Hy-Vee buying Strack & Van Til

[cathandler]

https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/hy- ... 5bf0e.html

[rwsandiego]

Wow - didn't see that coming. Are Chicago-area stores next? Hy-Vee would be a much better fit for Chicagoland Krobertson's cast-off Mariano's than C&S.

[storewanderer]

Says it will run as a subsidiary and won't rebrand. Also it will keep using AWG?

Find that hard to believe.

Also didn't SVT have stores in IL? Now all are in IN?

[Romr123]

Not sure that extending Hy-Vee trucks along I-80 another couple hours from their furthest east extent now would work very well (isn't most of Hy-Vee's distribution along I-35 between Osceola and West Des Moines)

[marketreportblog]

Random observation: it looks like the Strack & Van Til on Calumet Ave in Whiting, IN has the same decor package (roughly) as a few stores in my area. Check out the meat department signage compared to Citi Grocer in Elizabeth, NJ (see specifically the rounded metal lettering and the vertical banners with the script). Or the Key Food on Rosedale Road in Valley Stream, NY. A very no-frills version of the decor package is also in a few other stores, like the Key Food on Ferry Street in New Haven, CT (it was a CTown when they put in the decor).

DY Design was the design/architecture firm responsible for the Citi Grocer and the Key Food stores, I don't know if they also did Strack & Von Til but I assume since the decor is identical, they did. Looks like the newer S&VT stores have been done by CIP Retail, which has done some of my favorite stores. That's the only S&VT store I can find with that decor package, anyone know if they acquired it from someone else or did they randomly hire DY Design for one store?

Does anyone else know if there's another example of such different stores or chains using the same decor package with no other apparent connections?

[veteran+]

Random observation: it looks like the Strack & Van Til on Calumet Ave in Whiting, IN has the same decor package (roughly) as a few stores in my area. Check out the meat department signage compared to Citi Grocer in Elizabeth, NJ (see specifically the rounded metal lettering and the vertical banners with the script). Or the Key Food on Rosedale Road in Valley Stream, NY. A very no-frills version of the decor package is also in a few other stores, like the Key Food on Ferry Street in New Haven, CT (it was a CTown when they put in the decor).

DY Design was the design/architecture firm responsible for the Citi Grocer and the Key Food stores, I don't know if they also did Strack & Von Til but I assume since the decor is identical, they did. Looks like the newer S&VT stores have been done by CIP Retail, which has done some of my favorite stores. That's the only S&VT store I can find with that decor package, anyone know if they acquired it from someone else or did they randomly hire DY Design for one store?

Does anyone else know if there's another example of such different stores or chains using the same decor package with no other apparent connections?

That CIP Retail design is awesome!

They seem to have large well presented stores!

[pseudo3d]

Wow - didn't see that coming. Are Chicago-area stores next? Hy-Vee would be a much better fit for Chicagoland Krobertson's cast-off Mariano's than C&S.

Based on how few Mariano's would've been divested the chances are that any divested Mariano's would be the lower-end stores that were converted Dominick's, not the nice ones. You really think that Kroger would get rid of the nice ones?

[buckguy]

NW Indiana is not that integrated with Chicago. National, Jewel and Dominick's never had many stores there. Strack & Van Til probably were able to survive in part because Jewel only has 4 stores in the area, all in peripheral areas and 2 of them near the Illinois line. There's no tradition of Indiana retailers moving into Chicago and some Chicago retailers never entered Indiana. Chicago also has not been hospitable to chains entering the market in the past---Wisconsin chains haven't been successful and Wisconsin is way more connected to Chicago in terms of migration and people coming into the city. You don't see Indiana tags once you drive across a stateline in any direction from the Hoosier state.

If Hy-Vee is committed with its more southerly expansion, it may take a long time before they move beyond this chains current footprint. They might be aware enough of this that they set their sights on Indianapolis, instead, as it would be a link to their southern expansion.

[storewanderer]

If Hy-Vee is committed with its more southerly expansion, it may take a long time before they move beyond this chains current footprint. They might be aware enough of this that they set their sights on Indianapolis, instead, as it would be a link to their southern expansion.

I think you hit it here. This may be what they are trying to do.

I think they could do okay in Indianapolis also... they already compete (VERY effectively) against that same Kroger Division in parts of IL. So they know how that goes.

[Bakeragr]

I'm really surprised by this acquistion, as Hy-Vee is usually a builder, not an acquirer. However, it seems like a good cultural fit. I don't think Hy-Vee has eyes on the larger Chicago market. They're not a union store. In fact, I gather that at least some of the S&VT stores are union shops, a first for Hy-Vee.
Also, the mention of keeping AWG as the supplier for these stores is interesting. Part of the historic loyalty people have (at least in central MO) for Hy-Vee is that their store brand items are always top-notch. I have noticed that slipping some, as they're using more TopCo items than they did in the past.
The Des Moines Register story seems to allude that this acquisition may slow down their expansion plans. I think this may be likely as well.
It's very interesting. Also, these stores are smaller in size than the stores Hy-Vee has been building new. They prefer a larger footprint if they can help it, but I think the product selection and quality are close to what Hy-Vee prefers.