WinCo Operations

[ClownLoach]

WinCo seems to be getting busier and busier at the expense of other retailers due to inflation. What I have always liked about WinCo is that their stores are plain but very clean and well stocked, their center store assortment of foods is very thorough, and that the store makes all customers feel welcome. It doesn't feel like a low-end store like Food4Less.

I have noticed a couple of recent changes where I think WinCo is trying to expand their appeal and retain more affluent customers who have begun shopping there. First, they have carved out large dedicated Organic spaces in produce with signage highlighting the subcategory. The assortment does appear to be expanded, and they have chosen to pre-package much of the organic product possibly for shrink purposes. For example cluster tomatoes are all wrapped in mesh bags with a seal, the kind you'd expect to find on a sack of avocados.

They have upgraded to a fully staffed fresh sushi counter that seems to do a good business, they have 3 or 4 chefs working on production of a wide assortment. Before they had the counter but the product was delivered, now it is freshly prepared in front of you.

They also have expanded their fresh seafood counter and have a open display. The fact that the store is always free of odors despite this open case tells you that they're doing a good job of maintaining freshness and cleanliness, and they are carrying some expensive large lobsters etc. Plus they are doing a "Roadshow" format expanded kiosk on the weekends with fresh lobster, shrimp etc.

The last thing I noticed is that their traditionally worst area, meat, is being slowly improved. WinCo does carry meat that is usually listed as "ungraded" which means below USDA Select. But they now have added a few Choice steaks at what is decent pricing within a few cents of Costco. I saw a good stack of Ribeye, Porterhouse/T Bone and New York that were very nicely cut with ample marbling and looked like something I would buy.

They still have a very limited deli that doesn't slice cheeses, but maybe they're going to work on that next. They have also cut back Bakery operations, there was a sign posted that they are no longer taking custom cake orders and I think the entire department is 100% thaw and serve with no hot bread of any kind. No visible staffing and I am pretty sure their little hallway shaped kitchen was mothballed and just being used as storage for nearby registers, I saw several cases of receipt tape and bags there.

They definitely are not losing focus on their core customer and removing choices except for bakery, but rather are adding more choice in an effort to retain new shoppers who are "trading down." I make a trip to WinCo about twice a month now and I'm always amazed about how much I bring home vs how low the total was. It will be interesting to see if these new categories stick. Listening up front they definitely have a problem with these new customers who expected to pay with a credit card or use Apple/Google pay, and I wonder if they'll eventually have to give in and add such options possibly repricing and then offering a cash/debit discount.

[storewanderer]

WinCo started testing Organic Produce 5+ years ago in select locations and a limited mix of items. It is still just in select locations and a limited mix of items (expanded in some units though if sales were good).

WinCo has also had sushi in some stores for many years. The sushi is not run by WinCo, it is a tenant, leasing the space in the store and selling the sushi under a contract with WinCo (same arrangement as other grocery chains). The operator who leases the space decides how much staffing to have and when to have that staffing. WinCo has no say in it, as long as the space is operating and generating revenue. Even quality/service complaints, WinCo (and any other grocer) is limited how much they can do to the sushi tenant (short of lease termination once the contract is up).

I saw them doing seafood roadshow in Reno 20 years ago, this isn't a new thing for them. Maybe it is new in CA...

I've been noticing the past year or so they have more Choice Beef, it seems to be a luck of the draw thing if they have that or not. I've bought quite a bit of pork there in recent years and I have no issue with the quality of pork. They still cut the pork in store which is a plus as other chains like Sprouts and Kroger moved to case ready pork. Beef is another matter, I just haven't had good luck with WinCo's beef.

The bakery you describe sounds like the bakeries I saw in TX. Very limited mix, but they actually do bake a few items in the store in those limited bakeries (donuts, french bread, turnovers, cookies, cinnamon rolls). The bakery is only staffed in the morning in those stores. Same items as any other WinCo but fewer items/less variety. They quit taking custom cake orders during COVID, and I guess never started again. I was in a Las Vegas WinCo and the bakery there was large/full, just like I am used to in Reno, and in NorCal units (Sacramento area, Chico at least), the bakery in those is generally staffed all morning/until 7 PM.

There is no reason why WinCo cannot accept Apple Pay/Google Pay (debit card). That is just stubbornness. WinCo was accepting credit cards in OK but stopped in 2021 or 2022. I do not see them going back on card acceptance until regulations come out that make the fees down to a level they'll accept. It is a constant problem and they lose transactions every day due to not accepting credit cards. But they really think the prices will go up if they accept credit cards. They did a test 20-25 years ago accepting credit cards in a couple stores (one was Antelope, CA, other was in OR somewhere I think) when they were much smaller and ultimately shelved that test as well. So I'm sure they'll try it again at some point and see if it will work, but I don't think it'll be for a while unless something happens with processing cost.

Some F4L franchisees in NorCal are also cash/debit only. Their prices are lousy so I don't see the benefit. No self checkout. Also the Woodman's chain in IL/WI is cash/debit only but does accept Discover as their "exclusive card." They do have self checkout, do have great prices, and do accept Apple/Google Pay.

[HCal]

I pretty much go to Winco only for the bulk bins. The prices are excellent, and I can get the exact quantity I need. Prices on other items are fine, but nothing special, after factoring in credit card rewards.

Winco is the only 24 hour supermarket left in my city. I wonder how they make it work when even Walmart can't.

[Brian Lutz]

I no longer live in WinCo territory, but my wife and I did most of our shopping there when we lived in Washington and then temporarily in Utah. In general the experience is decent for the prices, but the quality of the perimeter departments and some of the store brand items was lacking. Around here the closest equivalent would probably be Food Lion, but their stores are smaller (but much more ubiquitous,) their prices are higher and they don't have the "bag your own" thing going there.

I suspect if WinCo was to show up on the East coast they'd put Lidl out of business within a year, and probably take a lot of business from Food Lion as well.

[storewanderer]

I pretty much go to Winco only for the bulk bins. The prices are excellent, and I can get the exact quantity I need. Prices on other items are fine, but nothing special, after factoring in credit card rewards.

Winco is the only 24 hour supermarket left in my city. I wonder how they make it work when even Walmart can't.

It is worth walking WinCo. I tend to find some fantastic deals there in center store when I walk around. Thinking about lately, moreso in dairy/frozen than actual dry center store. The wall of values doesn't seem to be where these items I buy are (though there are some good prices on their wall of values it doesn't seem to be the type of stuff I buy much of; too many canned goods, etc.).

For a customer who doesn't want to price shop, WinCo is by far the best deal. If you price shop you can definitely do better going around to multiple stores, there is no question of that.

WinCo has loss prevention present overnight and they will chase/detain/call police on shoplifters. Shoplifters know to avoid WinCo overnight. Also there are quite a few stockers active on the sales floor. The one here forces entry through the exit after about 11 PM, the wall of values entry is locked and that entire walk path is closed (wall of values is inaccessible).

[ClownLoach]

I pretty much go to Winco only for the bulk bins. The prices are excellent, and I can get the exact quantity I need. Prices on other items are fine, but nothing special, after factoring in credit card rewards.

Winco is the only 24 hour supermarket left in my city. I wonder how they make it work when even Walmart can't.

It is worth walking WinCo. I tend to find some fantastic deals there in center store when I walk around. Thinking about lately, moreso in dairy/frozen than actual dry center store. The wall of values doesn't seem to be where these items I buy are (though there are some good prices on their wall of values it doesn't seem to be the type of stuff I buy much of; too many canned goods, etc.).

For a customer who doesn't want to price shop, WinCo is by far the best deal. If you price shop you can definitely do better going around to multiple stores, there is no question of that.

WinCo has loss prevention present overnight and they will chase/detain/call police on shoplifters. Shoplifters know to avoid WinCo overnight. Also there are quite a few stockers active on the sales floor. The one here forces entry through the exit after about 11 PM, the wall of values entry is locked and that entire walk path is closed (wall of values is inaccessible).

The wall aisle is becoming more of a seasonal themed event and price comparison area than a true bargain zone now. They had one side that was almost all Thanksgiving items, stuffing mix, gravy jars and such while the other side was all the "compare and save" stuff where signs say WinCo price is $1.49 while Ralphs is $2.99 and such. I've noticed they're no longer afraid of comparing to Walmart now, in the past these signs usually just compared to traditional grocery chains. When they compare to multiple chains and Food4Less, somehow F4L is always the absolute highest price vs Albertsons, Ralphs, and/or Stater Bros. But then I've mentioned that the local F4L here seems to be just holding the spot to prevent entry from a ethnic competitor like Northgate, 99 Ranch, H-Mart etc all of which are desperately needed here but won't take on the expense of building from scratch in a unproven market and usually will only start with a conversion of an existing closed grocer to substantially reduce expense.

They have increasingly consolidated produce islands down and expanded pallet stacks in the space freed up between produce and bulk foods. That is where I found they put the real bargain items now. I got a ton of bags of Chex Mix that were fresh and have long dates on them for 98¢ no limit, usually this is a $3+ size or $3.99 at a gas station. Last week they had the Kraft Deluxe Mac and Cheese (the one with the pouch of cheese sauce) for 88¢ no limit, cheaper than the kind with powdered cheese mix. The concept seems to be easier to maintain, they roll out a pallet of a sale item with the sale sign hanging above and once it empties out they replace it with a different deal item.

The same practice you describe of closing the wall aisle is happening at night here too, but you can shop it once you go through the exit and then through Produce of there was something you wanted. Overall it still seems they're taking share at the expense of others, and the closest competitors are definitely experiencing more pain from them.

[storewanderer]

WinCo has always price compared to Wal Mart in Reno on their in store signs. They have been doing that for 15+ years ever since they started those signs in the store with competitor prices. They price compare to nearby stores.

You're right about not displaying produce in that space between produce and bulk foods anymore. I think they found that was ineffective. They have stopped that, but in some busier stores they now have additional produce displays at the front corner of produce (odd spot literally like near the front corner of the building- one store here piles the high turn hispanic items there- avocado, tomatillo, roma tomatoes, then flexes in other items like limes/bell peppers/onions and that display usually has 2-4 customer groups shopping it at any given time day or night) and also in between the produce area and center store aisles in that walkway area (sometimes that space is flexed to have additional bulk foods). As you know this is the worst time of year for produce. California Citrus is not really out in full force just yet (give it a few weeks; some was starting to trickle to stores last week), so the only "new crop" US grown fruits right now are apples and pears.

I'm sure they are holding that F4L for C&S or just riding out a lease.

The only reason I could see shopping FoodsCo over WinCo would be due to the Kroger private label program which I think is superior and better priced. But it seems FoodsCo in Sacramento is a lot better on mix/price than the F4L there is.

As far as bakery at WinCo goes they do have some good made in store items. They have some cookies that are made in store that are excellent, they label these as "gourmet cookies." These are chocolate chunk, white chocolate chunk macadamia, oatmeal raisin, etc. Really excellent. Have seen these same cookies come and go from other stores over the years including Lucky (90s), Albertsons and Raleys. Also WinCo's french bread is actually made from scratch and has only a few ingredients and it is very acceptable (only good the day it is made). WinCo's donuts are average grocery store quality, nothing more and nothing less. WinCo's bagels are above average if you get them in the morning.

[ClownLoach]

WinCo has always price compared to Wal Mart in Reno on their in store signs. They have been doing that for 15+ years ever since they started those signs in the store with competitor prices. They price compare to nearby stores.

You're right about not displaying produce in that space between produce and bulk foods anymore. I think they found that was ineffective. They have stopped that, but in some busier stores they now have additional produce displays at the front corner of produce (odd spot literally like near the front corner of the building- one store here piles the high turn hispanic items there- avocado, tomatillo, roma tomatoes, then flexes in other items like limes/bell peppers/onions and that display usually has 2-4 customer groups shopping it at any given time day or night) and also in between the produce area and center store aisles in that walkway area (sometimes that space is flexed to have additional bulk foods). As you know this is the worst time of year for produce. California Citrus is not really out in full force just yet (give it a few weeks; some was starting to trickle to stores last week), so the only "new crop" US grown fruits right now are apples and pears.

I'm sure they are holding that F4L for C&S or just riding out a lease.

The only reason I could see shopping FoodsCo over WinCo would be due to the Kroger private label program which I think is superior and better priced. But it seems FoodsCo in Sacramento is a lot better on mix/price than the F4L there is.

As far as bakery at WinCo goes they do have some good made in store items. They have some cookies that are made in store that are excellent, they label these as "gourmet cookies." These are chocolate chunk, white chocolate chunk macadamia, oatmeal raisin, etc. Really excellent. Have seen these same cookies come and go from other stores over the years including Lucky (90s), Albertsons and Raleys. Also WinCo's french bread is actually made from scratch and has only a few ingredients and it is very acceptable (only good the day it is made). WinCo's donuts are average grocery store quality, nothing more and nothing less. WinCo's bagels are above average if you get them in the morning.

Unfortunately I am concerned that my local store is not doing anything fresh in the bakery. I picked up what appeared to be fresh bread loaves and they were icy cold so obviously just defrosted. I haven't seen hot French bread either. I think this one is 100% shut down in that area aside from thaw and serve prep.

The exact scenarios you describe match, the tomatoes and avocado in the front corner like a Guacamole station. The insulting thing is that the area just South of the Temecula valley is the avocado capital of the world but they only sell product from Peru or Mexico. Aldi has consistently offered local Avocado at bargain basement prices in season, like 59¢ each for large San Diego County grown fruit which would be $2.49-$3+ at the big chains.

Generally I'm not impressed with any of the produce sourcing at WinCo as much of what should be local isn't; I've seen Texas mushrooms and Midwestern corn which obviously lost its sweetness days into transit. Generally the only good thing about WinCo produce is that it is very high turnover so what you get is very fresh and hasn't been sitting in the store for long, if at all. I see a lot of cartons at Ralphs and others where they are putting out items with a visible pack date that is quite old, and even though it may look good it goes bad quickly. So if you're buying commodity items that pretty much always taste the same then you're much better off at WinCo, and buy the fresher in season delights somewhere else.

When WinCo first opened in SoCal they had a lot of PNW brands which have now disappeared. They had Umpqua ice cream along with nearly every product made by Tillamook (items not sold outside of the PNW including some fancy cheeses). They used to have an endcap of every Aplets & Cotlets candy product at aggressive discounts. These items are no longer available in SoCal, I'm assuming because they opened closer distribution centers. This has been a disappointment as I enjoyed the different offerings.

I know I'm veering off topic about that weird Temecula F4L, but I think I mentioned it definitely at some point in time had a Ralphs oval sign so they must have tried rebranding it and then went back to F4L. Ralphs really has serious operational issues in Riverside County, major freshness issues that are disturbingly more noticeable in the Summer months. I thought it might just be my local store but the F4L had the same problems one of the few times I shopped it, and thus I assume the same issues apply in San Diego County. Maybe they don't operate their refrigerated trucks at a cold enough temperature and the distance is too far from their LA area warehouses (Compton?). Milk is bad "on the date", produce doesn't last (even bagged salads are turning brown up to 5 days before the date), etc. I do not have the same issues with Albertsons, Stater Bros, Costco, Aldi, Sam's, Sprouts, or anyone else so there clearly is a handling issue that isn't on my end, I travel with cooler bags and ice packs when I go grocery shopping so cold items are immediately protected from heat.

[Brian Lutz]

I'm actually surprised just how much Tillamook product is available here on the East Coast, since I didn't really expect it to be here. Stores like Lowes Foods, Harris Teeter and even Food Lion seem to have Tillamook ice cream and a fair number of Tillamook cheese products available. Walmart typically has the cheeses, but not the ice cream. I'm not sure if they're delivering the products from Oregon all the way over here, but there's plenty of it available.

Could swear I've even seen Umpqua Ice Cream here somewhere, but I'm not entirely certain about that one.

[ClownLoach]

I'm actually surprised just how much Tillamook product is available here on the East Coast, since I didn't really expect it to be here. Stores like Lowes Foods, Harris Teeter and even Food Lion seem to have Tillamook ice cream and a fair number of Tillamook cheese products available. Walmart typically has the cheeses, but not the ice cream. I'm not sure if they're delivering the products from Oregon all the way over here, but there's plenty of it available.

Could swear I've even seen Umpqua Ice Cream here somewhere, but I'm not entirely certain about that one.

Last time I visited the Tillamook creamery (a fun vacation destination if you're in the Portland area, plus the nearby coast is breathtaking), they said they were licensing back East. I'm sure someone who is a dairy plant expert could identify who is making product for them. The product assortment is still reduced outside of Oregon and Washington state, even California doesn't get as many cheese flavors and varieties. My guess is the cheese is shipped but all the ice cream and other dairy is licensed. The licensed producers don't get the proprietary flavors and thus are more limited in selection.