Raleys converting Reno Store to ONE Market Format

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storewanderer
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Re: Raleys converting Reno Store to ONE Market Format

Post by storewanderer »

rwsandiego wrote: May 2nd, 2021, 10:30 pm Raley's really should not have converted a successful store to this new format. I like to buy "clean" products, too, but if my Safeway decided to become a Whole Foods clone called Safeway I'd be angry, too. Sounds like they did zero research into sales data at that store. They could easily have found that their customers buy a mix of conventional and organic/natural products. And to not separate the organic from the conventional produce is inexcusable.
Fun fact- this Raleys opened in 1995. It was untouched until 2015 when it underwent a MAJOR remodel. The remodeled store was so different from the original store you'd have thought they demolished it (they didn't). Part of that 2015 remodel, it was the first Raleys Store to use purchase data from the Something Extra (Dunhumby, which at the time was a Kroger joint venture) loyalty card program to set and merchandise the store. It was merchandised as a Premium store with more upscale, gourmet products than any other location in the area. For Reno, this was an aggressive effort, but they had the purchase data so they took the leap and went with it. The liquor area and the price of some of the liquor they put into the store, I thought would not sell. I was wrong- the high dollar liquor sold in this location. The remodel was very successful and part of why it was so successful was through strong use of that purchase data to merchandise the store.

As for what they decided to just do now I have no clue what they are doing or if they are still using the purchase data and Dunhumby purchase data analytics to do their merchandising.

I hesitate to wonder- was this store such a success for them after the 2015 project which radically changed the store upscale, that they decided to take this leap and assume it would be successful under this format too?

Maybe they will be right- time will tell. I don't think they will be right.
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Re: Raleys converting Reno Store to ONE Market Format

Post by veteran+ »

storewanderer wrote: May 2nd, 2021, 11:14 am
veteran+ wrote: May 2nd, 2021, 8:10 am What do you mean by "bad banned foods"?
The tens and thousands of items they pulled from the store. It isn't just stuff on their "banned ingredients list" - it is stuff that has ingredients that are perfectly acceptable per their list but have, for instance, too high of a sugar content. Their mix is more restrictive than Whole Foods (though they do have more SKUs than Whole Foods since categories like canned vegetables, canned fruit, cooking oil have all the SKUs from before present, nothing banned there).
Although I am an advocate for "clean" eating (no fast food, barely any processed food, vegetarian but not vegan and organic as much as possible) this Raley's "experiment" seems to be an utter disaster.

Another high paid corporate example of incompetence. This is why they get paid so much more than their underling employees......... :lol:
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Re: Raleys converting Reno Store to ONE Market Format

Post by TW-Upstate NY »

veteran+ wrote: May 3rd, 2021, 8:35 am Another high paid corporate example of incompetence. This is why they get paid so much more than their underling employees......... :lol:
And it's those same employees who are the ones who undeservedly get an earful from unhappy customers. Maybe if top management would actually LISTEN to their employees and customers they could avoid debacles like the one that could possibly be unfolding at this store. And if the store fails, some of those very same employees could end up out of a job. As I've mentioned in the past I'm a retired Letter Carrier so I had my share of interacting with the public over 32 plus years. Most of the time they would be critical of some policy or practice that upper management had implemented. And eleven times out of ten I agreed with them but there was nothing I could do to change things.
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Re: Raleys converting Reno Store to ONE Market Format

Post by BillyGr »

storewanderer wrote: May 2nd, 2021, 7:13 pm Also why is the 91/9 "Natural" Ground Beef 8.19/lb from the service counter and 7.69/lb prepack? Before the service counter meat had the same price as the prepack meat if it was the same stuff (which this is). I'll just go ahead and forget that before the conversion that same exact 91/9 "Natural" Ground Beef was prepack only at 7.49/lb which was already too high, and the service counter sold 93/7 Ground Beef (without the meaningless "Natural" designation) for 6.99/lb.
Seems I've seen that in a store here as well, and it's likely just since some people thing that the stuff at the counter is going to be fresher than what's already packed and thus they'll pay the higher price for it.
TW-Upstate NY wrote: May 3rd, 2021, 9:54 am And it's those same employees who are the ones who undeservedly get an earful from unhappy customers. Maybe if top management would actually LISTEN to their employees and customers they could avoid debacles like the one that could possibly be unfolding at this store. And if the store fails, some of those very same employees could end up out of a job. As I've mentioned in the past I'm a retired Letter Carrier so I had my share of interacting with the public over 32 plus years. Most of the time they would be critical of some policy or practice that upper management had implemented. And eleven times out of ten I agreed with them but there was nothing I could do to change things.
Although one would hope that at least those in charge at the store would forward complaints to those higher up who could change them. After all, it has happened in the past (think something like Coke going back to the "original" formula, and it was more difficult to get in touch with a company back then but people did).
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Re: Raleys converting Reno Store to ONE Market Format

Post by storewanderer »

Went to this store this afternoon. Quite a few customers. Easily 40-50 customers present shopping. Few customers buying more than a bag or two of items. Store was very well staffed (employees probably outnumbered customers). Despite all the negative reviews people are still coming to this store.
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Re: Raleys converting Reno Store to ONE Market Format

Post by storewanderer »

Went into this store tonight. Pretty much deserted of customers (before, would have had at least 10 customers). Produce not stocked well and not rotated well, some rotting looking citrus and mango out on the display, still mixing Organic and non Organic fruits up too. Their prices are really terrible, they seem more expensive than Whole Foods.

Bakery and deli both look terrible. Displays are not full and not appetizing at all.

Meat department has less meat out than before and I counted at least 60 packages of beef with markdown stickers on them ($3 off $5 off etc.); many of these had a value over $10. Previously in this store it was rare to see 6 markdown stickers in the meat department at the same time (and they had more meat out back then).

I was happy to see a strong variety of prepack fish available now (since their service case seems to like to close sometime after 6 PM). Previously they only had salmon prepack; anything else you had to be there when the service case was open.
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Re: Raleys converting Reno Store to ONE Market Format

Post by storewanderer »

Was checking the latest round of negative reviews for this store that have been posted over the past few days.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/raleys-o-n-e-m ... =date_desc

5 new 1 star reviews on Yelp yesterday and today.

A couple new 1 star reviews over on Google Maps.

But what really is telling is how NOBODY is leaving a positive review. It would be one thing if it was a mix of positive and negative but this is like... all negative.

Also shopping in the store, it seems like nobody is happy. The customers do not seem happy, the employees really do not seem happy, the entire experience is just... odd. I also find the employees poorly trained when I am questioning why a certain product changed from before, what is the benefit of the new product, vs. what was there before and they don't seem to know, in the service departments like deli and meat. There needs to be some reason to justify the price increase and variety subtraction and the employees need to be able to explain that. Telling me "they took what we used to sell away and brought in this new stuff" doesn't really do the trick. It makes me think I am being ripped off with fewer choices. I really did not like the employee attitude this weekend at the deli and meat areas. And these are employees that have been in the store for a while and used to be great.

I bought some beef which is all "Natural Beef" per the scale label, and the prices are up from before. The only sticker on the packages says "Raleys One Market No Fake Stuff Just Good Stuff." Okay- what was "fake" about the Raleys California Harris Ranch USDA Choice Beef you sold before and heavily marketed as being a higher quality beef than other stores sell? What is different about this "Natural Beef?" Was the previous beef "fake?" Why should I pay 25% more for this?

This format is awful, execution is not the best (Raleys should know its Reno district has never executed quite as well as the Sacramento stores). Raleys has screwed up badly. Safeway will find great success with its new store that will open in a week or two and I suspect that will lead to additional new Safeway locations in this area. Amazing how Raleys gave them this opening.
Last edited by storewanderer on May 9th, 2021, 1:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Raleys converting Reno Store to ONE Market Format

Post by bryceleinan »

storewanderer wrote: May 9th, 2021, 12:49 pm This format is awful, execution is not the best (Raleys should know its Reno district has never executed quite as well as the Sacramento stores). Raleys has screwed up badly. Safeway will find great success with its new store that will open in a week or two and I suspect that will lead to additional new Safeway locations in this area. Amazing how Raleys gave them this opening.
I'm really hoping Safeway expands back into Carson City again (perhaps they can perform a gut and re-do on the South Save Mart?) and expands into Lyon County. I can guarantee that if Raley's tries the O-N-E format in Yerington or Fernley, that store would be closed within six months. Makes me wonder if they'll try it in a place like Elko or Incline next.
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Re: Raleys converting Reno Store to ONE Market Format

Post by klkla »

storewanderer wrote: May 9th, 2021, 12:49 pm Was checking the latest round of negative reviews for this store that have been posted over the past few days.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/raleys-o-n-e-m ... =date_desc

5 new 1 star reviews on Yelp yesterday and today.
That's crazy. Not a single review above 1 star since March 26th. No reviews between then and May 1st but every review since then has been for only 1 star.
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Re: Raleys converting Reno Store to ONE Market Format

Post by storewanderer »

bryceleinan wrote: May 9th, 2021, 1:09 pm

I'm really hoping Safeway expands back into Carson City again (perhaps they can perform a gut and re-do on the South Save Mart?) and expands into Lyon County. I can guarantee that if Raley's tries the O-N-E format in Yerington or Fernley, that store would be closed within six months. Makes me wonder if they'll try it in a place like Elko or Incline next.
The problem is you can't trust Safeway on price. They are running this price cut program now, and so far have kept it going for about 1 year and 8 months, which is much longer than they kept previous price cut programs going, but will it continue long term, or will they revert back to their CA pricing which is higher than any other store? Many produce and some key dairy items like dozen eggs are double or triple the Reno prices, at the California Safeways (or up at Tahoe). That pricing, will not work in Carson or Lyon County. That pricing is why Safeway is out of business in Carson City.

The South Save Mart is banking on the apartment construction above the store bringing it more customers. No other chain would have kept that store open this long.

We will never see the ONE Format in Yerington, Fernley, or Elko.
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