Retail Watchers

http://supermarketnews.com/news/superva ... dels_0430/

NEW YORK — Supervalu plans to conduct major remodels at between 75 and 80 locations in the current fiscal year, down about 50% from last year, Jeff Noddle, chairman and chief executive officer of the Minneapolis-based company, told Barclays Capital's annual Retail and Restaurant Conference here yesterday.

Last year Supervalu spent $1.2 billion to complete 161 major remodels and 17 minor remodels and to open 14 conventional stores and 25 new limited-assortment stores. In addition to the 75 to 80 major remodels planned for this year, Supervalu plans 30 to 40 minor remodels, plus three new conventional stores and between 50 and 60 new limited assortment stores, including 35 licensed stores, as part of its previously reported $750 million cap-ex spending plans.

The remodels Supervalu has completed since acquiring the premium Albertsons locations in mid-2006 were the “tier-one” stores that offered the biggest upside, Noddle said. The stores it will work on this year are tier-two locations, he noted.


Some of those Albertsons and Jewel-Osco stores did not need remodels in the first place. They looked perfectly fine. I am wondering what the minor remodels look like. Supervalu seems to be closing a lot of the low volume stores rather than remodel them. I can't believe they spent $1.2 billion on those plain looking Premium Fresh & Healthy remodels. It sounds like a rip off just to paint the walls white.

I've never been in a Jewel Osco but I've been in plenty of Albertson's and nearly every one of them needed a remodel. I'm still amazed at how many have Lucky interiors from 10+ years ago. I understand the cut in capital expenditures due to the economy but here in SoCal their stores in general are much more run down looking than Ralphs and Vons and could really use remodeling.

Jewel interiors have been used on some Albertsons after the merger with American Stores. The Jewel Interior features brown wood trim on the walls as well as wooden department signs with accent lighting. The floors also feature either checkerboard patterns or colored tiles. These stores were very upscale looking.

The new Premium Fresh and Healthy decor is basically the next evolution of the old 90s Lucky decor. Paint all of the walls white and replace the refrigerators with white/gray, and metal units. Lucky had white walls and with a few green lines on the walls.

I prefer the Jewel Interiors. To add insult to injury they have remodeled some Jewel stores and destroyed the original Jewel interiors in favor of plain white walls. That was a big mistake.

Many Jewel Stores got remodeled. Supervalu's remodel program did not make me think much of Supervalu. That Jewel interior is my favorite grocery store interior and to see them rip that interior out and replace it with their "premium fresh and healthy" interior is a total waste of money. The Jewel interior is warm, ages very well (I can't tell a 10 year old Jewel interior is 10 years old, it looks good as new).

To add insult to injury, those Jewel Stores they remodeled into this interior have Albertsons-shape clovers on the walls. Why in the heck would you put Albertsons clovers on the walls in a store in IL that got very, very little influence from Albertsons during the period that Albertsons owned it? After visiting Chicago and specifically after seeing those remodeled Jewel Stores, I really started to have some doubts about Supervalu.

Hi,The majority of that money was spent on the East Coast.Acmes and Shoppers World Stores. The tier two stores may not be low volume stores.but stores that were doing well , were renovated over the last seven years or were built in the last decade or simply have had verry little competition thus no big bang for the buck. TThese stores need to be maintained, departments added, square footage added to some perisables.

Hi. UnlessImisunderstoo the First Two Photos were the oldinterior of the Jewel Stores in Question. The Green Interior in the third is the new remodel. Well I hateto tell you the top two photos are what all of the Acmes Look liuke down to the Butcher Bloch Sea Food Signs cases and box doors etc., So you see you were looking at Albertsons iteriors all this time. I A\gree the third photo is ugly butthis is what Super Valueusus in theirShoppers World Stores, Yuck

maynesg wrote:The Green Interior in the third is the new remodel. Well I hateto tell you the top two photos are what all of the Acmes Look liuke down to the Butcher Bloch Sea Food Signs cases and box doors etc., So you see you were looking at Albertsons iteriors all this time. I A\gree the third photo is ugly butthis is what Super Valueusus in theirShoppers World Stores, Yuck

The third photo is an old Lucky prototype isn't it? As far as I know the first photo is supervalue's current prototype for all divisions (the so-called Fresh & Premium format).

The top photo is Supervalu's Premium Fresh and Healthy. The second is the Jewel Interior (which some Albertsons also received after Albertsons merged with American Stores). The third is the old 90s era Lucky decor.

Hi,I have been a department manager with Acme since 1980. When American Stores purchased Jewel I was in My hey day. Yes, the above two set ups came in with Alberstons .Prior to that Acme ran Sea Food cases that were simply Ice Cases and did not have service meat in them. Albertsons introduced theButcher Block to Acme and 99% of our stores have them.( yes their are a small amount of Dino! around that it would not make sense to have them) I am currently a Block manager. Ihave never seen a Lucky butitsure is similar to what Super value has used in some Shoper world units.
Thanks!

That third photo also shows another feature becoming commonplace since Supervalu took over, half of the overhead fluorescent light tubes have been removed.