Raleys converting Reno Store to ONE Market Format

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storewanderer
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Re: Raleys converting Reno Store to ONE Market Format

Post by storewanderer »

Okay, I hate to keep being so negative here, but this addition back of normal items is a half-hearted effort at best. Very limited SKUs added. For instance in the pet food area there is still no normal Friskies Cat Food- they have two SKUs of Friskies "Lil Grillers" and a few multi packs of Fancy Feast. Over in frozen they have like 7 SKUs of Lean Cuisine and maybe 8 SKUs of Stouffers Frozen Single Serve Meals. Yet over in frozen they still have 8 entire doors filled up with bagged ice (all of that used to have actual product before the conversion to ONE).

Also looked at shredded cheese- didn't see any Kraft, but various other brands represented. Kraft seems to be the top shredded cheese brand so I don't understand why it hasn't been added back in. Over at Mayonnaise they have one SKU of Kraft Mayo and that is it.

For some reason still no Mahatma Jasmine Rice. Also they did get one SKU of standard English Muffins- Thomas Brand. Where is Oroweat and where is the Raleys brand? Why didn't those come back?

Meat department got slightly expanded but nothing close to what it was before, there are now 10 rows of beef (5 shelves high) up from 8 rows the past couple months. Of those 10 rows they are trying to do 3 rows of "Raleys California Harris Ranch USDA Choice Beef" their standard beef and then have 7 rows of no-grade disclosed "Natural" beef with the "Raleys ONE Market No Fake Stuff Just Good Stuff" stickers. They brought back Foster Farms Chicken and cut the amount of "Rocky" Chicken by 75% but all of the Chicken was single layer and still had markdowns. Also bakery is basically back to the standard Raleys bakery program.

Some photos of how the various sets throughout the store look with the normal items added back down to the bottom shelves.

There are a handfull of sets where normal items take up all shelves top to bottom, for instance, in the soda area they have about 9 feet of shelves with Coke/Pepsi/7-Up top to bottom, also in drug there is a maybe 3 foot section top to bottom of conventional pain relief medicine. There are also a handfull of sets where normal items take up about half of the shelves (from the bottom to the middle) like cake mix where Betty Crocker Cake Mix managed to get itself from bottom shelf all the way up to the middle shelf. But the vast majority of the sets look like the 4 below.

Need to click each photo for it to show up the right direction.
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Last edited by storewanderer on November 1st, 2021, 10:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Raleys converting Reno Store to ONE Market Format

Post by storewanderer »

ClownLoach wrote: November 1st, 2021, 1:16 pm
The red sign needs to go back up, original decor and layout put back to the best of their ability, the store needs to be fully reset back to regular planograms for a regular Raleys, and they need to plaster the town with ads that state, clear as crystal, "YOU SPOKE, WE LISTENED. We made the changes you asked for and we are sorry if we disappointed you recently. The Raley's you loved to shop is back.". Couple that with the $10 off coupon. That might save them. Maybe. But this message that "everyday" items are now at the store does not make it clear enough as you said that it is a full line grocer again. Sad when the ego doesn't go away and they don't do the obvious right thing.
Well, they previously had a fixture over the dairy that read:
NO FAKE STUFF. JUST THE GOOD STUFF

They have replaced that fixture with a big sign:
Giant green Raleys ONE Market Logo- Organics Nutrition Education.

I think the ONE Decor package can stay (even if it got switched back to a normal Raleys with red logo out front). It looks nice. Perhaps the decor package before looked better, but the ONE Decor package also looks quite nice. Issue is the products.
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Re: Raleys converting Reno Store to ONE Market Format

Post by storewanderer »

Did some shopping in this place, found what I went in for this time but still find it to be oddly and poorly assorted. Empty of customers still. Almost every item I bought came from one of the bottom shelves. I am not sure if there is some kind of psychology experiment going on in this place but something about taking items from the bottom shelves every time... seemed uncomfortable. Not sure if they are trying to exercise the customer or what. I guess I got lots of squats in. Dealt with yet another price overcharge- this place really can't get their price accuracy straight.

I think this is still not going to satisfy customer needs for the holidays. Better than what they had the past summer though. Thanksgiving ad is a single page. Mostly the same items as standard Raleys, but just less items. Why not just run the standard Raleys ad here that is larger and more attractive?
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Re: Raleys converting Reno Store to ONE Market Format

Post by ninersdd »

storewanderer wrote: November 18th, 2021, 10:51 pm Did some shopping in this place, found what I went in for this time but still find it to be oddly and poorly assorted. Empty of customers still. Almost every item I bought came from one of the bottom shelves. I am not sure if there is some kind of psychology experiment going on in this place but something about taking items from the bottom shelves every time... seemed uncomfortable. Not sure if they are trying to exercise the customer or what. I guess I got lots of squats in. Dealt with yet another price overcharge- this place really can't get their price accuracy straight.

I think this is still not going to satisfy customer needs for the holidays. Better than what they had the past summer though. Thanksgiving ad is a single page. Mostly the same items as standard Raleys, but just less items. Why not just run the standard Raleys ad here that is larger and more attractive?
I know they do that with their cereals; put the unhealthier ones on the bottom row(s).
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Re: Raleys converting Reno Store to ONE Market Format

Post by storewanderer »

ninersdd wrote: November 18th, 2021, 11:15 pm
I know they do that with their cereals; put the unhealthier ones on the bottom row(s).
Well now it is all of the mainline brands, on the bottom shelves, throughout the store.

Speaking of cereal, talk about something that has way more shelf space in every store than it needs...
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Re: Raleys converting Reno Store to ONE Market Format

Post by storewanderer »

Today this store had a "Customer Appreciation Day" event. They had a ton of demo tables set up throughout the store including 5 tables in liquor alone, and at least that many more elsewhere in the store, raffles, etc. They also had a 4 person band there with a full drum sax etc. set performing live music in between the produce area and the bakery. They were also trying to get people to take nutrition classes (no cost). No clue how much money this event cost but it definitely had a lot of pieces, seemed well organized, and took some significant effort to organize all of this.

What was missing- was customers. The store didn't even have enough traffic mid day to keep 3 checkouts and the 4 self checkouts steadily being used. Meat area and deli area were both largely deserted. Produce was actually staffed and looked better than it has since the conversion, finally. There were probably 20-30 customers shopping in the store but with all of the demo people it was difficult to tell how many people were customers and how many were demo people.

Noticed a few more screwy things with the merchandising; they don't sell 2 L bottles of Coke/Pepsi or any soda, just 12 packs or the smaller bottles. Also the Hansen's Soda seems to have gotten discontinued so they have the space for the Coke/Pepsi .... (why... would they discontinue a soda that has cane sugar and not high fructose corn syrup?)... Still no Arm & Hammer Baking Soda but did cut in a Raleys brand one which is on the top shelf. They have about 6 cartfulls of clearance items at the back of the store, from various categories, not sure what that is all about.

Meanwhile the parking lot at the new Safeway was about 70% full, every checkstand open plus the 6 self checkouts, and the store was busy but not chaotic; I have seen it much busier other Saturdays back when it was closer to grand opening. The parking lots at the WinCo and the Smiths nearby were jam packed and the traffic flowing in and out of those two stores was so heavy it was difficult to even drive across the front of the buildings.
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Re: Raleys converting Reno Store to ONE Market Format

Post by ClownLoach »

storewanderer wrote: November 1st, 2021, 10:38 pm
ClownLoach wrote: November 1st, 2021, 1:16 pm
The red sign needs to go back up, original decor and layout put back to the best of their ability, the store needs to be fully reset back to regular planograms for a regular Raleys, and they need to plaster the town with ads that state, clear as crystal, "YOU SPOKE, WE LISTENED. We made the changes you asked for and we are sorry if we disappointed you recently. The Raley's you loved to shop is back.". Couple that with the $10 off coupon. That might save them. Maybe. But this message that "everyday" items are now at the store does not make it clear enough as you said that it is a full line grocer again. Sad when the ego doesn't go away and they don't do the obvious right thing.
Well, they previously had a fixture over the dairy that read:
NO FAKE STUFF. JUST THE GOOD STUFF

They have replaced that fixture with a big sign:
Giant green Raleys ONE Market Logo- Organics Nutrition Education.

I think the ONE Decor package can stay (even if it got switched back to a normal Raleys with red logo out front). It looks nice. Perhaps the decor package before looked better, but the ONE Decor package also looks quite nice. Issue is the products.
Only reason I'm saying it is this is clearly a colossal, "new Coke" level branding failure, compounded by arrogance and disinterest in customer feedback. In such a massive screw-up the best way to fix it is to do everything possible to make it like it never happened while issuing a full mea culpa to the public. It's their only chance.
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Re: Raleys converting Reno Store to ONE Market Format

Post by storewanderer »

ClownLoach wrote: November 20th, 2021, 9:38 pm
Only reason I'm saying it is this is clearly a colossal, "new Coke" level branding failure, compounded by arrogance and disinterest in customer feedback. In such a massive screw-up the best way to fix it is to do everything possible to make it like it never happened while issuing a full mea culpa to the public. It's their only chance.
Maybe they'll be busier the next four days...

I say this because I have really gotten to like Raleys. I am very upset that they ruined this store in this manner and their tone deaf responses to customer feedback have shocked me. They have, literally, done everything wrong, yet they do what I would call a first class job on everything. As in, they hit all of the details and they spare no expense. It is almost in this case like they would have been better off doing a half ass job if it wouldn't have been as destructive.

I am shopping here a little more now since they brought some other items back in but it still isn't the same as before. Still few customers, not nearly as much fresh product out as before, a higher everyday pricing scale than before, etc. The few employees left from before the conversion still do not seem very happy either. A busy store is a happy store; this WAS a busy store, and it WAS a happy store. Until the ONE Conversion.
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Re: Raleys converting Reno Store to ONE Market Format

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Went in this afternoon. 5 of 7 checkstands open, steady traffic to 2 in line. A bit of a line for the 4 self checkouts. Tons of fresh and frozen turkey left. Though there was definitely foot traffic in the store, there were few full or even partially full carts. The majority of customers appeared to be buying less than a dozen items with many 1-3 item purchases taking place. Previous years the day before Thanksgiving this store would have had every register open, lines stretching the aisles, and most customers with cartfulls of goods. I suspect today was probably the best sales volume this store has done since the ONE Conversion. Maybe there is some way to spin that as a win.

Safeway and Smiths- jam packed.
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Re: Raleys converting Reno Store to ONE Market Format

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Went into this store the past few days. I saw between 4-5 checkouts open and lines often 2-3 customers. There still seem to be more customers without a cart than with a cart and the ones with carts are not very full. Still this is by far the most traffic I've seen here since the conversion. The store felt semi-alive again but the vibe is still off and nobody seems happy. Before conversion they would have had all of the registers going (I think they had 8 registers before, now they have 7) and lines down the aisles and a ton of full carts.

Steadily seeing ads for Raleys ONE including videos and other ads while I am on Facebook and certain other social media websites. Cannot imagine the amount of money they are spending marketing this green logo/format. Continuing to try to cram something down the customer's throat that the customer does not like. Bring back the standard Raleys that was highly profitable and high volume, not this low volume store that many people hate.

Meat area seemed quite limited but had out a literal ton of Prime Rib (7.97/lb) roasts.

Produce seems radically improved on freshness, finally.

The shelf allocations are laughable. In the aisle they put conventional soda back, many 12pks only have space on the shelf for 4 12pks. So many secondary flavors were out of stock. Of course there is no extra supply displayed anywhere. They have six cartfulls of "clearance" items mostly ONE-type natural foods items and many nearing expiration. At first I thought it was stuff they got rid of to add mainstream brands back to the bottom shelves and some may have been but a lot of it is close date stuff.

Cashiers are HEAVILY pushing the Something Extra program. I have never seen such a hard push for this program in any other location, including this one before the conversion.

eCart area seemed to have a few orders waiting for pick up each time. Before conversion they would have had dozens of orders waiting.

Not sure I've ever seen a company deliberately kill its business like this. This makes the old Albertsons-Lucky conversion fiasco look like child's play.

I think the store did the best it could given this terrible format being forced upon it, for Christmas. Hopefully they will pick up some repeat business going forward as it has not been looking good here even after they added various items back in.

Looking at the baskets the past few days, most baskets had at least an item in them that had been previously banned. So had they not at least brought back various banned items to the bottom shelves the results would have been much, much worse.
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