Wegmans Cheapening Decor

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Wegmans Cheapening Decor

Post by Alpha8472 »

Has anyone noticed Wegmans cheapening their once extravagant decor on new stores?
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Re: Wegmans Cheapening Decor

Post by klkla »

Do you have a link that gives an example?
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Re: Wegmans Cheapening Decor

Post by Alpha8472 »

https://www.timeout.com/newyork/news/fi ... ars-102419

https://www.google.com/maps/uv?hl=en&pb ... G3oECBIQBg

New smaller store in Brooklyn with less space and a more warehouse style look.
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Re: Wegmans Cheapening Decor

Post by retailfanmitchell019 »

This interior is very dumbed down from the interiors Wegmans previously had.
Are the signs made of cardboard? SVU did this with 2012 Albertsons remodels.

I'd say Albertsons Grocery Palace interior is nicer than this.
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Re: Wegmans Cheapening Decor

Post by storewanderer »

Wegmans seems to be expanding faster than before and has cheapened the stores to do so. I think they are in a race with Publix to claim certain new territories. The reality is Wegmans and Publix are totally different animals, yet in the minds of customers, seem to be very highly regarded as if they are equal.

I will be very interested to see who wins the Wegmans vs. Publix fight where they co-exist or if they both win and Harris Teeter loses.

I find Wegmans and Hy Vee to be very excellent operators. Similar service levels in the stores and level of offerings. Store atmosphere is totally different but these are two quality operators that invest a ton in labor, in-store prep, and have very high standards for how they run their stores. But they need very high volumes to support what they are doing.

Publix- runs a lot of medium sized stores. Their store hours are really poor; they close very early in most places in FL and elsewhere (unless Kroger is around, then they are open much later). Publix has small bakery, deli, produce, and meat departments that remind me of an 80's Lucky or Safeway out west, they have less offering in those areas than the worst operators on the west coast today, but what Publix does have is very high quality product. Publix runs a good neighborhood store but they are no Wegmans or Hy Vee.

Problem with Wegmans is it is a real experience to go shop there. They are the true "destination store." You cannot park quickly, or get in and out quickly. The layouts just don't allow it. They have the staffing levels to move a lot of customers through quickly once you go pay, but the task of getting through the parking lot and then the store is not quick.
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Re: Wegmans Cheapening Decor

Post by klkla »

That interior is definitely 'minimalist'. I wouldn't say it looks cheaper per se. The design seems to bring your focus to the actual product instead of the store's graphic package. To that end I think it is successful.
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Re: Wegmans Cheapening Decor

Post by retailfanmitchell019 »

storewanderer wrote: August 5th, 2020, 11:32 pm Wegmans seems to be expanding faster than before and has cheapened the stores to do so. I think they are in a race with Publix to claim certain new territories. The reality is Wegmans and Publix are totally different animals, yet in the minds of customers, seem to be very highly regarded as if they are equal.

I will be very interested to see who wins the Wegmans vs. Publix fight where they co-exist or if they both win and Harris Teeter loses.
Publix and Wegmans compete in NC's Research Triangle (Raleigh/Durham). I'm surprised Food Lion hasn't pulled out of there yet.
Wegmans will probably expand to Pittsburgh or Cleveland next (where Meijer is expanding).
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Re: Wegmans Cheapening Decor

Post by storewanderer »

I actually went into a couple Food Lions in RDU area that were busy. Food Lion also took at least one former Kroger over. I think Kroger leaving RDU opened up a middle class-lower middle class customer for Food Lion. Harris Teeter runs a great operation in RDU (I'd take it over a Publix any day and over a Wegmans some days). Exceptional operation, really. Far better than the H-T DC operation which is nothing to get excited about.
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Re: Wegmans Cheapening Decor

Post by rwsandiego »

retailfanmitchell019 wrote: August 5th, 2020, 11:04 pm This interior is very dumbed down from the interiors Wegmans previously had.
Are the signs made of cardboard? SVU did this with 2012 Albertsons remodels.

I'd say Albertsons Grocery Palace interior is nicer than this.
The decor compliments the building and the neighborhood in which it is located. An extravagant interior would not do that. I'm surprised the decor is not more minimalist, in the style of Safeway's "Modern" decor.
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Re: Wegmans Cheapening Decor

Post by buckguy »

An odd thread. It builds on a comment on another thread by a different poster from the OP there viewtopic.php?f=17&t=2565 and then moves to a different region and a strawman-type comparison of Wegman and Publix.

We still don't have a description of the old interior that was more "upscale", although the original post on the other thread did mention design features like having a second story.

Outside of its Western/central NY base, Wegman is a destination whereas Publix is someplace you shop every week and more of a Harris-Teeter competitor, so it's apples and oranges. Wegman's could easily take some H-T and Publix customers, but their real threat would be to the growth of Whole Foods or other specialty chains. Publix was part of the reason that H-T left Atlanta, a market that should have been perfect for them, although H-T's pricing was another big problem, but one that should have been fixable. Publix has had the luxury of entering markets with relatively mediocre to weak competition and low cost for entry into most of their locations. I suspect they won't enter the DC area because the conditions are so completely different from other places. They also seem to know where and when to do large stores and who their customer is.

The Wegman move into NC seems odd, but they clearly have their own model for geographic expansion and have avoided moving West (where they'd compete with Heinen's, another multi-generation upscale store) and haven't invested much lately in New England. They've gone slow with urban locations and seem to look for the right place, although they are willing to choose someplace unorthodox as they did in Prince Georges County, MD. The new DC store under construction probably wouldn't have worked for any other super. It may be that land costs and a growing economy drew them there. They also may have detected a taste for something other than the sprawlburg blandness I associate with places like the Triangle.
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