Kroger Covington, TN "sold" to Cash Saver operator

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Re: Kroger Covington, TN "sold" to Cash Saver operator

Post by buckguy »

This is a small town beyond the suburban fringe of Memphis that has a lot of poverty. It probably has a limited future for Kroger.
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Re: Kroger Covington, TN "sold" to Cash Saver operator

Post by retailfanmitchell019 »

Knight wrote: September 6th, 2020, 7:19 am Kroger's Delta Division should be preparing for Publix's western expansion into western Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, Missouri, and Kentucky. Where Kroger exits, Publix enters.
Is Publix seriously expanding into Arkansas, Kentucky, and even Missouri?
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Re: Kroger Covington, TN "sold" to Cash Saver operator

Post by storewanderer »

retailfanmitchell019 wrote: September 6th, 2020, 8:07 pm
Knight wrote: September 6th, 2020, 7:19 am Kroger's Delta Division should be preparing for Publix's western expansion into western Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, Missouri, and Kentucky. Where Kroger exits, Publix enters.
Is Publix seriously expanding into Arkansas, Kentucky, and even Missouri?
I think Publix built distribution that could supply those states. Not sure how Publix will do in those states...

Would be interesting to see Publix skip over all those states and head out west specifically to CA, OR, and WA. I'm sure it won't happen, but it sure would be interesting.
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Re: Kroger Covington, TN "sold" to Cash Saver operator

Post by Knight »

retailfanmitchell019 wrote: September 6th, 2020, 8:07 pm
Knight wrote: September 6th, 2020, 7:19 am Kroger's Delta Division should be preparing for Publix's western expansion into western Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, Missouri, and Kentucky. Where Kroger exits, Publix enters.
Is Publix seriously expanding into Arkansas, Kentucky, and even Missouri?
Not yet.
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Re: Kroger Covington, TN "sold" to Cash Saver operator

Post by Knight »

storewanderer wrote: September 6th, 2020, 11:00 pm
retailfanmitchell019 wrote: September 6th, 2020, 8:07 pm
Knight wrote: September 6th, 2020, 7:19 am Kroger's Delta Division should be preparing for Publix's western expansion into western Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, Missouri, and Kentucky. Where Kroger exits, Publix enters.
Is Publix seriously expanding into Arkansas, Kentucky, and even Missouri?
I think Publix built distribution that could supply those states. Not sure how Publix will do in those states...
Publix Super Markets has a distribution center in McCalla, Alabama,, that is positioned to expand and serve additional stores in future markets west of current western fringe store locations. Publix supermarkets could be instant upgrades from Kroger supermarkets and Kroger Marketplace and Walmart Supercenter hypermarkets.
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Re: Kroger Covington, TN "sold" to Cash Saver operator

Post by buckguy »

Publix hasn't fully exploited its existing territory--places like Knoxville (where they only have a few stores). There are a limited number of places with the population base and relative prosperity to which they can expand. Memphis would make sense but a place like Covington isn't one of them. It's a long way from McCalla (greater Birmingham) to even Bowling Green, KY (a logical first stop for them---relatively prosperous town with a state university on I-65 N of Nashville).
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Re: Kroger Covington, TN "sold" to Cash Saver operator

Post by storewanderer »

buckguy wrote: September 12th, 2020, 5:10 am Publix hasn't fully exploited its existing territory--places like Knoxville (where they only have a few stores). There are a limited number of places with the population base and relative prosperity to which they can expand. Memphis would make sense but a place like Covington isn't one of them. It's a long way from McCalla (greater Birmingham) to even Bowling Green, KY (a logical first stop for them---relatively prosperous town with a state university on I-65 N of Nashville).
I think there is a reason why Publix hasn't fully exploited those areas yet and not opened a large number of stores- it is because the relatively low number of stores they have are not doing particularly well and they know adding additional stores will only slice the pie more thin for the existing stores. They also have to do things in these newer/distant markets like stay open past 8 or 9 PM as they close so early in much of FL, due to additional competition that actually holds reasonable evening hours, if they want to be taken seriously, which increases their operating costs. I have also found their customer service is much better in those newer/distant markets than in FL and I assume it takes some resources to make that happen as well.

I would like to see Publix go into DC though. I think that could be interesting, and could be successful for them. It would be the end for Safeway if they got enough stores up, and potentially Harris Teeter.
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Re: Kroger Covington, TN "sold" to Cash Saver operator

Post by veteran+ »

Spot on!!

But I very much doubt they will enter D.C. anytime in the near future.
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Re: Kroger Covington, TN "sold" to Cash Saver operator

Post by DFWRetaileWatcher »

storewanderer wrote: September 2nd, 2020, 6:15 pm
klkla wrote: September 2nd, 2020, 5:28 pm
TW-Upstate NY wrote: September 2nd, 2020, 9:16 am Hope the new owners at least keep the greenhouse look when they do their planned makeover. It's not exactly as iconic as an A+P "Centennial" but still quite distinctive. Was glad to see a hometown operator get a location like this too instead of just another cookie cutter chain.
From the article, "“It won’t look anything like it does now,” Dana said. “You won’t even recognize the building in a few months.”

Sounds like they are planning a full interior and exterior remodel but he might be exaggerating.
Did you see the photos of his current store (can find by searching) from earlier this year?

He did have self checkout in his current store...

Maybe Kroger is requiring him to do some renovations so it doesn't look like Kroger inside anymore.
FWIW, Kroger had opened a store in Detroit proper (14383 Gratiot Ave) back in 2001. It failed spectacularly and they unloaded the store as fast as they could to a Chaldean operator 2 years later.

However, absolutely nothing changed about the store design or decor, inside nor out, aside from the Kroger name being removed. Several years later, the current owner did eventually paint the front exterior yellow (where the signange is), but that's it. Even today, it still has the early 2000s "Majestic" design (I don't know the proper name/description for it) that was common in all new Kroger stores at the time.

https://www.google.com/maps/uv?pb=!1s0x ... EnoECEcQAw

So I doubt Kroger cares at all about what the store looks like as long as they're not using Kroger's name for marketing.
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