Pak N Save Madera closing 1/14

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Pak N Save Madera closing 1/14

Post by storewanderer »

WARN notice filed, 11/1/2022, store had 80 employees. So that isn't exactly a small number of employees.

Also the store was just remodeled into Modern decor...?

Store is being subdivided between Smart & Final and Ross.

This leaves San Leandro as the last "true layout" Pak N Save.

Interesting to see Safeway NorCal abandoning Madera. I wonder what this means for those Fresno Vons... Irony is this would have been a great/easy conversion to FoodsCo for Kroger.
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Re: Pak N Save Madera closing 1/14

Post by pseudo3d »

Betting the store was losing money through shrink. Safeway hasn't been interested in the Pak N Save concept in years, and Albertsons really doesn't seem to be interested in a discount concept either (Lucky UT excluded).
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Re: Pak N Save Madera closing 1/14

Post by storewanderer »

pseudo3d wrote: January 5th, 2023, 12:03 am Betting the store was losing money through shrink. Safeway hasn't been interested in the Pak N Save concept in years, and Albertsons really doesn't seem to be interested in a discount concept either (Lucky UT excluded).
The store was running a standard NorCal Safeway program for the past probably 20 years. It wasn't a discount format (just looked like one and was laid out like one). They did put it (and the Fresno Vons) onto the price cut program NorCal put some of the poorer markets (Reno, Redding, Gridley also included in that program) on about 3 years ago.

But why did they apply the "Modern" interior to it a few months ago and now they are closing the store? Makes no sense.

Unless a landlord tried to get them over the barrel...
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Re: Pak N Save Madera closing 1/14

Post by pseudo3d »

storewanderer wrote: January 5th, 2023, 1:07 am
pseudo3d wrote: January 5th, 2023, 12:03 am Betting the store was losing money through shrink. Safeway hasn't been interested in the Pak N Save concept in years, and Albertsons really doesn't seem to be interested in a discount concept either (Lucky UT excluded).
The store was running a standard NorCal Safeway program for the past probably 20 years. It wasn't a discount format (just looked like one and was laid out like one). They did put it (and the Fresno Vons) onto the price cut program NorCal put some of the poorer markets (Reno, Redding, Gridley also included in that program) on about 3 years ago.

But why did they apply the "Modern" interior to it a few months ago and now they are closing the store? Makes no sense.

Unless a landlord tried to get them over the barrel...
Announcing replacement tenants almost immediately is the surest sign of a lease/landlord issue.
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Re: Pak N Save Madera closing 1/14

Post by storewanderer »

pseudo3d wrote: January 5th, 2023, 1:15 am

Announcing replacement tenants almost immediately is the surest sign of a lease/landlord issue.
I kind of wonder if they wanted to keep the store so they did the low budget "Modern" remodel. I suspect this store had marginal but profitable performance, probably needed to be downsized and converted to a standard Safeway.

But it wasn't certain they would be able to stay when they did the "Modern" remodel. The landlord saw they did the remodel to the store and said okay, these guys, they just sunk whatever money into the store (probably not much since these Modern remodels are done so cheaply) so they obviously aren't going anywhere. So let's go ahead and really hit them with a hell of a lease increase. That strategy didn't work.

Then the landlord went and lined up Ross and Smart & Final to take the space. This is interesting as Smart & FInal hasn't really been opening much lately.

They have done this cheap wall repaint "Modern" remodel to a LOT of very marginal performing stores.
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Re: Pak N Save Madera closing 1/14

Post by retailfanmitchell019 »

storewanderer wrote: January 4th, 2023, 8:58 pm Interesting to see Safeway NorCal abandoning Madera. I wonder what this means for those Fresno Vons... Irony is this would have been a great/easy conversion to FoodsCo for Kroger.
I expect the Fresno/Oakhurst Vons stores to be rebranded to Safeway once the merger is said and done, assuming the merger happens.
What banner do you use for Bishop/Mammoth Lakes? Ralphs?
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Re: Pak N Save Madera closing 1/14

Post by storewanderer »

retailfanmitchell019 wrote: January 5th, 2023, 5:39 pm
storewanderer wrote: January 4th, 2023, 8:58 pm Interesting to see Safeway NorCal abandoning Madera. I wonder what this means for those Fresno Vons... Irony is this would have been a great/easy conversion to FoodsCo for Kroger.
I expect the Fresno/Oakhurst Vons stores to be rebranded to Safeway once the merger is said and done, assuming the merger happens.
What banner do you use for Bishop/Mammoth Lakes? Ralphs?
Moved reply to merger thread.
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Re: Pak N Save Madera closing 1/14

Post by pseudo3d »

storewanderer wrote: January 4th, 2023, 8:58 pm
Interesting to see Safeway NorCal abandoning Madera. I wonder what this means for those Fresno Vons... Irony is this would have been a great/easy conversion to FoodsCo for Kroger.
Food 4 Less is already operating catty-corner to the Pak N Save, so it wouldn't really work unless they kept one as the "full" supermarket and the other as the discount concept. But it's gone, so either Kroger doesn't have to worry about it or it's a moot point since they have already one.

I suspect also having Walmart in the same shopping center complicated things for Pak N Save as well. It doesn't look like it's been expanded since the 1990s but probably has at least re-merchandised to include a greater food selection.
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Re: Pak N Save Madera closing 1/14

Post by storewanderer »

pseudo3d wrote: January 15th, 2023, 11:51 pm

Food 4 Less is already operating catty-corner to the Pak N Save, so it wouldn't really work unless they kept one as the "full" supermarket and the other as the discount concept. But it's gone, so either Kroger doesn't have to worry about it or it's a moot point since they have already one.

I suspect also having Walmart in the same shopping center complicated things for Pak N Save as well. It doesn't look like it's been expanded since the 1990s but probably has at least re-merchandised to include a greater food selection.
That is a franchise Food 4 Less run by I believe Gong F4L supplied by C&S. https://food4lesscentralvalley.com/

You could put a FoodsCo in the Pak N Save and it would compete against the franchise Food 4 Less successfully. It would be successful due to Kroger running better/different promotions, having a larger bakery/deli program, and a larger private label program and better deals on non food items.

The Pak N Save must not have been doing that badly or Safeway wouldn't have remodeled it in 2022... not sure I've ever seen Safeway remodel a store and close it so fast though. Something very strange there.
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Re: Pak N Save Madera closing 1/14

Post by Alpha8472 »

Perhaps Kroger is telling Safeway and Albertsons to get rid of the poorly performing stores in advance of a merger.
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