Retail Watchers

Great to see Kroger back at store openings after focusing on Ocado. Now I hope that their architecture improves, since the exteriors are quite drab and poorly scaled compared to what came before.

Meijer, Kroger, etc. are also deemphasizing full service perimeters. Most of the Ralphs by me carry only select seafood in their full service meat cases, for example. I'm surprised that fully-grocery chains are doing away with full-service. There are still plenty of chains that have such a focus. E...

Target is smart enough to not embarrass itself with Super Target in OR/WA against Fred Meyer. That would really expose Target and not in a positive way. However, Target did go after Fred Meyer in Utah opening some Super Targets there. Fred Meyer's position in Utah (smaller stores, older stores, not...

As I am a fan of Target over Walmart I find it very sad they missed the boat and continue to travel in circles of misdirection. If Walmart proved anything, it is that having a a Real grocery department during strange economic times is extremely beneficial to the bottom line. The "right" b...

Super Target was never "adapted" to any market. They were all the same in merchandising, layout, and product mix. That was one of the big problems with Super Target. The only time Super Target had any success in the 2004-2008 period was when it became extremely aggressive on price. If you...

I am a little surprised that Target hasn't attempted this format around Portland. Especially with Portland's general attitude toward Target versus Walmart. While Fred Meyer is probably better overall in grocery, their shelf prices are rising and have been since they implemented the standard Kroger ...

Since no one has Super Kmart any longer, and only some areas have Meyer or Meijer, anywhere else that Target wanted to have a Super format, the only thing to compare to would be Walmart. So, if their offerings are comparable to that chain, most wouldn't know what they are missing (or not really mis...

Also it could be tricky to restore the SuperTarget brand since the deli + bakery are typically weak, and features like bulk food, meat & seafood counter as well as other services are all long-gone. This is something I'd like to see Target working on, personally.

Target.com places store maps on the desktop version of the website. The initial map of Katy-Elison looked like it had spaces for deli/bakery, but the store pictures revealed it didn't actually have them. Nowhere did it state that it was a "super" other than the odd quotes from Target corp...

Well, it looked like the new prototype Target that opened a few months ago in Katy, TX was built to be a SuperTarget based on the store map shown, but then it proved not to be such. I know little of Chicago area but Naperville seems to be a place where upscale concepts get tested. One of the bigges...