Stater Bros opening new store tomorrow.

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Re: Stater Bros opening new store tomorrow.

Post by storewanderer »

CalItalian wrote: June 18th, 2020, 10:18 am Stater Bros doesn't seem to have a problem opening stores close to each other. They don't seem to cannibalize each other, either. In my area in Riverside County, there is a Stater Bros. on or just off the same road every two miles for 9 miles...and another one is rumored to occupying a new shopping center development in planning just over 2 miles beyond that 9 miles. Plus there are other Stater Bros. within a couple of miles of some of those stores. I really don't see the attraction of Stater Bros (coming from an area in West L.A. that was dominated by Ralphs) other than their convenience. But I've never been in a Stater Bros. that has no customers.
Stater runs a good basic supermarket. They are clean, orderly, and have efficient staff. They seem to have what I'd call a disciplined operation and it shows in the neatness of their store and the attitude of their staff.

The meat department seems to be a high point of their perimeter. I don't think their produce is great at all, bakery is standard bakeoff stuff, and deli is largely pedestrian. Executed properly and with good freshness, the stuff is certainly acceptable quality but won't make you go wow. I did think they had above average fried chicken, but maybe I have just had good luck with them. In more recent trips to SoCal I thought their pricing was pretty lousy (seemed to be about like Ralphs pricing, but with fewer good specials) and their promotions didn't capture much of what I was interested in.

I think the main attraction for shopping Stater is more of a "why not shop there?" Nothing really great about it beyond the meat department, but nothing really wrong with it either. They seem to talk price and customers who shop there seem to be pretty convinced they are getting a good deal... Really I think the store does the job well enough but probably isn't worth going out of the way for. It also isn't worth avoiding. I think this chain has a lot of good long term clerks and managers who are keeping the ship going.
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Re: Stater Bros opening new store tomorrow.

Post by veteran+ »

CalItalian wrote: June 18th, 2020, 10:18 am
Jeff wrote: June 18th, 2020, 8:50 am
CalItalian wrote: June 17th, 2020, 10:25 pm Stater Bros. also opened a brand new store in Calimesa today, June 17, 2020. https://www.theshelbyreport.com/2020/06 ... e-calimesa
This store is so close to the Beaumont store in Beaumont Ave. is this store replacing that one? There are like 6 Stater Bros in that area!
Stater Bros doesn't seem to have a problem opening stores close to each other. They don't seem to cannibalize each other, either. In my area in Riverside County, there is a Stater Bros. on or just off the same road every two miles for 9 miles...and another one is rumored to occupying a new shopping center development in planning just over 2 miles beyond that 9 miles. Plus there are other Stater Bros. within a couple of miles of some of those stores. I really don't see the attraction of Stater Bros (coming from an area in West L.A. that was dominated by Ralphs) other than their convenience. But I've never been in a Stater Bros. that has no customers.
They are perfect for those neighborhoods.

Just about perfectly tuned for the demographics!

Something that Winn Dixie in the southeast should have paid attention to.
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Re: Stater Bros opening new store tomorrow.

Post by storewanderer »

veteran+ wrote: June 19th, 2020, 6:38 am

They are perfect for those neighborhoods.

Just about perfectly tuned for the demographics!

Something that Winn Dixie in the southeast should have paid attention to.
What about their ability to retain quality efficient staff that operates their stores so well? How do they do that? They seem to do it better than the other operators in SoCal do. Is that a factor of their operating area too?
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Re: Stater Bros opening new store tomorrow.

Post by veteran+ »

Staters is not an IDEA type company. They rarely think outside of the box and take very few risks.

Their management culture is very homogenized. Even recruited upper management is carefully weened in. Sort of like the way Publix operates.

They seem to know their core customer and they concentrate on that. One of the few downsides of that is very low growth rate but they are happy none the less.

Obviously Publix is different as it pertains to growth for many reasons.

And sometimes the Stater approach does not work with certain retailers in creation areas. For example, Sedanos in south Florida.
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Re: Stater Bros opening new store tomorrow.

Post by storewanderer »

veteran+ wrote: June 20th, 2020, 7:08 am Staters is not an IDEA type company. They rarely think outside of the box and take very few risks.

Their management culture is very homogenized. Even recruited upper management is carefully weened in. Sort of like the way Publix operates.

They seem to know their core customer and they concentrate on that. One of the few downsides of that is very low growth rate but they are happy none the less.

Obviously Publix is different as it pertains to growth for many reasons.

And sometimes the Stater approach does not work with certain retailers in creation areas. For example, Sedanos in south Florida.
I have noticed with Stater virtually all of the middle management is career people who have promoted up through the ranks. Some outside hires since Jack Brown passed but as you point out it seems to be very carefully selected.

I would agree they are not an IDEA type company but would question how it was they were able to successfully purchase that block of former Albertsons/Lucky Stores they bought and operate them successfully (maintained if not increased volumes) when most other parties who purchased stores from that operator either run with significantly decreased volumes (Save Mart, Associated Utah) or flat out failed every time (Ralphs, Haggen, various other smaller operators)...

It could be said they made a smart business decision in the 00's by agreeing to whatever union contract the other chains went for and not going on strike and retained a lot of customers that way... but if they had not been such a good grocer, they would not have maintained the customers... and as a company they have sure fared better than the chains that went through the strike.

I guess what is comes down to is they are just really good at running a basic grocery store... their net store count is up in the past 19 years (purposely picked 19 years to ignore the store count increase they got when they bought the Albertsons/Lucky Stores) while the store count of Ralphs, Vons, and Albertsons has decreased significantly.

And all the money they made during the strike allowed them to engage in a remodel program that got their stores looking quite nice inside. Not fancy, but certainly better than they looked before.
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Re: Stater Bros opening new store tomorrow.

Post by klkla »

storewanderer wrote: June 20th, 2020, 12:56 pm I would agree they are not an IDEA type company but would question how it was they were able to successfully purchase that block of former Albertsons/Lucky Stores they bought and operate them successfully (maintained if not increased volumes) when most other parties who purchased stores from that operator either run with significantly decreased volumes (Save Mart, Associated Utah) or flat out failed every time (Ralphs, Haggen, various other smaller operators)...
Stater Bros got a very good deal on those stores. They're also used to operating low volume stores. When they first took over those stores they got off to a rough start. The pharmacies remained closed for a long time and they didn't spend any capital on those stores for years. Gradually sales slowly picked up but to this date most are only average performing stores.
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Re: Stater Bros opening new store tomorrow.

Post by storewanderer »

klkla wrote: June 20th, 2020, 7:41 pm

Stater Bros got a very good deal on those stores. They're also used to operating low volume stores. When they first took over those stores they got off to a rough start. The pharmacies remained closed for a long time and they didn't spend any capital on those stores for years. Gradually sales slowly picked up but to this date most are only average performing stores.
All they ever were, even under Lucky or Albertsons, were average performing stores...

It really seems like their fortunes turned around, after the strike.

I think to this day some still have repainted Lucky or Albertsons interiors (most got new flooring and some refrigeration updates along with the repaint though).

Also aren't they still at zero self checkouts?
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Re: Stater Bros opening new store tomorrow.

Post by klkla »

storewanderer wrote: June 20th, 2020, 8:31 pm It really seems like their fortunes turned around, after the strike.
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Also aren't they still at zero self checkouts?
Very true. They signed a "me too" agreement during the strike where they agreed to accept whatever the Food Employers Council (Vons, Ralphs & Albertsons) negotiated and saw a spike as a result. After the strike a lot of shoppers stayed with them.

But years before that their fortunes also turned around with a very successful advertising campaign that defined their position in the market. Stater Bros stores tend to be clustered around the more rural Inland Empire area of Southern California and the suburban areas of Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties that border the IE. The "Heartland" campaign was brilliant in relating to the people that live in those communities.


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I think you're right on self-checkouts. I haven't been to a Stater Bros in years though, so I don't know for sure.
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Re: Stater Bros opening new store tomorrow.

Post by storewanderer »

That is a really good ad, has a nice positive message. Would like to see more ads like that today.
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Re: Stater Bros opening new store tomorrow.

Post by Bagels »

The reason that many of the Stater Bros. that were acquired during the Albertsons-Lucky merger are now flourishing, is because Ralphs, Albertsons and VONS have closed their locations in close proximity. Had it not been for this, I imagine that many of those Stater Bros. would've ultimately closed. Stater Bros. has about the same number of stores in LA/OC today as they did post-Albertsons/Lucky acquisition. That's telling, as is the fact that Stater Bros. didn't bid on any stores during the Albertsons-VONS merger. Current management seems zealous to grow the chain... rumors have been swirling that Smart & Final is looking to unload some of the ex-Albertsons/VONS -- it'll be interesting to see if Stater Bros. makes a run for these...
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