Retail Watchers

When you can't fit in a supercenter, this will be the next best thing (and ease their way into St. Louis/Pittsburgh)
https://www.freep.com/story/money/busin ... 468320007/

Smart move, something Walmart hasn't done in more urban settings.

https://newsroom.meijer.com/2022-09-01- ... er-to-Home Official report on the idea.
Sounds a little bit like the older Fred Meyer Marketplace stores but there are only a few of those left these days.

I think this will not be great news if this format ever crosses tracks with Hy Vee...

Meijer in its usual form smokes Hy Vee on price. Hy Vee could and probably would modify pricing down to compete, but I don't think that would generate the numbers Hy Vee typically likes to see...

I don't think Meijer's general merchandise program is terribly strong, but I do think it could "stand alone" in some locations if they had general merchandise only stores without full grocery. I do not know if Fred Meyer's general merchandise program could "stand alone" anymore... I think a general merchandise only Fred Meyer would not generate enough customers to sustain itself.

SamSpade wrote: ↑September 1st, 2022, 11:33 pm

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The thing I find odd about my parents (seniors) is that they refuse to go into the nearby Walmart despite knowing it is affordable (or trying to use Pickup for groceries) stating that "it's too big," yet my mom especially will run all over Fred Meyer. I'm not sure if that's just a reality of the store layout Kroger was gifted by the Fred Meyer of the 1990s or what.

In my parents later years they were close to two Walmart Supercenters. One was a conversion that still had the drop ceilings in the original part of the store. The other was built in the early 2000s with the open truss ceilings. Despite both stores being similar sizes (around 200,000 sq feet) my parents always went to the conversion Walmart because they said it felt smaller and more compact to them. Maybe it was something about the drop ceilings in the conversion store that made it seem smaller to them. Maybe less imposing with the lower ceilings in most of the building? I've even noticed as I get older that I don't like going to the massive 220,000 square foot Supercenter in my area. I prefer the smaller Supercenters that are a mixture of new construction and conversions. I feel like I can get what I need without having to worry about doubling back over the whole store if I forgot a grocery item and I'm in the GM section.

storewanderer wrote: ↑September 1st, 2022, 11:56 pm I don't think Meijer's general merchandise program is terribly strong, but I do think it could "stand alone" in some locations if they had general merchandise only stores without full grocery. I do not know if Fred Meyer's general merchandise program could "stand alone" anymore... I think a general merchandise only Fred Meyer would not generate enough customers to sustain itself.

How much of Meijer's attraction is the grocery section? I have been in a few Meijer locations though none recently. I thought that the grocery section was respectable. It seemed like they were going for a more traditional grocery style but with superstore pricing levels. To me a superstore operation like Meijer going to GM only or mostly GM would be like Walmart dropping Supercenters and going back to just Discount Stores. Even when Walmart had far less groceries in their pre-Supercenter stores the attraction for me was low pricing on the groceries they did have. If I was already there and something else caught my interest I might buy it. However, very little outside grocery and HBA would make me go to Walmart over other options. It seems like a superstore without the super - ie groceries - would have to do a lot more to attract customers over having groceries to get people in the door to see what else is offered.

Romr123 wrote: ↑September 1st, 2022, 6:23 pm When you can't fit in a supercenter, this will be the next best thing (and ease their way into St. Louis/Pittsburgh)
https://www.freep.com/story/money/busin ... 468320007/

Soooooooo jealous!

SamSpade wrote: ↑September 1st, 2022, 11:33 pm https://newsroom.meijer.com/2022-09-01- ... er-to-Home Official report on the idea.
Sounds a little bit like the older Fred Meyer Marketplace stores but there are only a few of those left these days.

► Show Spoiler

The thing I find odd about my parents (seniors) is that they refuse to go into the nearby Walmart despite knowing it is affordable (or trying to use Pickup for groceries) stating that "it's too big," yet my mom especially will run all over Fred Meyer. I'm not sure if that's just a reality of the store layout Kroger was gifted by the Fred Meyer of the 1990s or what.

SMART parents!

In the past (80s) Meijer had GM-only stores called Meijer Square (acquired Twin Fair in Cincinnati; out of range of their grocery infrastructure at the time (plus duh Cincinnati), along with a womens' wear and a jeans out-lot concept.

They do a really good job with grocery, TBH, with the space and staffing to do a fine job with produce (even the Detroit 8 Mile store has reliably good, well-rotated produce and service meat/fish). The only area of grocery that I'm skeptical of is, of all things, dairy--they have a weird selection (specifically at the 8 mile store) and aren't as sensitive to local preferences (non-dairy milks, primarily) as they might be. They operate their own dairy (Purple Cow) which may be part of the issue.

Kroger only competes with them east of 127 (Jackson/Lansing/Midland) so for a lot of Michigan the best grocery store in town is often Meijer (non-Meijer in Grand Rapids are some strange SpartanNash-supplied stores like FamilyFare).

They have been doing a great job in the last 5 years learning how to localize their selection (the small-store in-fills have been great for that) through reaching out to diverse suppliers in the area (they regularly have "buyers days" and have had several success stories which bubble up every so often). Went to the newly built store in Amherst, OH (teardown of a successful SuperKMart--new market for them as they previously hadn't been further east than Sandusky) and they both had local wall art (supporting local NAACP chapter, among other things) and were touting Ohio produce (banners with local farmers).

veteran+ wrote: ↑September 2nd, 2022, 7:37 am

SamSpade wrote: ↑September 1st, 2022, 11:33 pm https://newsroom.meijer.com/2022-09-01- ... er-to-Home Official report on the idea.
Sounds a little bit like the older Fred Meyer Marketplace stores but there are only a few of those left these days.

► Show Spoiler

The thing I find odd about my parents (seniors) is that they refuse to go into the nearby Walmart despite knowing it is affordable (or trying to use Pickup for groceries) stating that "it's too big," yet my mom especially will run all over Fred Meyer. I'm not sure if that's just a reality of the store layout Kroger was gifted by the Fred Meyer of the 1990s or what.

SMART parents!

How did Fred Meyer transform the layouts for the rest of Kroger?