Retail Watchers

I always got the feeling that prior to the early 2000s when the Macy's rebranding was set into motion, Macy's West was way more downscale than what the East Coast Macy's was operating with. Dillard's is the last vestiges of what department stores were--better-dressed salespeople, reasonably well me...

It appears about 15% of their stores are franchise stores. I didn't know they had franchises. I assume their store in Reno is a corporate store. It is not impressive. Store is usually a mess, empty of customers, and a lot of the stuff in there feels like it has been there for years. The space would ...

I went to the Steak and Shake in Downtown Seattle (one of the limited menu ones) a couple of times while it was around, got the impression of an OK but not particularly spectacular restaurant. They did OK for a while based on the novelty of being the only Steak 'n Shake in Washington, but that drie...

The location I linked was opened in the early 1990s (though the building dates back to the 1970s). If anything, this shows how clueless Winn-Dixie was at running their companies, picking up less-than-stellar locations while running the new Marketplace brand straight into the ground. After Winn-Dixi...

Well that is how HEB does volume. They push cheap products out. I have said it before; HEB is no Hy Vee and is no Publix either. That is why I can't wait to watch HEB vs. WinCo play out. I am not a Texan so I know what side of that team I am rooting for, and which side of that team I think has a be...

I wonder if Raleys to try to improve some of the other ones in the area, like the former Scolaris(SE Reno, Fernley, Yerington)? Raleys spent some money on a new floor in Fernley a while back and it looks okay. McCarran/Mira Loma looks terrible and Yerington doesn't look great but they fixed all the...

They're basically going to get their money back by any means necessary. I expect a debt fueled stock buyback as well if things go south on the merger front. This isn't about selling to Kroger as much as it is about Apollo and Cerberus cashing out. If the stores sell to Kroger in a bankruptcy auctio...

The point is, in that scenario there are still going to be three options available. While less than it was with six, it is still providing choices for people who need them. Many other places exist with less than that many options already available, and do just fine with those. It might also help th...

There was a local posting yesterday of a Wal Mart with Medium eggs at $2.18 per dozen. Kind of looked like they somehow got way too many (it was an endcap type cooler with nothing but the eggs in it), so that might explain the low pricing. On the other hand, there were other postings about Walmart ...

when I say "call in" I mean they don't do much promotion, space or pizzazz--kind of a "Fiesta Ware and Pfaltzgraf" level (without any more stylish (Martha Stewart)/promotional stuff). I agree with that. Nothing stylish about their home mix. But the stuff is functional and of ver...