Raleys converting Reno Store to ONE Market Format

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Raleys converting Reno Store to ONE Market Format

Post by storewanderer »

Raleys is converting store in Reno, NV at 18500 Wedge Pkwy to ONE Market format. This is a large 65,000 square foot store built around 1995 and untouched for 20 years. It got a major remodel in 2015 which was basically as good as a rebuild and the store was fantastic in layout, decor, freshness, selection, department size, and flow. One of the best Raleys Store I've shopped in (Benicia done around the same time was also very well done).

This store is near one of the wealthier parts of Reno, but mostly near middle class-upper middle class housing, plus in the past couple years developers have built or are in the process of building about 2,500 apartments within 1-2 miles of the store including hundreds of government subsidized workforce income apartments.

This is a very high volume store. It did such a high volume on center store items they installed top shelves to keep boxes of product for overstock last year (something I have not seen in any other Raleys). This store is in a growing area and I think customers will demand a full mix of merchandise. New Safeway opens a few miles away in the next couple months- Raleys just handed them a ton of customers.

I cannot believe they are converting this store to this format. Absolutely cannot believe it. This is a serious mistake.

4788 Caughlin would have been a better candidate for this. Not a great volume store, also in a solidly high income area (with no middle class/lower middle class growth taking place). Raleys has multiple other stores nearby and that part of Reno may actually have some demand for this store format as it could pull from NW Reno which has no Sprouts, Whole Foods, etc.

We will see how this goes. They have been remodeling the store the past month but it never crossed my mind they would convert such a high volume store in a growing area with a varying customer base into this format. If this is like Truckee missing many big CPG items this is going to be a disaster.

Interesting they seem to be going after new build Safeways by converting stores to this format. New Safeway in El Dorado Hills opened a year ago and now Raleys converts to ONE format there. New Safeway opening in Reno and Raleys converts to ONE format there right around the same time the Safeway will open. Raleys own format should be able to stand up very well to Safeway- but this ONE Format? ... If what I've seen in Truckee is any indication, Safeway has held its customers very well.

Now, they obviously would lose some chunk of their business temporarily to the new Safeway assuming they did nothing (until more growth happens as the area keeps growing). But doing this format cutting out thousands of mainstream "banned ingredient" items many customers buy guarantees they will lose business for good and new folks who move into the area will go to this store, see it has no Coke, no Best Foods Mayo, and decide they need to shop elsewhere. Maybe it is expected they will lose business in the conversion but they want to see if they can remain just as profitable on a lower amount of volume or something.

This store also does a very high volume of eCart orders. I can only imagine what happens on May 1 when many folks log in to do their eCart orders at this store and the various "banned" items that they have ordered in past orders are no longer available for fulfillment. Oh well, the nearby Wal Mart, Smiths, and soon Safeway will certainly be able to fulfill all items. If anyone was considering switching stores this will sure push them.
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Re: Raleys converting Reno Store to ONE Market Format

Post by bryceleinan »

storewanderer wrote: April 13th, 2021, 12:42 pm This store also does a very high volume of eCart orders. I can only imagine what happens on May 1 when many folks log in to do their eCart orders at this store and the various "banned" items that they have ordered in past orders are no longer available for fulfillment. Oh well, the nearby Wal Mart, Smiths, and soon Safeway will certainly be able to fulfill all items. If anyone was considering switching stores this will sure push them.
This is just a weird decision, especially with Galena High and the TMCC/UNR Redfield Campus across the street. I think Raley's is going through an identity crisis in that they want to be more like Whole Foods or Sprouts, yet they have been a full-line store since their inception. You're right that they just handed Safeway and Smith's a boatload of customers though.
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Re: Raleys converting Reno Store to ONE Market Format

Post by storewanderer »

bryceleinan wrote: April 15th, 2021, 7:15 pm

This is just a weird decision, especially with Galena High and the TMCC/UNR Redfield Campus across the street. I think Raley's is going through an identity crisis in that they want to be more like Whole Foods or Sprouts, yet they have been a full-line store since their inception. You're right that they just handed Safeway and Smith's a boatload of customers though.
This is such a big mistake I cannot even describe... Time for someone else to open a new store up there on Mt. Rose Highway.
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Re: Raleys converting Reno Store to ONE Market Format

Post by storewanderer »

This store will reopen 5/1. I was in the shopping center during the day this week and Raleys is sure putting out an effort on the conversion. In addition to what looked like hundreds of people inside working on the conversion, and security guards outside, they had tables at each of the entry doors to the remodeling store with two employees at each. They were providing a free burlap reusable bag with Raleys One Market Logo as well as a free stainless steel Kleen Kanteen cup also with Raleys One Market logo and also a coupon for $10 off $50 at any other Raleys location through 4/30 and verbally communicating regarding the changes to the store and the opening for 5/1.

Budget for this project must be unlimited.
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Re: Raleys converting Reno Store to ONE Market Format

Post by storewanderer »

The Reno conversion is done. They took what was a great large well merchandised Raleys and turned it into a large, overly spacious, under-merchandised, oddly merchandised "ONE Market." They took out some aisles, shortened the length of some aisles, and shortened the height of some aisles. The product selection is reduced beyond belief from what it was and for a large store like this it is unbelieveably limited in selection.

What is more interesting is they also cut back on perishable goods. Half of a frozen aisle now has bagged ice (there was no bagged ice in any of the frozen aisles before). The big aisle-length case in front of bakery/deli which previously was about 1/3 prepack bakery and 2/3 prepack deli is now about 1/3 prepack deli and 2/3 bottled drinks. I don't even know how many places I saw Tejava merchandised in this store but it was in at least 5 places. They managed to slot 12 packs of Polar Seltzer on the shelves (finally) yet couldn't be bothered to bring in the 1 Liter Bottles of Polar Seltzer despite that they have so much space in this place now.

Oh, Raleys also shifted this Reno store to their highest price scale. The 1L Tejava that used to be regularly 1.99 is now regularly 2.15. Could not believe the prices in this place; just terrible. Reno is not Truckee or Redwood City. I don't know where the disconnect is here but this is a really poor move to put this store on this price scale.

Also the bakery is cut back just like Truckee. The Raleys Bakery Muffins and Loaf Cakes (excellent product) are gone replaced with some defrost and sell item called Old Town Muffins from Perris, CA. The standard Raleys bakery cookies are also gone replaced with some 8pk cookies at 6.99, the standard Raleys bakery cake slices are replaced by identical looking cake slices at 3.99 (old slices were 2.99). Luckily the standard Raleys croissants and french bread are still present (also excellent).

Also I find it funny the store still has a full service pharmacy inside yet does not carry standard over the counter cold medicines like theraflu, robitussin, day quill, ny quill, and has like 4 SKUs total of Advil and Tylenol.

They have also added a lot of general merchandise to the store. They have weird things like $249 felt purses and a number of very high priced kitchen goods that do not look worth the prices. Williams Sonoma along with Dillards and other stores is less than a mile away- real disconnect here to bother with these items in this location.

Raleys has just guaranteed Safeway immediate success with the new South Reno Store that is about to open. Perhaps Raleys can convert the Reno Robb Drive Store to this ONE format next, that would really help the Mae Anne Ave. Reno Safeway out a lot.

This is a real disappointment- positive experiences with this store (and its selection and quality) are what really changed my image of the Raleys chain over the past five years... and I went to Raleys much more often in other locations as a result of positive experiences with this location.

Perhaps a better strategy for Raleys would be to just downsize the large stores they want to convert to this format and sublease the empty space to someone who will sell all the "bad banned foods." They could even bring back the Food Source concept and use it to merchandise the "bad banned foods" or try to give the space to CVS or Rite Aid or Walgreens along with the pharmacy and they could carry the banned items.
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Re: Raleys converting Reno Store to ONE Market Format

Post by veteran+ »

What do you mean by "bad banned foods"?
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Re: Raleys converting Reno Store to ONE Market Format

Post by storewanderer »

veteran+ wrote: May 2nd, 2021, 8:10 am What do you mean by "bad banned foods"?
The tens and thousands of items they pulled from the store. It isn't just stuff on their "banned ingredients list" - it is stuff that has ingredients that are perfectly acceptable per their list but have, for instance, too high of a sugar content. Their mix is more restrictive than Whole Foods (though they do have more SKUs than Whole Foods since categories like canned vegetables, canned fruit, cooking oil have all the SKUs from before present, nothing banned there).
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Re: Raleys converting Reno Store to ONE Market Format

Post by ninersdd »

https://www.yelp.com/biz/raleys-o-n-e-market-reno

Yep, similar to the El Dorado one, the reviews have panned it so far(the reviews for that one are 3 of 18 positive).

Maybe they should've focused on building new stores with this concept, and not changing established ones. It's like in baseball, Raley's loaded up the bases, and preceded to hit into a double play with this concept.
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Re: Raleys converting Reno Store to ONE Market Format

Post by storewanderer »

ninersdd wrote: May 2nd, 2021, 6:48 pm https://www.yelp.com/biz/raleys-o-n-e-market-reno

Yep, similar to the El Dorado one, the reviews have panned it so far(the reviews for that one are 3 of 18 positive).

Maybe they should've focused on building new stores with this concept, and not changing established ones. It's like in baseball, Raley's loaded up the bases, and preceded to hit into a double play with this concept.
Yeah, I went into the store today. Observed at least five customers either complaining to employees about lack of product availability or complaining to other customers about lack of product availability. The employees I observed were trying to be helpful but the customers already seemed agitated.

As I was walking in I noticed someone carrying out a box of standard Corona Beer. I think it is interesting they still manage to get mainstream alcohol in this store yet so many other products are not there. One of customers I observed complaining was asking for Dawn Dish Soap- they don't have it. They have one SKU of clear colored Palmolive. This customer, is just the customer they are targeting (middle aged male who was driving a very high priced car and likely lives in the million dollar homes a few miles up the road), went off on them, said he used to spend $200 a week, now he has a handfull of items in his basket, is going to look for another store, etc. He exited the store with one bag of stuff.

Also- same complaint as I have in Truckee- they have Organic and non-Organic produce next to one another on the display mixed together and in multiple cases in fruits (apples, mango, citrus, pears) the non-Organic is touching the Organic. There is no divider separating the two from contact with one another. Raleys- you were the first mainstream grocer to sell Organic produce back in the early 90's in NorCal/NV and had strict handling standards. I learned about cross contamination of Organic and non-Organic products from Raleys old ads mentioning it. How can your standards slip like this in this new concept? Pre-Remodel all of the Organic fruit had its own side of a case and it was segregated and well organized. Now the whole produce area is a disorganized rummaged through looking mess.

So you have mainstream beer and liquor but not basic household items? Okay- this store has some serious merchandising issues for sure.

Raleys has gotten its normal format really good over the past decade. This format they are clearly in a state of confusion. They are out of their lane here. And they've driven off multiple cliffs.

Also why is the 91/9 "Natural" Ground Beef 8.19/lb from the service counter and 7.69/lb prepack? Before the service counter meat had the same price as the prepack meat if it was the same stuff (which this is). I'll just go ahead and forget that before the conversion that same exact 91/9 "Natural" Ground Beef was prepack only at 7.49/lb which was already too high, and the service counter sold 93/7 Ground Beef (without the meaningless "Natural" designation) for 6.99/lb.

Also bakery had no dutch crust french bread or slot for it. Asked and was told they don't carry it anymore, it is one of the items that doesn't meet their ingredient standards. Okay... First off, Truckee store carries it. Secondly, they have a display of rolls made out of that same exact french bread on the opposite side of display with the dutch crust on it; at least the rolls didn't get a price increase.
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Re: Raleys converting Reno Store to ONE Market Format

Post by rwsandiego »

Raley's really should not have converted a successful store to this new format. I like to buy "clean" products, too, but if my Safeway decided to become a Whole Foods clone called Safeway I'd be angry, too. Sounds like they did zero research into sales data at that store. They could easily have found that their customers buy a mix of conventional and organic/natural products. And to not separate the organic from the conventional produce is inexcusable.
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