Kroger adds "Fresh Cart" icon to Kroger logo, banner logos

[marshd1000]

I imagine the various store names will adopt the Kroger-style font (which is what happened in the 60s when Kroger bought Wyatt in Texas)

Krambo and Henke-Pillot also adopted this font style. Alas, all three chains were absorbed into mainline Kroger within a few years after their respective buyouts. They seem to be trying this again with this other brand they have, and now this.

They could have just thrown a little Kroger logo up next to the Ralphs, etc. logos... given most everything in the store is already Kroger brand... and the stores are run to a modern day Kroger standard... which is not the same standard as Ralphs ran at 20 years ago.

Kind of reminds me of the Ahold Fruit Bowl logo. I prefer the Ahold one- more color.

I think Kroger's attempt is more creative, going along with their storied logo. Ahold just took everything and started anew.

Kroger is simply lost.

Terrible quality bakery/deli, produce and meat that can look fantastic one day and terrible the next day in the exact same store- a POS system in all but one division that still can't (won't?) accept Contactless Payments, and what are they focusing on? A new logo.

Wow.

Also, the new logo is not applied at Harris Teeter, QFC, Food 4 Less, FoodsCo. I am surprised to see it being applied at Fred Meyer but maybe that isn't a surprise.

The new logo looks really weird next to things like the classic looking Dillons logo or the classic looking King Soopers logo- those are already logos in themselves. It looks okay but completely pointless next to Smiths bland letters I guess. Smiths has never much of a logo.

Harris Teeter still has some decent autonomy, QFC not sure but probably more upscale, F4L has a rather unique identity too. Fred Meyer has some regular grocery stores on the level of your average Kroger too.

AdWeek has an article on the new symbol. Every Kroger brand is getting it. Even QFC, Harris Teeter, and F4L. I think they are going to use it to educate the public that their neighborhood Ralphs, Fred Meyer, etc. Is really a Kroger store, then later change the name.

They have that initiative where they're delivering in Florida despite not having a single store there, and it sounds like if that's successful they would continue to grow it out where they don't have a retail footprint. Hard to pick a name to use where you don't have a store. Hence the long term need for a single brand.

I was surprised to see it on the F4L format - but then remembered that they phased out similar stores in Las Vegas already and converted the ones they wanted to keep into Smith's. So maybe this is foreshadowing further elimination someday of F4L, Rvler, etc

This probably should be moved to the non region specific category.

One small correction, there IS one Harris Teeter in Jacksonville, Florida!

[ClownLoach]

Krambo and Henke-Pillot also adopted this font style. Alas, all three chains were absorbed into mainline Kroger within a few years after their respective buyouts. They seem to be trying this again with this other brand they have, and now this.



I think Kroger's attempt is more creative, going along with their storied logo. Ahold just took everything and started anew.



Harris Teeter still has some decent autonomy, QFC not sure but probably more upscale, F4L has a rather unique identity too. Fred Meyer has some regular grocery stores on the level of your average Kroger too.

AdWeek has an article on the new symbol. Every Kroger brand is getting it. Even QFC, Harris Teeter, and F4L. I think they are going to use it to educate the public that their neighborhood Ralphs, Fred Meyer, etc. Is really a Kroger store, then later change the name.

They have that initiative where they're delivering in Florida despite not having a single store there, and it sounds like if that's successful they would continue to grow it out where they don't have a retail footprint. Hard to pick a name to use where you don't have a store. Hence the long term need for a single brand.

I was surprised to see it on the F4L format - but then remembered that they phased out similar stores in Las Vegas already and converted the ones they wanted to keep into Smith's. So maybe this is foreshadowing further elimination someday of F4L, Rvler, etc

This probably should be moved to the non region specific category.

One small correction, there IS one Harris Teeter in Jacksonville, Florida!

Yes but they aren't rolling out Harris Teeter e-commerce across Florida. They're rolling out Kroger.com with the Ocado delivery warehouse.

[Romr123]

almost like a ghost kitchen...

[HCal]

I agree rebranding would be a mistake, I certainly would not rebrand if it were my decision, but I do not think it would be the failure Albertsons rebranding of Lucky was. The difference is Albertsons not only rebranded Lucky but they tore apart the Lucky merchandising, fresh department, and perimeter programs- and had the stores in a state of flux for months after the conversions. If Kroger were to rebanner stores to Kroger, nothing would be changing other than the sign out front... they have already done their "converting" on the merchandising, fresh departments, and perimeter programs many times over.

I think the sign out front is incredibly important. As an example, when Haggen entered California, they made very few changes to the former Albertsons and Vons stores other than changing the sign out front and slapping on a coat of paint. The merchandise was mostly the same (although they subsequently transitioned to their own private label brand), the fresh and perimeter departments were mostly left untouched. Their pricing was a bit higher but I don't think that was a factor, especially in wealthy communities where Pavilions wasn't exactly known to be cheap. The problem was that customers didn't recognize the "Haggen" name and didn't know what it stood for, had an underwhelming first impression, and therefore decided to switch to a more familiar store.

I think that many people have an emotional connection to grocery stores. I love going to Lucky when I'm in the bay area because I remember going there as a kid with my parents. Many Angelenos grew up shopping at Ralphs. It may be just the name on a sign, but it draws people in.

[storewanderer]

I think the sign out front is incredibly important. As an example, when Haggen entered California, they made very few changes to the former Albertsons and Vons stores other than changing the sign out front and slapping on a coat of paint. The merchandise was mostly the same (although they subsequently transitioned to their own private label brand), the fresh and perimeter departments were mostly left untouched. Their pricing was a bit higher but I don't think that was a factor, especially in wealthy communities where Pavilions wasn't exactly known to be cheap. The problem was that customers didn't recognize the "Haggen" name and didn't know what it stood for, had an underwhelming first impression, and therefore decided to switch to a more familiar store.

I think that many people have an emotional connection to grocery stores. I love going to Lucky when I'm in the bay area because I remember going there as a kid with my parents. Many Angelenos grew up shopping at Ralphs. It may be just the name on a sign, but it draws people in.

I spent time in Haggen Stores as they were being converted, went into a number of them 1-2 days after they reopened as Haggen, etc. They were a mess when they reopened. They had very attractive looking produce and meat departments (overstocked and mismerchandised with too much high cost upper end product for their locations, which caused freshness issues in short order), bakery/deli varied by store but it was all mass market stuff with bakery straight from Bunzl or Dawn or one of those, and pricing was a total disaster. The issue with pricing was that Haggen did not run the same promotional programs that Albertsons/Vons ran so prices on branded center store grocery items shot up big time (if you could even get those branded center store grocery items- that was another problem a few days after they reopened and sold through whatever Albertsons/Vons had left them, was Unified wasn't replenishing them very well).


It wasn't just the sign changing with Haggen- it was the entire store was in a weird state of flux. You had no clue what to expect in there when you went in, if they would actually have what you wanted or not, and how awful the price would be. The experience changed radically from one day to the next.

I still think if they changed Ralphs to Kroger, which again I think would be a huge mistake, but everything else stayed exactly the same in the store- same loyalty card program, same promotional strategy, same perimeter, same merchandise on the shelf- customers would largely accept it. I have a different opinion about this today than I would have had 10 years ago. But in those 10 years, Kroger has really pushed its ways onto Ralphs, put its own private label in, etc. You may as well just call it what it is. It is a Kroger. Ralphs of old was a much higher quality operation.

[veteran+]

As was King Soopers!

Ralphs and King Soopers exist only in name................They are all Krogers now.

[ClownLoach]

I think the sign out front is incredibly important. As an example, when Haggen entered California, they made very few changes to the former Albertsons and Vons stores other than changing the sign out front and slapping on a coat of paint. The merchandise was mostly the same (although they subsequently transitioned to their own private label brand), the fresh and perimeter departments were mostly left untouched. Their pricing was a bit higher but I don't think that was a factor, especially in wealthy communities where Pavilions wasn't exactly known to be cheap. The problem was that customers didn't recognize the "Haggen" name and didn't know what it stood for, had an underwhelming first impression, and therefore decided to switch to a more familiar store.

I think that many people have an emotional connection to grocery stores. I love going to Lucky when I'm in the bay area because I remember going there as a kid with my parents. Many Angelenos grew up shopping at Ralphs. It may be just the name on a sign, but it draws people in.

I spent time in Haggen Stores as they were being converted, went into a number of them 1-2 days after they reopened as Haggen, etc. They were a mess when they reopened. They had very attractive looking produce and meat departments (overstocked and mismerchandised with too much high cost upper end product for their locations, which caused freshness issues in short order), bakery/deli varied by store but it was all mass market stuff with bakery straight from Bunzl or Dawn or one of those, and pricing was a total disaster. The issue with pricing was that Haggen did not run the same promotional programs that Albertsons/Vons ran so prices on branded center store grocery items shot up big time (if you could even get those branded center store grocery items- that was another problem a few days after they reopened and sold through whatever Albertsons/Vons had left them, was Unified wasn't replenishing them very well).


It wasn't just the sign changing with Haggen- it was the entire store was in a weird state of flux. You had no clue what to expect in there when you went in, if they would actually have what you wanted or not, and how awful the price would be. The experience changed radically from one day to the next.

I still think if they changed Ralphs to Kroger, which again I think would be a huge mistake, but everything else stayed exactly the same in the store- same loyalty card program, same promotional strategy, same perimeter, same merchandise on the shelf- customers would largely accept it. I have a different opinion about this today than I would have had 10 years ago. But in those 10 years, Kroger has really pushed its ways onto Ralphs, put its own private label in, etc. You may as well just call it what it is. It is a Kroger. Ralphs of old was a much higher quality operation.

Absolutely agree about Ralphs and their decline under Kroger leadership.

I do think that a rebrand, even with no changes, will cause the customer base to think changes have occurred anyway. I think Whole Foods under Amazon is another good comparison. For the first couple of years it was well known and well documented that Amazon was operating Whole Foods in a hands-off methodology, just collecting the ample amounts of customer data. But the merger got a ton of media attention, and customers were convinced that the entire store was going to suddenly change overnight. Before the merger even closed I saw customer complaints on Yelp and Google reviews all blaming Amazon for everything from a favorite item being discontinued to a dirty restroom to a bad piece of fruit. It seems the mindset, at least here in California, is that if a problem now exists it is because a change in ownership occurred. I can see it now: "This store has been ruined now that it is Kroger. I saw a bad head of lettuce. Clearly this place has gone downhill after the name change. I guess I'm going to have to go to another store. I think I will go to Vons now because it's so much better than Albertsons."

[storewanderer]

Absolutely agree about Ralphs and their decline under Kroger leadership.

I do think that a rebrand, even with no changes, will cause the customer base to think changes have occurred anyway. I think Whole Foods under Amazon is another good comparison. For the first couple of years it was well known and well documented that Amazon was operating Whole Foods in a hands-off methodology, just collecting the ample amounts of customer data. But the merger got a ton of media attention, and customers were convinced that the entire store was going to suddenly change overnight. Before the merger even closed I saw customer complaints on Yelp and Google reviews all blaming Amazon for everything from a favorite item being discontinued to a dirty restroom to a bad piece of fruit. It seems the mindset, at least here in California, is that if a problem now exists it is because a change in ownership occurred. I can see it now: "This store has been ruined now that it is Kroger. I saw a bad head of lettuce. Clearly this place has gone downhill after the name change. I guess I'm going to have to go to another store. I think I will go to Vons now because it's so much better than Albertsons."

This is true- for the passive customer who is not paying much attention, the name change would absolutely be a flag that may get their attention and may get them to thinking "gee this place... it isn't as good as it used to be is it?"

At the same time it could go the other way too- there may be a segment of people who do not shop Ralphs. Maybe they saw Ralphs as overpriced or had a previous negative experience. Throwing a Kroger sign up, for folks who may have been familiar with Kroger in other regions and had previous positive experiences or saw Kroger as a more lower cost sort of store than Ralphs, may be inclined to give the store a try with the new name who previously would not have shopped Ralphs.

Net for net I don't think a name change would have an impact on them. I don't think it would hurt them and I don't think it would help them either.

F4L/FoodsCo is another issue- given a different format, and not real well implemented on Kroger programs (do those stores even do Pick Up and do any of them have self checkout yet?), I would not expect a name change there. Funny when the names that should be eliminated, are the ones that end up getting to stay...

[babs]

I think the sign out front is incredibly important. As an example, when Haggen entered California, they made very few changes to the former Albertsons and Vons stores other than changing the sign out front and slapping on a coat of paint. The merchandise was mostly the same (although they subsequently transitioned to their own private label brand), the fresh and perimeter departments were mostly left untouched. Their pricing was a bit higher but I don't think that was a factor, especially in wealthy communities where Pavilions wasn't exactly known to be cheap. The problem was that customers didn't recognize the "Haggen" name and didn't know what it stood for, had an underwhelming first impression, and therefore decided to switch to a more familiar store.

I think that many people have an emotional connection to grocery stores. I love going to Lucky when I'm in the bay area because I remember going there as a kid with my parents. Many Angelenos grew up shopping at Ralphs. It may be just the name on a sign, but it draws people in.

I spent time in Haggen Stores as they were being converted, went into a number of them 1-2 days after they reopened as Haggen, etc. They were a mess when they reopened. They had very attractive looking produce and meat departments (overstocked and mismerchandised with too much high cost upper end product for their locations, which caused freshness issues in short order), bakery/deli varied by store but it was all mass market stuff with bakery straight from Bunzl or Dawn or one of those, and pricing was a total disaster. The issue with pricing was that Haggen did not run the same promotional programs that Albertsons/Vons ran so prices on branded center store grocery items shot up big time (if you could even get those branded center store grocery items- that was another problem a few days after they reopened and sold through whatever Albertsons/Vons had left them, was Unified wasn't replenishing them very well).


It wasn't just the sign changing with Haggen- it was the entire store was in a weird state of flux. You had no clue what to expect in there when you went in, if they would actually have what you wanted or not, and how awful the price would be. The experience changed radically from one day to the next.

I still think if they changed Ralphs to Kroger, which again I think would be a huge mistake, but everything else stayed exactly the same in the store- same loyalty card program, same promotional strategy, same perimeter, same merchandise on the shelf- customers would largely accept it. I have a different opinion about this today than I would have had 10 years ago. But in those 10 years, Kroger has really pushed its ways onto Ralphs, put its own private label in, etc. You may as well just call it what it is. It is a Kroger. Ralphs of old was a much higher quality operation.

Absolutely agree about Ralphs and their decline under Kroger leadership.

I do think that a rebrand, even with no changes, will cause the customer base to think changes have occurred anyway. I think Whole Foods under Amazon is another good comparison. For the first couple of years it was well known and well documented that Amazon was operating Whole Foods in a hands-off methodology, just collecting the ample amounts of customer data. But the merger got a ton of media attention, and customers were convinced that the entire store was going to suddenly change overnight. Before the merger even closed I saw customer complaints on Yelp and Google reviews all blaming Amazon for everything from a favorite item being discontinued to a dirty restroom to a bad piece of fruit. It seems the mindset, at least here in California, is that if a problem now exists it is because a change in ownership occurred. I can see it now: "This store has been ruined now that it is Kroger. I saw a bad head of lettuce. Clearly this place has gone downhill after the name change. I guess I'm going to have to go to another store. I think I will go to Vons now because it's so much better than Albertsons."

Actually, it's been happening.for years, when something goes wrong at QFC or Fred Meyer, they blame the Kroger buyout. Been seeing it for years in the comments and reviews.

[storewanderer]

Actually, it's been happening.for years, when something goes wrong at QFC or Fred Meyer, they blame the Kroger buyout. Been seeing it for years in the comments and reviews.

Those are the customers "in the know." Many passive customers may not know who owns these chains.

Kroger has driven food volume greatly in Fred Meyer but the non food side is a real sleeper. GIven all the new food business Fred Meyer has picked up in the past 20 years, that should have translated into more GM sales just from the additional foot traffic in the food area. It doesn't seem to have.