart.

Oh yeah, the deli floor is being taken out, look at that. I'm guessing generics are currently high because they're using the SuperValu stuff (which uses the Ponca City warehouse).

[architect]

I didn't even notice that the aisle markers lacked the street names that the Florida/Randalls Midtown stores use. The floor also could've used some more thought, I suspect it was used because the original floor had the distinct departments on the ground (Beverage Boulevard, the "Baby" flooring, etc.--on Google you can see the floral floor as well). It looks like the new flooring was overlaid on the original flooring. The deli department still seems to use the original tile though. If true about the flooring, I wonder how they make the "transition" between different parts of the store.

The reduced drug store mix does seem to be the biggest problem, though, as that stuff would've come out of the Ponca City warehouse, which Albertsons owns (it was bought from American Stores in 1992 and never sold off during the LLC days). That business move made sense for the Florida stores (halfway across the country), but not for this one (only 250 miles).

The deli floor is actually being replaced, it just hasn't been completed yet. Throughout the store, most floors have been replaced, with just the front-end and deli areas remaining.

As far as the reduced drug mix goes, an expanded selection won't do much if their prices stay as ridiculous as they currently are, especially for generics. In DFW, their generics are often twice the price of Kroger or Wal-Mart.

Oh yeah, the deli floor is being taken out, look at that. I'm guessing generics are currently high because they're using the SuperValu stuff (which uses the Ponca City warehouse).

Actually, the generics were almost all Signature Care branded, there are almost no Supervalu products left in the DFW Albertsons stores. There was a clearance rack with drug/health items, some of which appeared to be old Supervalu products.