Crucial times for Shoppers

[pseudo3d]

Same store sales at the SuperValu brands are falling, which includes Cub Foods and the rest. The SN article (I can't access it) apparently mentioned that "all options are on the table" meaning that SuperValu is going to explore selling their retail stores. Cub Foods is probably the best shape of them all, but from indications, they're fighting a losing battle against the challenger Hy-Vee. Maybe times are really are crucial for Shoppers...after all, since this topic was made, the Towson Shoppers closed.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/superv ... 2016-07-27
http://supermarketnews.com/retail-finan ... s-short-1q

My individual thoughts on store chains:
Cub Foods - The longer time that Hy-Vee cuts into CF's market share, the less likely it will be attractive to a bigger fish like Kroger, and it's too far outside the Jewel-Osco trade area for Albertsons to save it either. Likely, SuperValu will probably end up keeping it (it was their first chain) if it's still turning a profit, if things go south, then it'll be liquidated.
Hornbacher's - Probably the least grim and could be sold off to an investor or other interest.
Farm Fresh - Flip a coin, if heads, Publix, if tails, Safeway.
Shoppers - I think Shoppers actually has the lowest chance of survival at this point, especially as the DC market heats up. Good news is that remaining stores could probably live under new names, specifically Publix, Giant, Safeway, or Weis.
Shop N Save - This actually has the highest chance for survival under SVU, considering that they're converting divested Food Lion stores to this name.

[BatteryMill]

Same store sales at the SuperValu brands are falling, which includes Cub Foods and the rest. The SN article (I can't access it) apparently mentioned that "all options are on the table" meaning that SuperValu is going to explore selling their retail stores. Cub Foods is probably the best shape of them all, but from indications, they're fighting a losing battle against the challenger Hy-Vee. Maybe times are really are crucial for Shoppers...after all, since this topic was made, the Towson Shoppers closed.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/superv ... 2016-07-27
http://supermarketnews.com/retail-finan ... s-short-1q

My individual thoughts on store chains:
Cub Foods - The longer time that Hy-Vee cuts into CF's market share, the less likely it will be attractive to a bigger fish like Kroger, and it's too far outside the Jewel-Osco trade area for Albertsons to save it either. Likely, SuperValu will probably end up keeping it (it was their first chain) if it's still turning a profit, if things go south, then it'll be liquidated.
Hornbacher's - Probably the least grim and could be sold off to an investor or other interest.
Farm Fresh - Flip a coin, if heads, Publix, if tails, Safeway.
Shoppers - I think Shoppers actually has the lowest chance of survival at this point, especially as the DC market heats up. Good news is that remaining stores could probably live under new names, specifically Publix, Giant, Safeway, or Weis.
Shop N Save - This actually has the highest chance for survival under SVU, considering that they're converting divested Food Lion stores to this name.

This SuperValu news could mean a shake up for all their brands, including Shoppers itself. Oh, and I wonder how they're all supposed to be sold so fast. Shoppers in particular would need to be sold to some investor or group of unrelated stores, since they're doing poorly around here. Otherwise, we would need talented leadership to save the chain.
I didn't really figure about Cub Foods vs. Hy-Vee, haven't been up there since 2014... how are they?
Yes... and I hope they come soaring out of it. I'm sure they can, being a grocery mainstay of the area. Also, go figure... yet another Shoppers is closing from what I've heard. You'll see which soon.

Cub Foods... are SuperValu brands (yes, they're "brands" considering as to how uniform they've become) all falling fast? Do they need to be swallowed up by all those surging newcomers? Just a thought.

Hmm... I've never seen Safeway down in the Hampton Roads/"Southeastern Virginia" area, unless you count the 1970s or something, but... eh. Farm Fresh will do for now. Maybe they'll cut some corners here and there, however.

Of Shoppers, getting into detail here, they were built on a concept that really revolutionized the area and made for success in their heyday. From what I've seen, their stores did have excellent prepared foods slightly before the SuperValu takeover, as well as many more features. You do know that Cub Foods was also a warehouse grocer back in the day too... that could be a point. Now, what's really tearing SF&P down these days is how they're so close to major competitors such as Walmart and Wegmans, and the low quality of most of their stores. I've heard some complaints about produce in the store... most of the time, there's a huge blank canvas to be filled on the floors... and their remodeling just isn't helping. The warehouse era had something cheap, yet really useful and memorable. Really.

[pseudo3d]

Same store sales at the SuperValu brands are falling, which includes Cub Foods and the rest. The SN article (I can't access it) apparently mentioned that "all options are on the table" meaning that SuperValu is going to explore selling their retail stores. Cub Foods is probably the best shape of them all, but from indications, they're fighting a losing battle against the challenger Hy-Vee. Maybe times are really are crucial for Shoppers...after all, since this topic was made, the Towson Shoppers closed.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/superv ... 2016-07-27
http://supermarketnews.com/retail-finan ... s-short-1q

My individual thoughts on store chains:
Cub Foods - The longer time that Hy-Vee cuts into CF's market share, the less likely it will be attractive to a bigger fish like Kroger, and it's too far outside the Jewel-Osco trade area for Albertsons to save it either. Likely, SuperValu will probably end up keeping it (it was their first chain) if it's still turning a profit, if things go south, then it'll be liquidated.
Hornbacher's - Probably the least grim and could be sold off to an investor or other interest.
Farm Fresh - Flip a coin, if heads, Publix, if tails, Safeway.
Shoppers - I think Shoppers actually has the lowest chance of survival at this point, especially as the DC market heats up. Good news is that remaining stores could probably live under new names, specifically Publix, Giant, Safeway, or Weis.
Shop N Save - This actually has the highest chance for survival under SVU, considering that they're converting divested Food Lion stores to this name.

This SuperValu news could mean a shake up for all their brands, including Shoppers itself. Oh, and I wonder how they're all supposed to be sold so fast. Shoppers in particular would need to be sold to some investor or group of unrelated stores, since they're doing poorly around here. Otherwise, we would need talented leadership to save the chain.
I didn't really figure about Cub Foods vs. Hy-Vee, haven't been up there since 2014... how are they?
Yes... and I hope they come soaring out of it. I'm sure they can, being a grocery mainstay of the area. Also, go figure... yet another Shoppers is closing from what I've heard. You'll see which soon.

Cub Foods... are SuperValu brands (yes, they're "brands" considering as to how uniform they've become) all falling fast? Do they need to be swallowed up by all those surging newcomers? Just a thought.

Hmm... I've never seen Safeway down in the Hampton Roads/"Southeastern Virginia" area, unless you count the 1970s or something, but... eh. Farm Fresh will do for now. Maybe they'll cut some corners here and there, however.

Of Shoppers, getting into detail here, they were built on a concept that really revolutionized the area and made for success in their heyday. From what I've seen, their stores did have excellent prepared foods slightly before the SuperValu takeover, as well as many more features. You do know that Cub Foods was also a warehouse grocer back in the day too... that could be a point. Now, what's really tearing SF&P down these days is how they're so close to major competitors such as Walmart and Wegmans, and the low quality of most of their stores. I've heard some complaints about produce in the store... most of the time, there's a huge blank canvas to be filled on the floors... and their remodeling just isn't helping. The warehouse era had something cheap, yet really useful and memorable. Really.

Most of the Hy-Vee/Cub Foods talk has been extrapolation from numbers and articles. What it looks like is SuperValu has been forced to cut costs on the consumer end to compete with Hy-Vee, which cuts into their profits but it won't help as it looks like HV is tearing them up anyway. Cub Foods has definitely drifted from its original warehouse nature, that was one of the reasons SuperValu bought them, so they could basically use their wholesale buying power with a warehouse chain, but that's all history now.

Come to think of it, the distance between Virginia Beach and Washington DC is farther apart than the gaps in the Houston Division (basically clusters between ~200 mile distances, none of which are market leaders), so maybe it's not a great buy. They should be fine until Publix invades. Maybe Publix already has their eye on them, considering they're buying the Richmond Martin's stores.

As for Shop N Save, I heard that SuperValu is buying them to spin them off to third parties...we'll see how that goes.

Shoppers is in a tight spot. In Washington DC, they're up against Giant and Safeway, as well as newer entrants like Wegmans and possibly Publix, not to mention smaller alternative stores and services. The Baltimore market looks a little brighter for Shoppers...but I still don't think it can be saved. Even if you pitched the idea of "A more food-focused version of Costco without membership requirements", it's still a tough sell for the locations Shoppers has now, and the idea might turn off an already-confused customer base. Even if someone was entirely sold on a return to warehouse foods, they would probably want to restart Shoppers with a new name and format...but the more likely scenario is SuperValu offering up Shoppers locations to the highest bidders.

[storewanderer]

Isn't this the same Supervalu that just bought a couple dozen stores divested by Food Lion?

And what happened to selling or spinning off Save a Lot?

Seems to be a lot of talk at Supervalu but not so much action...

[pseudo3d]

Isn't this the same Supervalu that just bought a couple dozen stores divested by Food Lion?

And what happened to selling or spinning off Save a Lot?

Seems to be a lot of talk at Supervalu but not so much action...

SVU wants to ultimately sell off the acquired Food Lion stores [http://www.startribune.com/supervalu-picks-up-some-food-lion-stores-that-were-spun-out-in-merger-of-grocery-giants/386807571/] and they do seem to be on the fence about SAL, as they wanted to increase their ownership of it before it spins off. Seems they want to spin it off to raise money but can't stand to really part with it.

[BatteryMill]

Most of the Hy-Vee/Cub Foods talk has been extrapolation from numbers and articles. What it looks like is SuperValu has been forced to cut costs on the consumer end to compete with Hy-Vee, which cuts into their profits but it won't help as it looks like HV is tearing them up anyway. Cub Foods has definitely drifted from its original warehouse nature, that was one of the reasons SuperValu bought them, so they could basically use their wholesale buying power with a warehouse chain, but that's all history now.

Come to think of it, the distance between Virginia Beach and Washington DC is farther apart than the gaps in the Houston Division (basically clusters between ~200 mile distances, none of which are market leaders), so maybe it's not a great buy. They should be fine until Publix invades. Maybe Publix already has their eye on them, considering they're buying the Richmond Martin's stores.

As for Shop N Save, I heard that SuperValu is buying them to spin them off to third parties...we'll see how that goes.

Shoppers is in a tight spot. In Washington DC, they're up against Giant and Safeway, as well as newer entrants like Wegmans and possibly Publix, not to mention smaller alternative stores and services. The Baltimore market looks a little brighter for Shoppers...but I still don't think it can be saved. Even if you pitched the idea of "A more food-focused version of Costco without membership requirements", it's still a tough sell for the locations Shoppers has now, and the idea might turn off an already-confused customer base. Even if someone was entirely sold on a return to warehouse foods, they would probably want to restart Shoppers with a new name and format...but the more likely scenario is SuperValu offering up Shoppers locations to the highest bidders.

Ah, so it's not really there yet. They could still be strong for now, I think. They've got to prepare in case they really fall. Can the warehouse be really brought back there? Or is that a topic for a different day? I guess.

What Houston Division? You didn't really state which company. Isn't it a little closer to where Publix is now? Oh well.

Buying them? Don't they already own them, or are they more independent already? Which one anyways....

Giant and Safeway aren't too bad, since they've versed them for a long time, but there may have been a few times in which they've superseded Shoppers in their comparing stores. Don't forget the international stores, Aldi, and maybe some of those newer Price Rite-like stores, but they mostly just leave little bites at the store. Walmart is who I'm most worried about. They just seem to have Supercenter locations right near countless Shoppers, still operating or closed in recent years/times. They're just taking away their whole customer base and zapping it away to such a similar store. They'd need to figure out how to dodge that anyway.
Honestly, that pitch sounds much better than nothing. Imagine if they just pitched their current SuperValu state... nope. I doubt the customers would be confused unless they were regular shoppers of Shoppers ( ) back in the day. I would want more detail on this, exactly.

Isn't this the same Supervalu that just bought a couple dozen stores divested by Food Lion?

And what happened to selling or spinning off Save a Lot?

Seems to be a lot of talk at Supervalu but not so much action...

Yes, they did. It may not be official just yet, so I'm letting things off the hook here.

The Save-a-Lot spin-off is still happening, in the next two years. You'll see that sometime soon. I forget which article mentioned that, just look it up or take my word.

Yes.. but we await just when things will really change.

SVU wants to ultimately sell off the acquired Food Lion stores [http://www.startribune.com/supervalu-picks-up-some-food-lion-stores-that-were-spun-out-in-merger-of-grocery-giants/386807571/] and they do seem to be on the fence about SAL, as they wanted to increase their ownership of it before it spins off. Seems they want to spin it off to raise money but can't stand to really part with it.

They want to sell them off? Guess they're not even making business. Looking back, how about Shoppers and others just immediately exit and go their own way. That could be an idea.

[pseudo3d]

The Houston division of Albertsons/Safeway, on reflecting why a Safeway purchase of Farm Fresh doesn't make a ton of sense from a distribution standpoint.

[pseudo3d]

Also, a SuperValu spin-off of SAL within the next two years sounds really risky. This is something they're talking about now and trying to get investor support for. If things continue to deteriorate at SuperValu, then spinning off SAL is going to turn from "spinning off the company to raise funds and refocus" to "spinning off one of our most viable assets to at least pay back our shareholders".

[BatteryMill]

The Houston division of Albertsons/Safeway, on reflecting why a Safeway purchase of Farm Fresh doesn't make a ton of sense from a distribution standpoint.

Ah. Well, looks like Publix is more viable... but Farm Fresh can stay for now.

Also, a SuperValu spin-off of SAL within the next two years sounds really risky. This is something they're talking about now and trying to get investor support for. If things continue to deteriorate at SuperValu, then spinning off SAL is going to turn from "spinning off the company to raise funds and refocus" to "spinning off one of our most viable assets to at least pay back our shareholders".

Eh, I can agree. It's really sinking SVU in now, it seems. How about selling off the others first.

But really, seems like the whole thing is just a tricky business. SuperValu must not even know what they are doing, it's more of a tricky business now. Let's study Shoppers on our own, shall we?

[pseudo3d]

The Houston division of Albertsons/Safeway, on reflecting why a Safeway purchase of Farm Fresh doesn't make a ton of sense from a distribution standpoint.

Ah. Well, looks like Publix is more viable... but Farm Fresh can stay for now.

Also, a SuperValu spin-off of SAL within the next two years sounds really risky. This is something they're talking about now and trying to get investor support for. If things continue to deteriorate at SuperValu, then spinning off SAL is going to turn from "spinning off the company to raise funds and refocus" to "spinning off one of our most viable assets to at least pay back our shareholders".

Eh, I can agree. It's really sinking SVU in now, it seems. How about selling off the others first.

But really, seems like the whole thing is just a tricky business. SuperValu must not even know what they are doing, it's more of a tricky business now. Let's study Shoppers on our own, shall we?

Once a company is bought by another company, unless it has a good chance in the market (or someone buys the name wholesale), it tends to be tied with the fate of the parent company. It would've been far more likely that, say, Randalls would've died under Safeway than ever found another steward. Their market shares combined aren't great, with less than 11% for Baltimore, taking third place (Safeway is second at 15%, and Giant is first at a whopping 32%). In DC (as of 2013), Shoppers takes third place with 9%. Despite Shoppers having innovated a number of supermarket features, the numbers don't justify it. SuperValu is going to take the way that will get it funds, and unfortunately in this economy that would mean liquidation. The only way Shoppers can survive sans SuperValu is if it goes independent with SuperValu as a supplier, which would prolong the life of Shoppers but independents have a horrible track record of shedding stores at a fast rate, plus it is unlikely to get any better and will continue to deteriorate.