HCal wrote: ↑May 22nd, 2021, 1:12 pm
Is this store supplied by Norcal distribution centers?
Yes. NorCal supplies this area and out to Hawthorne and Lovelock. NorCal is the closest supply point to all of those stores.
That Hawthorne Store- which is a pretty low volume operation, may be better off with Vons and grouped with Bishop and Mammoth Lakes. But I would not wish lousy Vons or its pricing upon the folks out in Hawthorne. It is the only pharmacy in Hawthorne and only store (though Dollar General and Family Dollar are present and took a lot of center store sales away) also so assume it is still a profitable operation. Produce isn't a great seller in Hawthorne and the store has no bakery or deli. This store was also included in the price cut program the Reno Stores are on.
Point is going to come with costs in CA continuing to spiral out of control along with odd CA-specific regulations on certain merchandise that are on the horizon, where it would be cheaper to supply at least certain aspects (like dry goods) of these NV Stores from North Salt Lake City given the lower costs of distribution from there. Freight cost would be higher as it needs to be driven twice as far but suspect it would still pan out or will soon. This would be similar to WinCo in Reno who gets dry goods from Boise but fresh (use that term lightly with WinCo) items do come from California.
storewanderer wrote: ↑May 22nd, 2021, 2:10 pm
Point is going to come with costs in CA continuing to spiral out of control along with odd CA-specific regulations on certain merchandise that are on the horizon, where it would be cheaper to supply at least certain aspects (like dry goods) of these NV Stores from North Salt Lake City given the lower costs of distribution from there. Freight cost would be higher as it needs to be driven twice as far but suspect it would still pan out or will soon. This would be similar to WinCo in Reno who gets dry goods from Boise but fresh (use that term lightly with WinCo) items do come from California.
That's what I was thinking, but I suppose with the large number of stores Albertsons Companies has in California (I believe almost 30% of their total stores) the efficiencies of scale will outweigh the higher costs. A huge chunk of produce is grown in California anyway, and imported items come in through California ports, so it cuts down on distance.
That's what I was thinking, but I suppose with the large number of stores Albertsons Companies has in California (I believe almost 30% of their total stores) the efficiencies of scale will outweigh the higher costs. A huge chunk of produce is grown in California anyway, and imported items come in through California ports, so it cuts down on distance.
At this point these 7 stores in Nevada are the only ones that Albertsons is driving stuff out of California to supply. Maybe it is too few stores to even care. Eventually the increased regulations of products specific to CA and other costs will force the decision. Also the situation on the roads between Reno and Tracy isn't getting any better; frequent congestion and accidents all year, and weather issues throughout the winter. The road from Reno to Salt Lake by contrast is smooth sailing with few issues and about 75% of the route is 80 MPH speed limit.
While both Supervalu and Safeway supplied Las Vegas from SoCal, that was moved to Arizona pretty quickly after Albertsons took the stores over, and that was at least 40 stores.
New Safeway did unbelievable volume between opening day and throughout this weekend, I am sure it broke some records for the company.
The store is so busy they are having a lot of trouble keeping up despite that the store is well staffed. Also the amount of product customers are purchasing, full cart after full cart. It is as if people have been deprived of food for a while or something (I guess they sort of have, thanks to Raleys ONE Market).
The fresh departments are doing especially well; produce is getting cleared out and bakery/meat are also getting cleared out.
storewanderer wrote: ↑May 23rd, 2021, 7:43 pm
New Safeway did unbelievable volume between opening day and throughout this weekend, I am sure it broke some records for the company.
The store is so busy they are having a lot of trouble keeping up despite that the store is well staffed. Also the amount of product customers are purchasing, full cart after full cart. It is as if people have been deprived of food for a while or something (I guess they sort of have, thanks to Raleys ONE Market).
The fresh departments are doing especially well; produce is getting cleared out and bakery/meat are also getting cleared out.
Sounds like a pretty normal grand opening to me. If you don't get that kind of reaction initially it's going to take a long time to build up any volume. Typically stores lose about 80% of their grand opening business after a couple weeks and then gradually build up loyal customers in the years that follow with bursts during the Holiday season.
However, I agree with your point that Raley's decision will definitely help them to retain more shoppers faster than would have been the case otherwise. That was a really stupid decision to change the brand when they did. When I was in the industry we would encourage a lot of employees to take vacations during the period when a new competitor opened because we knew business would return to normal after a couple weeks.
klkla wrote: ↑May 26th, 2021, 10:33 pm
Sounds like a pretty normal grand opening to me. If you don't get that kind of reaction initially it's going to take a long time to build up any volume. Typically stores lose about 80% of their grand opening business after a couple weeks and then gradually build up loyal customers in the years that follow with bursts during the Holiday season.
However, I agree with your point that Raley's decision will definitely help them to retain more shoppers faster than would have been the case otherwise. That was a really stupid decision to change the brand when they did. When I was in the industry we would encourage a lot of employees to take vacations during the period when a new competitor opened because we knew business would return to normal after a couple weeks.
Let's see what happens. I think Safeway is going to retain way more business than average in this new store. Their ad this week isn't anything special though which I am a little surprised about. It has some strong deals but the other Safeways have the same deals (Memorial Day deals).
I am really hoping Safeway can maintain the produce in this new store. That was just flat out amazing how well they got that merchandised but replenishment on the "Melissa's" items seems to be a little slow.
That's what I was thinking, but I suppose with the large number of stores Albertsons Companies has in California (I believe almost 30% of their total stores) the efficiencies of scale will outweigh the higher costs. A huge chunk of produce is grown in California anyway, and imported items come in through California ports, so it cuts down on distance.
At this point these 7 stores in Nevada are the only ones that Albertsons is driving stuff out of California to supply. Maybe it is too few stores to even care. Eventually the increased regulations of products specific to CA and other costs will force the decision. Also the situation on the roads between Reno and Tracy isn't getting any better; frequent congestion and accidents all year, and weather issues throughout the winter. The road from Reno to Salt Lake by contrast is smooth sailing with few issues and about 75% of the route is 80 MPH speed limit.
While both Supervalu and Safeway supplied Las Vegas from SoCal, that was moved to Arizona pretty quickly after Albertsons took the stores over, and that was at least 40 stores.
Would Boise work better than Salt Lake City?
I know Salt Lake City is all highway but Boise is closer.
I can't imagine anything not California being supplied by California (although what's odd is many of my Walmart online purchases here in Arizona come from SoCal warehouses).
arizonaguy wrote: ↑May 27th, 2021, 4:43 pm
Would Boise work better than Salt Lake City?
I know Salt Lake City is all highway but Boise is closer.
I can't imagine anything not California being supplied by California (although what's odd is many of my Walmart online purchases here in Arizona come from SoCal warehouses).
North Salt Lake is the distro center for Albertsons in Boise too, there may be some kind of a distro in Boise but I'm not sure what it is for.
I too have gotten multiple Wal Mart online purchases from SoCal up here in NV.
storewanderer wrote: ↑May 22nd, 2021, 5:33 pm
At this point these 7 stores in Nevada are the only ones that Albertsons is driving stuff out of California to supply. Maybe it is too few stores to even care. Eventually the increased regulations of products specific to CA and other costs will force the decision. Also the situation on the roads between Reno and Tracy isn't getting any better; frequent congestion and accidents all year, and weather issues throughout the winter. The road from Reno to Salt Lake by contrast is smooth sailing with few issues and about 75% of the route is 80 MPH speed limit.
While both Supervalu and Safeway supplied Las Vegas from SoCal, that was moved to Arizona pretty quickly after Albertsons took the stores over, and that was at least 40 stores.
I'm not sure where the warehouses were exactly, but Las Vegas is approximately equidistant from Los Angeles and Phoenix, so that makes sense. I'm surprised that Safeway supplied Vegas from SoCal for that long when they had a large presence in Phoenix.
But for Reno, I'm just not seeing it. Salt Lake City is over twice as far as the bay area. The extra transport cost won't be worth it, even with California's higher operating costs. Gas is getting more expensive, and trucks use a ton of it. Those trucks can't go 80 MPH anyway
