storewanderer wrote: ↑September 23rd, 2023, 12:12 am
ClownLoach wrote: ↑September 23rd, 2023, 12:03 am
When Ralphs is remodeling from that Kroger decor to the fresh/local decor they aren't really doing anything else that I see. No upgrades occur anywhere on the perimeter; deli and bakery cases stay the same and they're not even changing the tile behind the counters there or in meat. Lighting is dull and outdated in every store. Refrigeration isn't being replaced other than the outside metal trim to change color. They're really just redecorating the walls, replacing aisle hangers, and changing planograms these days but the stores are basically the same place when they're done.
When you say Fresh Fare is the newest decor, do you mean the all brown and white farmhouse style store where they screw recycled wood panels into all the drywall and either paint letters onto it or attach cardboard letters with glue? Because that's the newest Fresh Fare decor I've seen rolling out and it's really ugly to say the least. The only part with any character is produce where the entire wall says "CALIFORNIA" and has pictures of farmers like you'd expect to see at Whole Foods. I've only seen three of the new Fresh Fare decor so far, most are the previous generation which was colorful pastel walls and backlit letters. I did see a store in San Clemente got the same decor as La Jolla; both are the same style as the new Fred Meyer remodels are getting with a lot of hexagonal shapes on the walls.
I am hard pressed to name a real "full remodel" of a Ralphs where real construction occurred (departments moving and expanding, walls opened up, checkouts replaced, refrigeration replaced, new bakery deli or meats, new lighting, etc.) aside from the huge La Jolla store remodel about 5 years ago. For most Ralphs the last real remodel was in conjunction with the 2000's era decor with either the green script letters over wooden "Ralphs" logos or even worse the post Alpha-Beta decor with the white walls and teal "bolted on" letters and smeared wall texture that looked like they prepped the walls for tile and forgot to attach it.
I consider these types of remodels you describe that Ralphs does, where they basically do a (poor) redecoration to the walls, keep old refrigeration, keep old tile behind perimeter departments, and reset the center store to be a "remodel" at this point. This is the type of store remodel that we see Safeway doing all over the place, as well as regionals like Save Mart and Raleys.
But you are right they are not doing a thing to add/expand departments or add features in these remodels. And they've already earmarked a bunch of money to do "remodels" to the Albertsons/Safeway units they are purchasing...
Most of the Albertsons and Vons remodels I'm seeing in SoCal do some real work which isn't immediately obvious at times but is serving to get the stores to a consistent standard especially on perimeter departments. Most get new large floral departments and tall refrigerators, some even get a mini customer walk in. Most if not all cases are replaced at deli and bakery and meat/seafood. Counters get replaced around the store and checkstands if they're worn at least get new surfaces if not fully replaced. Most of the Starbucks get completely removed and replaced with larger, upgraded facilities that allow the full menu (many small original counters like those in Ralphs units don't have a full menu). Produce gets new cases or islands depending on what was there so everything is their newest fixture style. New expanded liquor departments with new fixturing. They usually make a few new wide valleys like beverages with stack out space in the middle that looks clean. All new carts and lots of them. Lighting is tweaked or even fully replaced to clean up the ugly where they had added in fixtures randomly a few years back. I think we are all used to the newer low profile LED strips now and they actually look better than the oversized antiquated shop lights they're using still at Ralphs. When they're done with these remodels the entire store is fully reconditioned and consistent with the joint Safeway-Albertsons post merger configurations of perimeter department standards. The only real disappointment is that the Modern (Florida) decor really lacks visual impact.
There definitely has been a push to remove all premium fresh and healthy Albertsons decor packages (probably because of the decor consisting of 3D giant Albertsons clovers on all walls) and I have seen a few newer units in which nothing is really remodeled other than the wall scrape and quick install of Modern decor. Nearly every unit I've seen that done in seems to be a likely divest as it's near a Ralphs. The similar stores that aren't near a Ralphs seem to be getting all new colorful lifestyle. I do still think they've had an internal list they've worked through due to the possibility of a merger in which all of the Premium Fresh and Healthy had to be removed because it's a problem everywhere.
It does sound to me like they're putting less Capex into the Norcal Safeway units though.
The Ralphs units get... Painted walls. Sometimes a bad concrete floor. An aisle reset that probably would have happened anyway without the "remodel." Really nothing is happening in these Ralphs stores.
Also if you look at the budget Kroger supposedly set aside to "remodel" Albertsons stores, it's barely enough to pay for the IT work to change out the computer equipment, network wiring and registers. The rest would pay for new signs where required to debrand a QFC or Albertsons being kept. There is no real remodeling budget or plan for the acquired stores that would result in any real noticeable changes which is why I said before they clearly intend to maintain the Albertsons/Safeway units as a separate format for years to come.
