The present and future of Randalls

[storewanderer]

Those Randalls look like textbook Safeway in every way. If someone wouldn't have said it, I would have thought that was a NorCal Store.

I have no idea what the United guy who is running Randalls is doing, probably just trying to keep things above water given the situation there. Sure doesn't look like many (any?) "new ideas at work" to quote the old LLC slogan of 2006.

[pseudo3d]

Those Randalls look like textbook Safeway in every way. If someone wouldn't have said it, I would have thought that was a NorCal Store.

I have no idea what the United guy who is running Randalls is doing, probably just trying to keep things above water given the situation there. Sure doesn't look like many (any?) "new ideas at work" to quote the old LLC slogan of 2006.

Remember that Randalls came pretty close to getting "Dominick's-in-Chicago"'d if the situation didn't change. They did switch to the new decor in their new store (planned several years ago), though, something NorCal has yet to see.

[storewanderer]

I think at this point they are trying to give all of these banners a fair shake to perform and stay a part of the new company long term. I don't know, I just feel like what is happening is in some of these regions that did not have pre-existing Albertsons (like NorCal), the old Safeway ways continue to lumber along and it is not for the better. Randalls fits this bill too. I feel like there was a lot more "attention" and a lot more talent being given to things like Acme after the split with Supervalu, than is being given to some of these Safeway cast offs that needed some serious help (like Randalls, or like the Denver Division) now.

Then in the areas that had both Albertsons and Safeway stores, what you see happening is some Albertsons ideas like larger delis or lime green employee uniforms being haphazardly placed inside Safeway (or Vons...) Stores that are still really in the Safeway mindset and mentality. Meanwhile on the back end everything is being Safeway-ized; private label, systems, perimeter, etc.

Vons in Las Vegas has turned into a disaster since the stores were transferred to the Southwest/Phoenix Division. Store conditions have plummeted even worse than they already were, and customers are not happy at all. It seems like the Southwest/Phoenix division was really, really good at running Albertsons bannered stores in Arizona and New Mexico from 2006-2014 then got those Las Vegas Albertsons and did okay but not great with them, but now adding in the Las Vegas Vons appears to be going not so well.

[pseudo3d]

I think at this point they are trying to give all of these banners a fair shake to perform and stay a part of the new company long term. I don't know, I just feel like what is happening is in some of these regions that did not have pre-existing Albertsons (like NorCal), the old Safeway ways continue to lumber along and it is not for the better. Randalls fits this bill too. I feel like there was a lot more "attention" and a lot more talent being given to things like Acme after the split with Supervalu, than is being given to some of these Safeway cast offs that needed some serious help (like Randalls, or like the Denver Division) now.

Then in the areas that had both Albertsons and Safeway stores, what you see happening is some Albertsons ideas like larger delis or lime green employee uniforms being haphazardly placed inside Safeway (or Vons...) Stores that are still really in the Safeway mindset and mentality. Meanwhile on the back end everything is being Safeway-ized; private label, systems, perimeter, etc.

Vons in Las Vegas has turned into a disaster since the stores were transferred to the Southwest/Phoenix Division. Store conditions have plummeted even worse than they already were, and customers are not happy at all. It seems like the Southwest/Phoenix division was really, really good at running Albertsons bannered stores in Arizona and New Mexico from 2006-2014 then got those Las Vegas Albertsons and did okay but not great with them, but now adding in the Las Vegas Vons appears to be going not so well.

They converted one LV Vons to Albertsons, they should just bite the bullet and convert all of those to Albertsons. But that's for another topic...

[klkla]

They converted one LV Vons to Albertsons, they should just bite the bullet and convert all of those to Albertsons. But that's for another topic...

They probably will unless they decide to position Vons as a more upscale brand than Albertson's. Most of the remaining Vons stores are in relatively wealthy areas. Las Vegas doesn't have any upscale main stream supermarkets like Pavilions, Gelson's or Ralphs Fresh Fare so there's probably a market for such a store especially in the wealthier westside in and around Summerlin.

[storewanderer]

Is Randalls also a brand they could position as "more upscale?" Wasn't that its roots?

There seem to be certain markets this company is spending money in, doing remodels, and trying some new ideas. They seem to be spending money in Dallas on both new stores and remodels, spending money in San Diego, spending money on some former Haggens scattered around...

[architect]

Is Randalls also a brand they could position as "more upscale?" Wasn't that its roots?

There seem to be certain markets this company is spending money in, doing remodels, and trying some new ideas. They seem to be spending money in Dallas on both new stores and remodels, spending money in San Diego, spending money on some former Haggens scattered around...

The reason why money is being spent in Dallas is due to the fact that numerous sources have hinted at an HEB market entry sometime in the future. As a result, Albertsons is in defensive mode, and is focusing on opening/remodeling stores as quickly as possible to compete if this does come to fruition. They are also being forced to respond to the fact that the Tom Thumb brand fell behind in suburban growth later in the Safeway era, and needs to expand its store base to compete with Kroger in the fastest growing suburban areas of the region.

San Diego, outside of the Haggen acquisitions, I am not sure about. I don't know what particularly separates the region from most of Albertson's west coast markets, as the market situation is quite similar (aside from NorCal obviously). Almost all markets have both the Albertsons and either Safeway/Vons banners with a decent store count for each.

[architect]

Also, now for a store that desperately needs to be put out to pasture:

On a Sunday morning, I visited the Randalls at Bellfort and Post Oak in Houston. This store is an older Houston Randalls, and the store's condition definitely shows its age. The store features original Lifestyle decor, but doesn't even carry the decor throughout the whole store (the paint along the perimeter areas of the store was a white color which did not mesh well with the decor at all). Old coolers were abundant, and shelving was quite dirty (and even rusting) in some places. Also, the store features a prime example of a terrible Albertsons lighting redo, with new fluorescent strip fixtures literally run across old in the lay-in ceiling, which the existing fixtures left in place (and sometimes even operating).

This store is interesting in that it also featured one of the Houston-area Randalls Kosher counters. I am unsure if this is the only one in the region, or if this is a feature at other stores too. In DFW, there are two stores in the region which feature dedicated Kosher sections, so these aren't unheard of.

As far as traffic goes, it was decent, but definitely leaned more towards the geriatric crowd. In addition, most customers I saw were only purchasing a few items. Likely, the one reason why this store has been able to stay open is due to the fact that a nearby HEB at Braeswood/Chimney Rock is an outdated former Pantry store, making the Kroger across Post Oak the only legitimate competitor within the neighborhood. It will be interesting to see what Albertsons decides to do with this store, as it is clearly not in a condition conducive to growing sales.

Photos:

[pseudo3d]

Is Randalls also a brand they could position as "more upscale?" Wasn't that its roots?

There seem to be certain markets this company is spending money in, doing remodels, and trying some new ideas. They seem to be spending money in Dallas on both new stores and remodels, spending money in San Diego, spending money on some former Haggens scattered around...

It wasn't super upscale, it was designed to be a nicer, full-service grocery store compared to its competitors. From what I've read, the only really upscale concept they had (besides Simon David, which they acquired from Tom Thumb) was the Randalls "Flagship" stores, which had everything "nice" supermarkets had in the 1980s (big salad bars, seafood, meat) plus a merchandise mix to be "special" (fresh-made pasta, live trout, caviar, orchids, expensive perfumes, etc.)

Their prototype in the 1990s was more or less a Wegmans clone (that's what they actually admitted). Their downfall, interestingly enough, is not exclusively Safeway's problem (though they by far made the problems worse): in the early 1990s they bought Tom Thumb (which was much larger than them) but also had built or acquired a bunch of really bad store locations, where they ended up closing after four years or less. In the mid-1990s, Kroger launched the Signature stores to effectively compete with them (Kroger was 2nd place in the market but their fleet was full of dated Greenhouse stores that were not much larger than 35k square feet) and ended up eclipsing them before Safeway even got their hands on Randalls, and Randalls own strategy was flawed--they usually built suburban stores, and a lot of those nicer suburban stores needed some sort of change (or closure) by the early 2000s that Safeway couldn't or wasn't willing to do, just due to demographic shifts.

Had Randalls not been bought by Safeway, it would've probably taken the stance H-E-B has today (which also happened to snipe a lot of the former Randalls customers), which would be acquiring the "Wegmans of Texas" crown (and THEIR prototype was based on a combination of Randalls 1990s prototype and Wegmans' stores). There's a lot of problems with Randalls, some of them internal (trust me, but it would be wrong to share details of what that entails), but they can at least start by putting Boar's Head back in stores and dumping the card to be more competitive with Kroger.

[architect]

Have a few week hiatus, I have our next Randall's specimen:

On a Sunday afternoon, I visited the Panther Creek Randalls in The Woodlands. When I visited, the store was moderately trafficked. The customer count did not necessarily seem high enough to sustain the store over the long haul, but I'm pretty sure there was a Texans game going on at the same time which would explain the lower traffic at that particular time. Overall, this store was in good condition, and seemed to be well stocked and relatively fresh. This location is a typical early "New Generation" store from the early 90's, with a dedicated portion of the store on the entry side for the deli, bakery, produce and meat/seafood departments (this is the portion of the store with the raised ceiling with wood paneling and strip fluorescent lighting pictured below). Although much of the perimeter of this store featured the typical too-common Albertsons lighting redo, this lighting job was much less overbearing compared to similar stores in DFW at Preston/Belt Line and Coit/Legacy. A big portion of this is due to the fact that this store's new fixtures are using better quality bulbs.

Overall, I feel that this is the Randalls in the Woodlands most poised to succeed over the long haul. It's central location, coupled with the fact that it is surrounded by upscale neighborhoods, gives it a strong growth potential if Albertsons can simply market and price this store correctly.

Photos: