Retail Watchers

I'm thinking of chains that are currently in operation, not defunct ones. Also thinking of ones you personally like, and reasons why, setting aside things like (1) the practicality of it ever happening (if you live in Maine and would like H-E-B there, go for it), and (2) whether or not the chain or its parent company have bad leadership that will lead to certain bankruptcy and/or selloff to bigger chains.

My choice for the Cincinnati area would be BI-LO. They receive a lot of brickbats on this board but I've really liked the ones I've visited on trips down South--decent selection and good prices. I respect Kroger and do most of my shopping there but their dominance in the market gets old. I'd really like a "mainstream" supermarket with a decent selection and good prices to offer them a bit of a challenge, something that hasn't happened since biggs abandoned its True Minimum Price program, added fuel rewards and jacked up prices.
Walmart is pathetic locally, Meijer can't compete on either price or selection, and Remke doesn't have the buying power to compete, a situation I don't see changing with the new ownership. As for Lidl entering the market in the months to come, whoopee, another Aldi

At one time, my pick would have been Giant Eagle. But from recent visits to their stores in Columbus, an area I get to fairly often, they seem to desperately want to be upscale. Since I don't have a trust fund to live off, I have to think of price to a significant degree.

I can think of a lot of chains that have left SoCal and a couple I would like to return but none of them are going concerns. The only one I can think of off the top of my head is Smiths which was here originally as Smiths Food King and then returned about ten years after leaving as Smiths Food & Drug with 70,000-90,000 sq. ft. stores that ultimately failed. But I can't really say I want them to come back.

Living in Phoenix I'd love to have Meijer.

arizonaguy wrote:Living in Phoenix I'd love to have Meijer.

I wish we could do a trade. Meijer doesn't impress me very much. I don't put much emphasis on atmosphere when I shop but it's like going into a combination warehouse/mortuary. Plus, as I said, price and selection aren't all that.

arizonaguy wrote:Living in Phoenix I'd love to have Meijer.

Not Fred Meyer?

Mine would be HEB! My market already has a Kroger presence, so a combination of Kroger and HEB would cover pretty much all bases as far as private label products go (cross HEB's extensive offerings with Private Selection and Simple Truth, and you have a killer combo). Plus, both chains offer great pricing and generally have good to excellent service.

We had Fred Meyer Marketplace briefly in the Phoenix market after the Yucaipa/FM/Smith's/Smitty's merger- the Smitty's were rebaged to FM. Then Kroger bought Fred Meyer. Being that they already owned Fry's in AZ, they were rebadged to Fry's Marketplace.

I would like to see Gelson's or Bristol Farms come into the Phoenix market-the only upscale grocery we have here is AJ's which is owned by Bashas'

I'm in Louisiana. We don't have much competition here. I'd like to see Publix and HEB duke it out here with Rouses.

I misread the original post. I thought it said bring BACK one supermarket chain.

So I change my answer to Wegman's for sure. SoCal could definitely support Wegman's. Especially in the wealthier suburbs in places like Orange and Ventura counties where they could find big enough real estate parcels.

I will take the Canadian Superstore.