Retail Watchers

The Harris Teeter program "Fresh Foods Market" looked a lot better than Home Chef... tasted better at Harris Teeter too (not excellent, but better). The Safeway Ready Meals program doesn't look any better than Home Chef but it has way more SKUs and appears to have far more waste. Then aga...

I think this is the tip of the iceberg, not necessarily for WS but the entire industry especially in the last few years. The mad scramble for materials after all the supply chain crises, port backups, etc. has surely caused many more labeling issues. Much easier for crooked suppliers to falsely sta...

Never see any traffic in their Sephora shops. Of course I am perhaps blind and am missing out on the big crowds that supposedly exist. The busiest area at Kohls is the Amazon counter. Second is Sephora. Now having said that, the Sephora's I have seen usually have 3-4 customers, about equal to the n...

They're probably going to show off a remodeled Stop and Shop somewhere with yet another new logo, a new tagline, a new private label maybe. Once again these are very high level type events that will not reveal any specific operating details. They are usually intended to "fake out" a few s...

So sad what Kroger has done to Ralphs. A legacy that started in 1873 and was renowned for its top notch and innovative operations around the nation and indeed even overseas. I remember when I was at King Soopers (under Dillon) we used to trade management teams with them and share best practices. I k...

I sure wish more restaurants customers would walk if they find out there is a fee. But most just seem to accept it. Maybe money isn't tight enough yet... if this sort of thing is still being accepted. But it is also surprising how many people don't ask for a receipt and how many more receive a rece...

On E. California Blvd near S. Lake Ave This is an interesting store that I thought deserved a mention on this forums. I always pass by this store since it's down the street from my gym. A few nights ago, I decided to walk in to buy myself a post workout snack. This has to be the smallest store in t...

The ongoing thing with Durbin gave the merchant groups the ammo to fight for the right to surcharge in their lawsuit. The merchant lawsuit was filed in 2005... yes, it took over a decade to settle! That's how slow the legal system is. The lawsuit was well underway before the Durbin amendment was pa...

When I visit the Albertsons at the Colonies Crossroads in Upland a few days ago, I was surprised to see that they renovated the store to a whole new interior decor package that I have never seen before, and am surprised no one has mentioned before. While I think everyone on this forum would agree t...

The hour cuts are more to combat homeless people loitering in the dining rooms than anything else. Other fast food places in the area are planning dining hour cuts during this summer. Proving my point. If the restaurants were busy the homeless wouldn't loiter there. I do not see homeless trying to ...