Retail Watchers

One San Francisco Bay Area store is closing. Fremont is a very low crime suburb, but shoplifters targeted it because it was so quiet. The Walmart stores in rough areas are locked down with barbed wire and glass cabinets, so the shoplifters target the ones that are not prepared. The store was the sc...

This seems like a large swing. Kroger has some Marketplace units scattered around Houston... they need more to compete with HEB. Those are the only of their stores that are at a level to properly compete with most HEBs. I didn't really get the feeling Kroger was "going for the sales" aggre...

I need to look it up but I don't believe the Brookhurst and Edinger Albertsons is a converted Lucky, nor do I think it is all that old. I believe it is a mid 2000s opening in part of some large building that I would swear was a Kmart by appearance but I don't recall one there growing up nor the Alb...

Another new POS system? I wonder when these guys will quit changing their POS system. This is like the third time they've changed it in the past few years. The system has seemed pretty quick to me the whole time so it has been a mystery why they keep changing it. The system I've seen them using mos...

Exactly. At this point the Pavilions brand has been culled to just the most profitable and productive stores Albertsons Cos operates in SoCal. Anything that wasn't one of the Crown Jewels has been converted to Vons. They're not giving up Malibu, Montecito, La Jolla, West Hollywood, Sherman Oaks, an...

I think this is worthy of its own thread given the baggage surrounding the Haggen name. Somehow I missed this before, but it is in the official release: "Under the amended agreement, Kroger will also sell the Haggen banner to C&S. " So they are dumping off the QFC, Haggen, and Mariano...

From a brand perspective Joann should close since it is a blight on their name and does no real volume. Yet they've kept many of the old House of Fabrics and Cloth World dreadful stores open probably because of the financials I explained above. They really needed to find a savior who would be happy...

They are aggressively trying to address the overloaded locations. I suspect that after many years of just adding staff they're realizing with rising labor costs that it is just plain inefficient to keep throwing absurd amounts of labor at one store that is so busy it requires a full stocking crew d...

Home Depot allows any dogs in its store. It says the dogs will be accompanied by the security guard at all times. The shoplifters can send in people who "like the dogs" and want to pet the dogs to help serve as a distraction for both the dog and the security guard while the others in their...

Another new POS system? I wonder when these guys will quit changing their POS system. This is like the third time they've changed it in the past few years. The system has seemed pretty quick to me the whole time so it has been a mystery why they keep changing it. The system I've seen them using most...