I think one of the dumbest things Albertsons has done post-Safeway is downgrading the Safeway/Signature Select label and using it for products like apple juice and cereal, replacing Signature Kitchens/Farms. I do like the Signature Select cookie dough ice cream though.storewanderer wrote: ↑November 9th, 2020, 9:41 pm I think at this point in time the Kroger brand has solid value as a private label brand. It has been in use at some of these outlying divisions for 20-25 years now. I think Ralphs and Fred Meyer probably should have kept their own private label given their store count and volume, and they did for a lot longer than the other divisions. Both also historically had very strong private label programs of their own. Converting to PS would not make sense, given PS brand does not appear to have much of an image at all and I don't think it has ever gained much traction anywhere.
The Signature Select brand is a work in progress at best. I'll stop short at calling it a failure, because it is not exactly that. It is just rather confused. Multiple turnovers in the people running private brands at Albertsons in the past few years are probably to blame for this. Previously a brand for premium quality items, now slapped on everything from premium items to cheap frozen breakfast sandwiches and transparent tape. Slapped on multiple frozen pizza based items (one of which used to be the premium Safeway item but after 3 supplier changes in the last couple years, I don't know anymore) so you can't really tell what item is premium and what item (like the mini pizzas, maybe discontinued already) should say Value Corner based on how lousy it tastes unless you guess based on the price. A logo that looks like a blatant copy of Essential Everyday (probably no surprise given it had to replace Essential Everyday in 800+ stores from Supervalu), and a brand that is frequently priced above national brand items and rarely price promoted with strong price promotions with national brands instead being favored for such promotions. Signature Reserve brand is already a failure with a lot of the line discontinued. O Organics and Lucerne seem to be holding up okay. Open Nature is another confused brand that isn't gaining much traction. Value Corner should just be discontinued as Kroger finally did with its "value" based brands for the most part (maybe a few are still left)- these are middle-upper middle class stores, no use selling that type of junk.
There is no point in selling Value Corner crap in a Pavilions. The Value Corner brand (which replaced Pantry Essentials from Old Safeway) should just be used for stores in working-class areas, not a Pavilions in Newport Beach.
Private Selection was created by Yucaipa-era Ralphs to compete with President's Choice (sold at Lucky) Safeway Select, Sam's American Choice (Wal-Mart developed this with Loblaws).
Replacing the Albertsons brand with Essential Everyday was one of the dumbest decisions by SVU. Why? The Albertsons brand had a great reputation.
SVU also has control over brands from Old Albertsons: Baby Basics, Equaline, Homelife, Wild Harvest (a brand Albertsons got from Shaw's), and Culinary Circle (previously Essensia).