Ralphs Fresh Fare Trademark

[storewanderer]

According to the LA Times article quoted in the Amazon store thread 63 of Ralphs 189 stores are Fresh Fares (33.3%).

Is that a recent number? If so, what is Vons excuse with Pavilions? I'm sure between Vons and Albertson's, there's locations perfect for Pavilions.

When’s the last time you were in a Pavilions? Pavilions is a notch below the likes of Bristol Farms and Gleson’s. And as discussed in this thread, there’s little difference between Fresh Fare and non-Fresh Fare Ralph’s.

Albertsons did a couple real nice Pavilions remodels a few years ago. Back around the time they were trying to merge with Rite Aid. They were using photos of those very nice looking stores in the materials to try to show investors how their stores look (what a joke, ought to go take photos of all those dark dingy or eye hurting bright thanks to "lighting enhancements" Lifestyle stores which represent the majority of how their stores look). I assumed they would remodel all of the Pavilions into that interior. Also what ever happened to that new Pavilions in Sherman Oaks?

[Bagels]

Albertsons did a couple real nice Pavilions remodels a few years ago. Back around the time they were trying to merge with Rite Aid. They were using photos of those very nice looking stores in the materials to try to show investors how their stores look (what a joke, ought to go take photos of all those dark dingy or eye hurting bright thanks to "lighting enhancements" Lifestyle stores which represent the majority of how their stores look). I assumed they would remodel all of the Pavilions into that interior. Also what ever happened to that new Pavilions in Sherman Oaks?

They're remodeling all Pavilions into that look. I've visited about 7 or 8 this year and they were all completed, with the exception of WeHo which was under renovation (over the summer months). They've also heavily upgraded their product offerings, especially in the fresh departments. You can buy lobster or Halibut meat by the pound in the meat department, doughnuts and muffins that actually taste good (as they should for $2 each), store-made pies, cakes and breads (including seasonal recipes like pumpkin), some really good Boar's Head sandwiches (priced the same as the generic stuff Albertsons/Vons sell), etc. They also offered a fairly large hot foods bar as well as ready-to-cook meals, but sadly, these appear to have been discontinued recently. They still have a fairly extensive menu of foods they'll cook, however.

Earlier this year Albertsons said they were planning a 2021 opening date for the Sherman Oaks store. There may be more Pavilions on the way, however; one of the managers at the Irvine Albertons near the Great Park (I-5/Jeffery) told me that the store, which already has many of the Pavilions offerings, may get the Pavilions interior (but she didn't know if they'd change the name). The store currently has the final Lucky interior -- IIRC, it was under construction during the merger and opened as an Albertsons.

[J-Man]

Is that a recent number? If so, what is Vons excuse with Pavilions? I'm sure between Vons and Albertson's, there's locations perfect for Pavilions.

On the other hand, they de-Pavilionsed (i.e., converted to Vons) the two locations in my area (Arcadia and Monrovia.)

[Bagels]

Is that a recent number? If so, what is Vons excuse with Pavilions? I'm sure between Vons and Albertson's, there's locations perfect for Pavilions.

On the other hand, they de-Pavilionsed (i.e., converted to Vons) the two locations in my area (Arcadia and Monrovia.)

These stores were Pavilions in name only, they didn't carry the (limited) high-end product assortment that Safeway stocked its core Pavilions with. After Albertsons made the decision to transition Pavilions into a true high-end neighborhood market, several locations were re-branded to Vons, and at least one (Alicia Parkway in Laguna Niguel) was re-branded to Pavilions. Remember, Pavilions didn't originate as a high-end concept but rather was used to distinguish the new, full-service supersized markets from the legacy Vons. While concepts like oversized stores with expanded produce, expanded full-service meat & seafood counters, full-service delis with prepared offerings, pharmacies etc. were common in the East since the 1970s, they weren't common in the West until years later. I don't know the history of Vons, but at some point their strategy changed.

As discussed within this thread, there's little differences in product assortment between "regular" Ralphs and Fresh Fare locations; the differences that do exist appear to be a derivative of localization, not branding. I'm speculating that Kroger is moving away from the Fresh Fare branding - as I mentioned earlier, a shopping center near me received a new exterior and Kroger replaced the Ralphs Fresh Fare signage with standard Ralphs (no changes were made to the interior). And a pair of Ralphs in Irvine (one off Main, the other off Alton) have received the traditional Fresh Fare product assortment but were never branded as FF.

Pavilions, OTOH, is a clear step above Ralphs/Fresh Fare (heck, Albertsons/Vons are indistinguishable from Ralphs these days).

[SamSpade]

From the Los Angeles Times article on Amazon's SoCal planned store,

Ralphs, for instance, is overhauling its Ralphs Fresh Fare format stores this year, adding thousands of natural, organic, vegan and gluten-free produce items, meats and other foods. There are 63 such stores among Ralphs’ 189 Southern California locations.

This quote is not attributed to anyone, but may have been tipped from the interview with Burt P. Flickinger III, managing director of Strategic Resource Group, a retail consulting firm mentioned earlier in the article.

[retailfanmitchell019]

Is that a recent number? If so, what is Vons excuse with Pavilions? I'm sure between Vons and Albertson's, there's locations perfect for Pavilions.

On the other hand, they de-Pavilionsed (i.e., converted to Vons) the two locations in my area (Arcadia and Monrovia.)

These stores were Pavilions in name only, they didn't carry the (limited) high-end product assortment that Safeway stocked its core Pavilions with. After Albertsons made the decision to transition Pavilions into a true high-end neighborhood market, several locations were re-branded to Vons, and at least one (Alicia Parkway in Laguna Niguel) was re-branded to Pavilions. Remember, Pavilions didn't originate as a high-end concept but rather was used to distinguish the new, full-service supersized markets from the legacy Vons. While concepts like oversized stores with expanded produce, expanded full-service meat & seafood counters, full-service delis with prepared offerings, pharmacies etc. were common in the East since the 1970s, they weren't common in the West until years later. I don't know the history of Vons, but at some point their strategy changed.

As discussed within this thread, there's little differences in product assortment between "regular" Ralphs and Fresh Fare locations; the differences that do exist appear to be a derivative of localization, not branding. I'm speculating that Kroger is moving away from the Fresh Fare branding - as I mentioned earlier, a shopping center near me received a new exterior and Kroger replaced the Ralphs Fresh Fare signage with standard Ralphs (no changes were made to the interior). And a pair of Ralphs in Irvine (one off Main, the other off Alton) have received the traditional Fresh Fare product assortment but were never branded as FF.

Pavilions, OTOH, is a clear step above Ralphs/Fresh Fare (heck, Albertsons/Vons are indistinguishable from Ralphs these days).

In contrast to the Ralphs near you, there is a Ralphs Fresh Fare in Carlsbad that was converted from a standard Ralphs 10 years ago.

Not to mention that "Marketplace" signage has been removed on stores that opened as Ralphs Marketplaces. The stores in San Marcos (closest Ralphs to me) and Temecula have removed their Marketplace signage.
The store in Oceanside (this store uses the Ralphs wordmark on the exterior, no oval signage) got a remodel a couple years back where all Marketplace interior signage was removed, yet it still has the word "Marketplace" below the Ralphs sign outside.
This reminds me of new Albertsons remodels, where the Sav-on signage is removed from the pharmacy department, yet they keep the Sav-on sign on the exterior.

[rwsandiego]

And then there's the Downtown San Diego Ralphs with the Signature exterior signage that has a pretty standard Ralphs interior.

[retailfanmitchell019]

And then there's the Downtown San Diego Ralphs with the Signature exterior signage that has a pretty standard Ralphs interior.

I find it weird that the Downtown SD Ralphs has Signature signage, considering "Signature" is the Fry's equivalent to Ralphs Fresh Fare.

[rwsandiego]

And then there's the Downtown San Diego Ralphs with the Signature exterior signage that has a pretty standard Ralphs interior.

I find it weird that the Downtown SD Ralphs has Signature signage, considering "Signature" is the Fry's equivalent to Ralphs Fresh Fare.

It gets stranger. Before being remodeled in the 2010's, the store had the then-current Fresh Fare interior but wasn't a Fresh Fare.

[storewanderer]

If my memory serves correctly, the Ralphs "Signature" in downtown San Diego was branded as such soon after Kroger transferred someone from a different division in to run Ralphs.

I think it was around the same time they opened one or two Frys Signature Stores (which also had Fresh Fare interiors; Frys also never used "Fresh Fare").

I'm not sure what the difference between the "Signature" and the "Fresh Fare" was at that time. But they were not using "Fresh Fare" in San Diego at all at that time.