Hy-Vee trailer spotted in Denver- telltale sign?

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Hy-Vee trailer spotted in Denver- telltale sign?

Post by retailfanmitchell019 »

Found this on Twitter:

Talk of a Hy-Vee entry into Denver could be real. Good timing, with Safeway and King Soopers combining.
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Re: Hy-Vee trailer spotted in Denver- telltale sign?

Post by storewanderer »

I suspect it was there to pick something up.

Probably not a sign and not the first time it has been there.
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Re: Hy-Vee trailer spotted in Denver- telltale sign?

Post by Super S »

It's not unheard of for trucks to make journeys outside of their home territory to pick up items, especially if they own their fleet. Some trucks are within the same company (I have seen many Vons trucks making deliveries to Safeway and Albertsons, and less often I see Kroger-branded trailers at Fred Meyer distribution centers) but I have also seen a handful of Meijer trucks on area freeways.
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Re: Hy-Vee trailer spotted in Denver- telltale sign?

Post by BatteryMill »

Super S wrote: November 16th, 2022, 9:10 am It's not unheard of for trucks to make journeys outside of their home territory to pick up items, especially if they own their fleet. Some trucks are within the same company (I have seen many Vons trucks making deliveries to Safeway and Albertsons, and less often I see Kroger-branded trailers at Fred Meyer distribution centers) but I have also seen a handful of Meijer trucks on area freeways.
Regardless, do you think Hy-Vee could make a move on Denver realistically?

It seems more feasible to me since HV has territory well into Kansas, Nebraska and the Dakotas, so expanding there wouldn't be a stretch unlike Meijer.
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Re: Hy-Vee trailer spotted in Denver- telltale sign?

Post by jamcool »

We see Stater Bros trucks in Phoenix on occasion. And when in LA I noticed a Bashas’ truck heading East.
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Re: Hy-Vee trailer spotted in Denver- telltale sign?

Post by retailfanmitchell019 »

BatteryMill wrote: November 16th, 2022, 9:58 am
Regardless, do you think Hy-Vee could make a move on Denver realistically?

It seems more feasible to me since HV has territory well into Kansas, Nebraska and the Dakotas, so expanding there wouldn't be a stretch unlike Meijer.
Yes, I believe Hy-Vee would work in Denver. A good chunk of Metro Denver's population is transplants from the Midwest, many of which are familiar with Hy-Vee. Denver has a long history with Midwestern grocers. Denver has plenty of room for a third traditional chain after the demise of Albertsons out there.
Hy-Vee is moving in this direction with a new Dollar Fresh store in Lexington, NE- halfway between Omaha and Denver. This is their westernmost store.
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Re: Hy-Vee trailer spotted in Denver- telltale sign?

Post by storewanderer »

I am a little skeptical because Hy-Vee seems unimpressed with Minneapolis.

The competition in Denver that I think Hy-Vee would pull customers from (let's just say Super Target and King Soopers) is MUCH stronger than the competition in Minneapolis that Hy-Vee seems to be trying to pull customers from (let's just say Super Target and Cub). So whatever issue is causing Hy-Vee to be unimpressed with Minneapolis (is it wage pressures? is ir pricing pressures? because the stores are BUSY so it isn't a lack of customers), I am concerned those same issues will also exist in Denver.

I also think the time to expand in Denver is from 2018-present; the area is growing but land is being eaten up quickly. Good store sites have been taken (by King Soopers; Safeway hasn't opened a new build store in who knows how long probably 15 years that now sad flagship in Littleton was about their last new store).
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Re: Hy-Vee trailer spotted in Denver- telltale sign?

Post by retailfanmitchell019 »

storewanderer wrote: February 9th, 2023, 11:38 pm I am a little skeptical because Hy-Vee seems unimpressed with Minneapolis.

The competition in Denver that I think Hy-Vee would pull customers from (let's just say Super Target and King Soopers) is MUCH stronger than the competition in Minneapolis that Hy-Vee seems to be trying to pull customers from (let's just say Super Target and Cub).
They face similar competition in Kansas City and Omaha: both strong markets for Super Target. The bigger traditional operators in Kansas City and Omaha are Price Chopper (AWG) and Baker's (Kroger) respectively.

Hy-Vee is #1 in Omaha market share, topping Walmart and Baker's. From what I understand reading eomahaforums.com, Kroger has not invested in Baker's much, not building any new stores. Some people say that Kroger has dumbed down Baker's post-Fleming. I can imagine Hy-Vee has taken advantage of that, along with the Albertsons exit.
Meanwhile, Family Fare in Omaha (SpartanNash) is limping along. Out there, they have a reputation for dirty stores and high prices. Looking online, their better stores, unsurprisingly, are the Albertsons stores that Nash Finch bought in 2004. People in Omaha actually miss Albertsons.
I think Hy-Vee could take advantage of Safeway's troubles in Denver.
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Re: Hy-Vee trailer spotted in Denver- telltale sign?

Post by pseudo3d »

If there's some supplier that goes to Hy-Vee (and yes, they have suppliers around the country) and a Hy-Vee branded truck is transporting it, that will be why a Hy-Vee truck is suddenly appearing way off course.

Only a fool would think the presence of a truck means something. What, building a secret store that they haven't told anyone about?
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Re: Hy-Vee trailer spotted in Denver- telltale sign?

Post by storewanderer »

retailfanmitchell019 wrote: February 10th, 2023, 12:48 pm
They face similar competition in Kansas City and Omaha: both strong markets for Super Target. The bigger traditional operators in Kansas City and Omaha are Price Chopper (AWG) and Baker's (Kroger) respectively.

Hy-Vee is #1 in Omaha market share, topping Walmart and Baker's. From what I understand reading eomahaforums.com, Kroger has not invested in Baker's much, not building any new stores. Some people say that Kroger has dumbed down Baker's post-Fleming. I can imagine Hy-Vee has taken advantage of that, along with the Albertsons exit.
Meanwhile, Family Fare in Omaha (SpartanNash) is limping along. Out there, they have a reputation for dirty stores and high prices. Looking online, their better stores, unsurprisingly, are the Albertsons stores that Nash Finch bought in 2004. People in Omaha actually miss Albertsons.
I think Hy-Vee could take advantage of Safeway's troubles in Denver.
I just don't know what went wrong in Minneapolis for Hy-Vee and why they seem to have lost interest in continuing to expand there. It is absolutely not for lack of customers (their stores there are packed). Hy-Vee was a real problem for Albertsons, the Topeka Hy-Vee is actually on the site of a former Albertsons (not the same building); that may have been as close to Kansas City as Albertsons ever got.

If you think Family Fare in Omaha looks bad take a look at their hispanic format... could not believe that was a corporate operation, I thought it was some independent on the brink of closing. Even after seeing they used the odd POS system that only the corporate Nash stores use, I still couldn't believe it was a corporate operation. But I researched online and found it was indeed a corporate operation.
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