Retail Watchers

Walmart announced they were selling Vudu to Fandango in April. Not sure if the deal closed yet.

Apparently Sears did an update to that weird house / heart icon they introduced late last year. The update is getting slaughtered in the design community (as did the original version of icon when it launched last year): https://www.underconsideration.com/brandnew/archives/new_logo_for_sears_again.ph...

I wouldn't necessarily label them as "core" stores. Only a small number of locations have received major remodels; Macy's prefers light refreshes and only performs major when it's necessary. The Ala Moana location is thought to be its most profitable location, but it hasn't seen a major r...

Regarding Macy's "top tier" stores, I was in the recently renovated Manhattan Beach, Calif. location on Friday evening. This store was a former Bullock's (early 1980s build) that became a Macy's in the '90s. Until this latest renovation, this former Bullock's housed the women's store, whil...

I'm actually surprised by how much attention this re-brand is getting in the media. Here's a critique of the new branding from a design blog (the comments, mostly from working designers, skew negative): https://www.underconsideration.com/brandnew/archives/new_logo_and_identity_for_kroger_by_ddb.php ...

As others have covered here, I think Ralphs did a poor job early on in communicating to customers the difference between a "Fresh Fare" and a "regular" Ralphs, and that's part of why we are where we are today - very little difference between the two banners. In ~2005, I moved to ...

The Vons in Hermosa Beach also received this decor package over the past couple of months, and are currently running a "Come See What's New!" grand re-opening promo. I like how they work local elements into the package. There are several prints of old historic photos from the area. Adds a ...

Looks like Stater Bros. is on a chain-wide visual identity refresh, including a new logo that they describe as "retro modern."

More here: https://www.staterbros.com/freshandnew

Marie Callender's seems like a great brand to do limited-time "pop-up" stores featuring nothing but pies. Easter thru Mother's Day, then Thanksgiving through Holiday. They don't even have to nurture the brand very much to keep it alive in the off-seasons, because it has a year-round presen...

They just installed self-checkouts in the Vons store in Hermosa Beach, CA. As far as I can tell, this is a high-volume store with a bit of a theft problem, especially liquor. Although the neighborhood is coastal upscale, Hermosa Beach gets lots of "tourists" from surrounding areas who visi...