Safeway closing Kennewick, WA

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storewanderer
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Re: Safeway closing Kennewick, WA

Post by storewanderer »

babs wrote: October 10th, 2022, 8:16 am
I don't when the last time you were in the Portland area but most Albertsons have had their decor updated to what you would see in a typical Safeway in the area. The only difference is that there are Albertsons logos near the entrance and checkstands. Easy to remove or repaint. The stores have the same merch with the only major difference being the deli. They don't seem to want to spend the money to expand the deli by adding a hot Chinese food bar and sandwich station. Outside of that the stores are identical and the customers know it. It's beyond time to make the change that's essentially already taken place except for the signage.

I don't know what you consider a great operation. I'm not a Safeway fan but I will give them credit for building an operation that has the #1 share in the market for many years, mainly by having some great locations, often in areas with limited competition. Their prices are high, the quality is questionable at times but due to some good planning over the years, they have a solid business.
Safeway was fine until the Lifestyle remodel period when they decided to push prices to outrageous levels putting their entire chain on CA pricing, and cut staffing to the bone in their stores... they were my favorite store. The worst of Safeway was as they were closing Dominick's and Genuardi's. There have been some improvements under Albertsons with regards to staffing and in some ways pricing, but also some decreases in quality, private label, and store appearance.

I didn't see those updates last year and was in almost every one of the Albertsons around Portland over multiple trips.

It is odd they would remodel them and not convert them upon remodel.

There is one location that had hot chinese food also. I was surprised as I had never seen it in an Albertsons before. Quality of that offer certainly exceeds expectations when it is under the $5 Friday promotion.

Every time they do a banner conversion, the banner conversion happens at the conclusion of a store remodel. That is one thing that has been very consistent with these banner changes they have done, starting with the Florida ones (Houston or Eastern Division; division changed mid-remodel), also done with the Denver ones (Denver Division), the Grand Junction ones (Intermountain Division), and the Washington ones (Seattle Division). So if they take a different approach in Portland and do them all at once and not in conjunction with remodels it will be interesting. I'm not sure it matters much one way or the other, before you had to, you know, make a store look like a Safeway, since part of "Safeway" was every store had to look the same, but now since they have multiple decor packages going on, I don't think that is a need anymore.
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Re: Safeway closing Kennewick, WA

Post by norcalriteaidclerk »

I recall passing this store in an August 1994 road trip to Ritzville, Washington (family reunion connected to Swiss volhynian Mennonite ancestors on my paternal grandfather's maternal side)and this store most certainly dated from no later than 1981(despite a ribbon leaf logo it had the circle s era wordmark on the building).

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