Retail Watchers

Bagels wrote: ↑March 20th, 2020, 7:05 pm

veteran+ wrote: ↑March 18th, 2020, 3:33 pm Yes, W/D was truly a Florida chain but they messed up there as well.

They had a huge opportunity when Pantry Pride finally disappeared. Every other major grocery retailer was gone except Publix and the growing Walmart. Albertsons was always a joke in Florida and anyone else did not have a mass presence to be a contender.

This was a market that W/D should have known forwards and backwards and if they were truly paying attention to the demographic changes they could have gobbled up many Pantry Prides and give Publix and Walmart a good contest.

The Pantry Prides (Food Fair) were old and in rough shape. Winn Dixie did try to make a go of it in Florida -- among other acquisitions, it acquired up most of the Goodings in the Orlando-area -- but was crushed by Walmart, which focused on the Southeast (including Florida) for its initial supermarkets. Remember, most of those early supercenters had full-service meat, deli and bakery counters (Walmart has since eliminated full-service meat counters, and limited many deli and bakery service items). Winn Dixie simply couldn't compete with Walmart on price, or Publix on its shopping experience. IMO, it's remarkable there's as many Winn Dixies left as there is.

Many of the Goodings stores were formerly Pantry Prides.

The condition of the Pantry Pride stores were mixed. Some were functionally okay and some were refurbished. The last NEW one was opened in Sunny Isles north Miami Beach (1991?). Also some stores were closed and replaced (like store #223 Dadeland Mall in Miami).

I still believe W/D missed its opportunity. Every step they took was ill conceived and poorly executed. They waffled between trying to be the low price leader to upscaling their stores to parody Publix. Even their attempts for hispanic customers was laughable.

IMO.....W/D should have studied Stater Brothers in S. Cali for more effective results.

veteran+ wrote: ↑March 21st, 2020, 7:36 am Many of the Goodings stores were formerly Pantry Prides.

The condition of the Pantry Pride stores were mixed. Some were functionally okay and some were refurbished. The last NEW one was opened in Sunny Isles north Miami Beach (1991?). Also some stores were closed and replaced (like store #223 Dadeland Mall in Miami).

I still believe W/D missed its opportunity. Every step they took was ill conceived and poorly executed. They waffled between trying to be the low price leader to upscaling their stores to parody Publix. Even their attempts for hispanic customers was laughable.

IMO.....W/D should have studied Stater Brothers in S. Cali for more effective results.

Winn Dixie acquired (most of) Goodings around the same time Pantry Pride/Food Fair went bust . Lots of grocers targeted Florida, and I don't think Winn Dixie stood a chance. Heck, even Kroger's hesitant to enter the market. One of the companies that bought land in Florida during the late 1990s was Meijer. It never developed the land, and later sold it. Several years ago, I attended an economic conference where Hank Meijer (then its CEO) was a guest speaker, and he said that in the 1990s, the Company seriously considered entering Texas, but stuck with the "I-75 expansion route." He feels Texas was their biggest missed opportunity.

I think Texas was also Winn Dixie's biggest opportunity. If the chain would've acquired Randalls/Tom Thumb in the late 1990s, then Albertsons' stores several years later, instead of the Florida strategy it pursued, it may have suppressed the rise of the modern HEB and kept it a relevant regional player strong in Texas, Louisiana and the Gulf Coast.

Like I said, I'm surprised Winn Dixie is still around. Their stores in the Bloixi area resembled the grocery stores I remember as a little kid in the 1980s (in other words, no updates). Most have since closed. Rouses acquired one location, did a complete remodel and it has way more foot traffic than I ever saw at Winn Dixie... in spite of the fact that Rouses' prices suck.

Well you have to know the huge changes that were going on in S. Florida's population at the time and having lived there for many years I can tell you it was seismic and fast.

Publix paid attention and so did Walmart.

W/D, with its long history and knowledge of the market, had a real chance but I believe their R&D department and management team were grossly inept and living in the past. They were not tuned in and just about every decision was wrong and with the worst execution. Their actions were emblematic of their denial of all the changes.

The home town "boy" had the advantage and wasted it. All the other entrants into the market were in a learning curve with the fast changing demographics.

Winn-Dixie's issues have persisted since the 1990's. It made progress with new Marketplace stores. Internally, it struggled keeping older stores opened through expansions/remodels and closing stores in growing trade areas with better competitors. It could not keep up with hypermarket Walmart Supercenter and supermarkets BI-LO, Food City, H-E-B, Harris Teeter, Kroger, and Publix.

Being acquired by BI-LO and being part of Southeastern Grocers has not helped Winn-Dixie or BI-LO.

Knight wrote: ↑March 22nd, 2020, 9:49 pm

Being acquired by BI-LO and being part of Southeastern Grocers has not helped Winn-Dixie or BI-LO.

How do they stay open...?

I guess cost of business is that low in their regions...

storewanderer wrote: ↑March 22nd, 2020, 9:52 pm

Knight wrote: ↑March 22nd, 2020, 9:49 pm

Being acquired by BI-LO and being part of Southeastern Grocers has not helped Winn-Dixie or BI-LO.

How do they stay open...?

I guess cost of business is that low in their regions...

Southeastern Grocers' stores likely stay open through Lone Star Funds' other investments.

Knight wrote: ↑March 22nd, 2020, 10:00 pmSoutheastern Grocers' stores likely stay open through Lone Star Funds' other investments.

Not likely. It's more likely they're just piling on more debt and management fees to keep it going for a long as they can.

klkla wrote: ↑March 22nd, 2020, 10:06 pm

Knight wrote: ↑March 22nd, 2020, 10:00 pmSoutheastern Grocers' stores likely stay open through Lone Star Funds' other investments.

Not likely. It's more likely they're just piling on more debt and management fees to keep it going for a long as they can.

I am most curious that they took a few of those Lucky's locations. I would not have expected any growth out of them. Maybe the leases went cheaply, but the store sizes are small and it will take some remodeling to make those into the usual Winn Dixie.

storewanderer wrote: ↑March 22nd, 2020, 10:11 pm I am most curious that they took a few of those Lucky's locations. I would not have expected any growth out of them. Maybe the leases went cheaply, but the store sizes are small and it will take some remodeling to make those into the usual Winn Dixie.

I would imagine they got a really cheap price and will not spend much capital to reopen the stores. And that's assuming they don't pull their offer. I'm pretty sure most chains are looking to cut capital expenditures until they're sure how strong the economy will be as a result of Covid-19.

klkla wrote: ↑March 22nd, 2020, 10:06 pm Not likely. It's more likely they're just piling on more debt and management fees to keep it going for a long as they can.

Southeastern Grocers has a quantity of underachieving stores that are increasing debt.