Fred Meyer stores opening earlier

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Fred Meyer stores opening earlier

Post by Brian Lutz »

When visiting our usual Fed Meyer store in Snohomish yesterday, we saw that the store is now opening (at least the grocery entrance) an hour earlier at 6am daily. The store locator seems to indicate that this change is happening at all of the nearby stores here. For as long as I can remember Fred Meyer stores have maintained 7am to 11pm hours, so this is the first time I've seen them change their hours.
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Re: Fred Meyer stores opening earlier

Post by marshd1000 »

Kroger needs to make some other changes like opening up new Fred Meyer or QFC stores. Or if an area is not upscale enough for a QFC, then build a food and drug only Fred Meyer!
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Re: Fred Meyer stores opening earlier

Post by babs »

marshd1000 wrote: February 4th, 2020, 8:27 pm Kroger needs to make some other changes like opening up new Fred Meyer or QFC stores. Or if an area is not upscale enough for a QFC, then build a food and drug only Fred Meyer!
That's a really broad statement. Where do you want a QFC or Fred Meyer?
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Re: Fred Meyer stores opening earlier

Post by babs »

Brian Lutz wrote: February 3rd, 2020, 10:39 am When visiting our usual Fed Meyer store in Snohomish yesterday, we saw that the store is now opening (at least the grocery entrance) an hour earlier at 6am daily. The store locator seems to indicate that this change is happening at all of the nearby stores here. For as long as I can remember Fred Meyer stores have maintained 7am to 11pm hours, so this is the first time I've seen them change their hours.
Fred Meyer is running a special this week where you can get a free pastry with purchase of a Starbucks drink between 6-8am. And I think this shows why they might be opening earlier. There have been many times I would have stopped by Fred Meyer on my way to work to get a coffee or pick up some treats for the office. But opening at 7am is too late. I don't think they will pick up a ton of business but they might get a bit of folks on their way to work.
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Re: Fred Meyer stores opening earlier

Post by storewanderer »

This appears to be a part of the ongoing changes to make all of the Kroger chains "the same."

It probably isn't much to open at 6 AM instead of 7 AM. There are already a lot of employees in the store already at 6 AM, vendors going in, etc. I was always a little surprised they did not open earlier.

Some locations won't have much action before 7 AM but other locations will have action if they are near a school, near offices, or on a busy roadway that has a lot of commuters.

I have seen Raleys and Safeway open their coffee department before the rest of the store opens before, as early at 5 AM. I never went in to figure out how they prevent people from going into the rest of the store and just going to the coffee kiosk.
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Re: Fred Meyer stores opening earlier

Post by Bagels »

storewanderer wrote: February 5th, 2020, 10:25 pm This appears to be a part of the ongoing changes to make all of the Kroger chains "the same."

It probably isn't much to open at 6 AM instead of 7 AM. There are already a lot of employees in the store already at 6 AM, vendors going in, etc. I was always a little surprised they did not open earlier.

Some locations won't have much action before 7 AM but other locations will have action if they are near a school, near offices, or on a busy roadway that has a lot of commuters.

I have seen Raleys and Safeway open their coffee department before the rest of the store opens before, as early at 5 AM. I never went in to figure out how they prevent people from going into the rest of the store and just going to the coffee kiosk.
I have my doubts that it's for consistency, as hours are pretty inconsistent. Even in the same geographic area, stores can varying hours. The Ralphs nearby me, for example, are split between opening at 5AM or 6AM; most close at 12AM or 1AM (note that opening at 5AM does not mean it closes at 12AM) but one closes at 11PM and one's open until 2AM. And while most Smith's in Las Vegas open at 6AM, there are some that stay shut until 7AM. Etc.

I've never really thought about it, but I agree with another poster that it probably has more to do with in-store coffee sales. A couple of decades ago, when I was a cashier at a local grocery store, we opened up at 5AM, but the lion's share of sales between 5AM-7AM were clearly newspapers, coffee and pastries. During the Atkins Diet craze of the early 2000s, when sales of pastries plummeted nationwide, the store changed its opening time until 7AM. Looking back, the hefty margins on those items undoubtedly played into its early opening.
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Re: Fred Meyer stores opening earlier

Post by veteran+ »

Bagels wrote: February 6th, 2020, 2:12 am
storewanderer wrote: February 5th, 2020, 10:25 pm This appears to be a part of the ongoing changes to make all of the Kroger chains "the same."

It probably isn't much to open at 6 AM instead of 7 AM. There are already a lot of employees in the store already at 6 AM, vendors going in, etc. I was always a little surprised they did not open earlier.

Some locations won't have much action before 7 AM but other locations will have action if they are near a school, near offices, or on a busy roadway that has a lot of commuters.

I have seen Raleys and Safeway open their coffee department before the rest of the store opens before, as early at 5 AM. I never went in to figure out how they prevent people from going into the rest of the store and just going to the coffee kiosk.
I have my doubts that it's for consistency, as hours are pretty inconsistent. Even in the same geographic area, stores can varying hours. The Ralphs nearby me, for example, are split between opening at 5AM or 6AM; most close at 12AM or 1AM (note that opening at 5AM does not mean it closes at 12AM) but one closes at 11PM and one's open until 2AM. And while most Smith's in Las Vegas open at 6AM, there are some that stay shut until 7AM. Etc.

I've never really thought about it, but I agree with another poster that it probably has more to do with in-store coffee sales. A couple of decades ago, when I was a cashier at a local grocery store, we opened up at 5AM, but the lion's share of sales between 5AM-7AM were clearly newspapers, coffee and pastries. During the Atkins Diet craze of the early 2000s, when sales of pastries plummeted nationwide, the store changed its opening time until 7AM. Looking back, the hefty margins on those items undoubtedly played into its early opening.
Agreed!

EG: Ralphs Fresh Fare at Smoketree 5am-12am, Ralphs (large store) 6am-12am

The Fresh Fare is in an upper class area with many older customers and the regular Ralphs is at a very busy intersection with more of a mix of younger and various levels of income numbers.

They are no more than a mile apart.
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Re: Fred Meyer stores opening earlier

Post by Super S »

Some Fred Meyer stores close earlier at 10PM. I think several stores have cut back closing times due to theft concerns. I do remember some Fred Meyer stores opening as late as 8AM, and reader boards which mentioned this. I also remember a short-lived time when some Fred Meyer stores had the food department only open 24 hours.

I think there is less of a theft risk when opening earlier than there is closing later.
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Re: Fred Meyer stores opening earlier

Post by SamSpade »

Employees at Walker Rd. in Beaverton are wearing buttons, big red dots are on the grocery door, and new small hours signs posted. It's official, grocery door opens at 6 am ( most or all Fred Meyer fuel centers have been open at 5 am for a few years now ).

Google Maps hours are updated now, too.
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Re: Fred Meyer stores opening earlier

Post by Super S »

In Longview, they have posted signs that they now open at 6AM. The GM side doors have signs posted that the doors on that side do not open until 7AM.
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