Safeway Portland- sectioning off high theft items/separate checkout

[storewanderer]

https://www.kgw.com/video/news/local/tw ... 200e3b3c13

I see nothing particularly revolutionary here. Discount stores have done an arrangement like this for electronics sections for years. Wal Mart does it for cosmetics sections in some stores. Then Wal Mart doesn't bother to staff the separate register so the cosmetics section still gets stolen blind.

I question how the employee at that single cash register can patrol the area, enforce the "no reusable bags" rule in a place with a plastic bag ban/paper bag fee, enforce the "no backpacks" rule in a downtown where numerous people go around with backpacks, etc. I even go around with a backpack in downtowns and there is no way I'd leave my backpack at that counter. So I guess that means I wouldn't be buying any items in this part of the store. This also turns into a headache because it means customers purchasing items from these aisles have to do two separate transactions. This also seems like it will make items difficult to find since they stick random items into this area as opposed to entire product categories. It seems to me this area needs one employee to enforce entry/supervise the backpacks/reusable bags being left at the front of it, and a couple of cashiers. It also needs a gated opening/closing, not a big wide open entry/exit. This is almost a joke, it looks like an idea out of the 70's.

There has to be a better way than this......

[ClownLoach]

Just for fun - did anyone notice that this is yet another new Safeway decor package? Corrugated metal signs - reminds me of the Albertsons design from the early 2000's. It's corrugated metal behind the script of colorful lifestyle. I guess we can call this one Metallic Lifestyle. This store was remodeled from a regular arches lifestyle store and did get the cement floor as well. Looks like they're trying a black ceiling in the center store as well - hopefully that will be the first and last time we see that.

There are several pictures of cars parked in the garage below with smashed windows. Definitely not a safe place to shop for groceries. If I lived there and had a car I would avoid this store like the plague. This is a problem with all of downtown Portland. I saw some video recently that you can't even trust that you're safe with an empty car if your back seats fold down - the thieves drive down the street and pull up beside cars they think may have items in the trunk - smash the back window and fold down the seat to check the trunk . They patrol the streets more than the police themselves and notice when a different car is in the area then immediately smash the windows. Anyway the fact that you are likely to have your windows smashed if you shop here in a car greatly limits the radius this store can serve to pedestrians within walking range of home and with a backpack to bring home food. I wonder if this "Metallic Lifestyle" remodel with shrink corral was a final attempt to salvage the store prior to closure.

I don't understand why they can't just do empty box cards and have these items behind a counter, in a glass case if necessary, at the front. The thieves are still going to walk right in, walk right past that register with a cartload of product, and walk right out. They still won't do anything to stop them because of the history of shoplifting lawsuits where the thieves win million dollar verdicts because they were "assaulted" by security personnel or they played a little game and ditched something carefully so they could sue for false arrest. As long as crime isn't prosecuted and as long as these guys have more rights than everyone else (fear of lawsuits) then this is not going to stop. All this does is make the experience worse for the honest customer and encourage them to shop on Amazon (where they're probably buying shoplifted goods because of the co-mingling of inventory). I recently purchased a laser measuring device on Amazon that showed explicitly it was sold by Amazon. Because of the marketplace program they operate and the co-mingling of the same SKUs to save warehouse space - I am sure the unit shipped to me was stolen from a retail store. The packaging had damage consistent with trying to twist it to remove a spider wrap.

[Super S]

They mention the Gateway Fred Meyer in that story, where they actually sectioned off the entire apparel area a few years back. I used to make regular shopping trips to Portland, particularly for larger items, due to better selection as well as the fact you can save on sales tax. I now limit this to the larger items. The selection factor becomes a moot point if you have to wait 10 minutes or more for a case to be unlocked. It truly becomes a gamble as far as what items will be locked up from one store to the next in the Portland area these days, and the locked cases are appearing in the suburb areas as well. My time is valuable, and the locked cases are a good way for these retailers to send more shoppers to the likes of Amazon. The end result in all this is that you have stores leaving areas of Portland (something that is already happening to varying degrees with stores like Walgreens, Rite Aid, Safeway, Target, and Fred Meyer) and the organized theft rings move on to the suburbs, while neighborhoods suffer from not having stores nearby. It doesn't help when you have many retailers already on the edge of failing after the events of the pandemic. And the bag thing results in customers arguing that they already made the purchase if, for example, they are at Safeway and used a Safeway bag to shoplift something.

[kr.abs.swy]

I saw a similar approach at the Twain Vons (former Mervyn's) in Las Vegas almost a year ago. That store is massive, so they had plenty of room to do this ... the store-within-a-store was in the middle.

Obviously very inconvenient to have to wait in two lines, check out twice, etc. Could also affect promotions ($10 off a $50 basket may not work if you have to check out twice, for example).

As I recall, there was one person running the checkout, but I don't recall seeing an enhanced security presence like a guard inside the store-in-a-store. Presumably there were cameras watching every corner. I remember thinking that they were probably doing what they had to do given the location, but that the execution was off.

The two downtown Portland locations are fairly new (probably 15-ish years???) and I'm sure Safeway went through a long permitting process to get these built (mixed use buildings). I assume that Safeway has a lot invested in them. There aren't a lot of other true grocery options in the part of downtown Portland encircled by the freeways (there's a Target and, as I recall, there's a Whole Foods in the Pearl), so these stores absolutely do fill a need.

[ClownLoach]

The two downtown Portland locations are fairly new (probably 15-ish years???) and I'm sure Safeway went through a long permitting process to get these built (mixed use buildings). I assume that Safeway has a lot invested in them. There aren't a lot of other true grocery options in the part of downtown Portland encircled by the freeways (there's a Target and, as I recall, there's a Whole Foods in the Pearl), so these stores absolutely do fill a need.

Maybe so, but retail and really everything else is abandoning the Portland core with all of the problems in the area. Target basically closed down their entire store except for a small portion of the ground floor already. Whole Foods has gone from a flagship to a zombie. All the department stores left and the surrounding retail is dying or dead. The city seems to have extracted most of the homeless from downtown and moved them along the river near the airport. The area along the I-84 Bypass road is a miles long encampment. But the damage has been done downtown with hundreds of closed restaurants and businesses, nobody lining up to take their place. Every hundred feet or so you see a business with boarded up broken windows or doors. Lots of big high rises going up with top dollar luxury condos and apartments, but sure seems like they have a oversupply of both categories. I noticed at least four distinctive and expensive looming high rise developments that have been mothballed mid construction with no progress between my last two visits. Lots of "For Rent" signs and banners in the mixed use around the Pearl - you can't find anything to rent or buy across the river in the rapidly improving Vancouver WA area, and prices are still skyrocketing in Camas and Washougal even with the high interest rates. People are abandoning downtown Portland because it isn't safe and they no longer have to go into the office to work there. It still makes me wonder which store is next to close there. Will Whole Foods stay now that they've had to scale back all their offerings to react to low sales and close all but one entrance which has an armed guard? Will Safeway be able to reduce their losses enough to keep the store afloat?

[lake52]

The two downtown Portland locations are fairly new (probably 15-ish years???) and I'm sure Safeway went through a long permitting process to get these built (mixed use buildings). I assume that Safeway has a lot invested in them. There aren't a lot of other true grocery options in the part of downtown Portland encircled by the freeways (there's a Target and, as I recall, there's a Whole Foods in the Pearl), so these stores absolutely do fill a need.

Maybe so, but retail and really everything else is abandoning the Portland core with all of the problems in the area. Target basically closed down their entire store except for a small portion of the ground floor already. Whole Foods has gone from a flagship to a zombie. All the department stores left and the surrounding retail is dying or dead. The city seems to have extracted most of the homeless from downtown and moved them along the river near the airport. The area along the I-84 Bypass road is a miles long encampment. But the damage has been done downtown with hundreds of closed restaurants and businesses, nobody lining up to take their place. Every hundred feet or so you see a business with boarded up broken windows or doors. Lots of big high rises going up with top dollar luxury condos and apartments, but sure seems like they have a oversupply of both categories. I noticed at least four distinctive and expensive looming high rise developments that have been mothballed mid construction with no progress between my last two visits. Lots of "For Rent" signs and banners in the mixed use around the Pearl - you can't find anything to rent or buy across the river in the rapidly improving Vancouver WA area, and prices are still skyrocketing in Camas and Washougal even with the high interest rates. People are abandoning downtown Portland because it isn't safe and they no longer have to go into the office to work there. It still makes me wonder which store is next to close there. Will Whole Foods stay now that they've had to scale back all their offerings to react to low sales and close all but one entrance which has an armed guard? Will Safeway be able to reduce their losses enough to keep the store afloat?

I’ve actually been very surprised with the resiliency of retail in downtown Portland. Besides restaurants which closed in every city, most of the major retail is still around. I even saw quite a few coming soon signs (William Sonoma being the big one) during a recent visit to the Brewery Blocks.

Portland is a broken city, far more broken than San Francisco or Seattle. SF has and activity utilizes resources to address the large problems it is facing. Portland doesn’t have the money to deal with what it is facing, doesn’t have a motivated police force, and has probably the worst reputation of any major city in the US. Years after the unrest, Portland still has significantly more boarded up buildings than other cities on the west coast.

Grocery shopping wise, the Safeway in downtown is pretty bad. Awkward layout and congregations of homeless outdoors. It borders the PSU campus which gives it decent traffic and doesn’t have much competition beyond Green Zebra and some bodega like stores.

The Target was impacted the most by the pandemic. It’s at the CBD and MAX (transit) adjacent, two things that lost significant traffic. It too had an awkward layout so being able to take advantage of Brook Brothers closing (way before the pandemic) benefited it for layout and lower traffic numbers.

The Pearl as mentioned has Safeway and Whole Foods. It also has a New Seasons under 405 in Slabtown. The Whole Foods is right next to Burnside which is a troubling street so it experiences so issues. The Safeway in the Pearl isn’t all that bad, very expensive developments surrounding it, and not too many homeless.

Over on the west side of 405 is the wealthier older part of downtown. The Stadium Fred Meyer is probably the busiest store in the city, also the largest. Also a Zupan’s and Trader Joe’s over there doing decent business. I know many people will drive or take MAX over to the Stadium Freddy’s. Even with the merger, I think there is enough spacing and competition to maintain those three stores without divesture.

[storewanderer]

I’ve actually been very surprised with the resiliency of retail in downtown Portland. Besides restaurants which closed in every city, most of the major retail is still around. I even saw quite a few coming soon signs (William Sonoma being the big one) during a recent visit to the Brewery Blocks.

Portland is a broken city, far more broken than San Francisco or Seattle. SF has and activity utilizes resources to address the large problems it is facing. Portland doesn’t have the money to deal with what it is facing, doesn’t have a motivated police force, and has probably the worst reputation of any major city in the US. Years after the unrest, Portland still has significantly more boarded up buildings than other cities on the west coast.

Grocery shopping wise, the Safeway in downtown is pretty bad. Awkward layout and congregations of homeless outdoors. It borders the PSU campus which gives it decent traffic and doesn’t have much competition beyond Green Zebra and some bodega like stores.

The Target was impacted the most by the pandemic. It’s at the CBD and MAX (transit) adjacent, two things that lost significant traffic. It too had an awkward layout so being able to take advantage of Brook Brothers closing (way before the pandemic) benefited it for layout and lower traffic numbers.

The Pearl as mentioned has Safeway and Whole Foods. It also has a New Seasons under 405 in Slabtown. The Whole Foods is right next to Burnside which is a troubling street so it experiences so issues. The Safeway in the Pearl isn’t all that bad, very expensive developments surrounding it, and not too many homeless.

Over on the west side of 405 is the wealthier older part of downtown. The Stadium Fred Meyer is probably the busiest store in the city, also the largest. Also a Zupan’s and Trader Joe’s over there doing decent business. I know many people will drive or take MAX over to the Stadium Freddy’s. Even with the merger, I think there is enough spacing and competition to maintain those three stores without divesture.

Portland was very heavily hit in 2020 riots and the situation was not controlled well. Portland did the worst job of any major city controlling the riots in 2020 and they continue to pay for their failures to this day.

As far as your comments on retailers- William Sonoma previously operated in Portland at 338 NW 23rd and closed that store in late 2021, about a mile from Brewery Block. So they are more returning to the area as opposed to expanding into the area. I also expect them to fail at Brewery Block but I guess we will see what happens. I see the have West Elm in Brewery Block so maybe they are happy enough with that to be confident to return Williams Sonona to that area, unlike the West Elm in Downtown Reno that went out of business and wasn't replaced (why they didn't replace it with a new store in South Reno is beyond me). Back to Portland, Macys left downtown, Nordstrom Rack left downtown, Target downsized its store; numerous retailers have left downtown. I guess they did get a new CVS (and the Rite Aid closed) in downtown. Many retailers left before the 2020 incidents, which I found odd, as I had a very positive impression of Portland before.

[lake52]

As far as your comments on retailers- William Sonoma previously operated in Portland at 338 NW 23rd and closed that store in late 2021, about a mile from Brewery Block. So they are more returning to the area as opposed to expanding into the area. I also expect them to fail at Brewery Block but I guess we will see what happens. I see the have West Elm in Brewery Block so maybe they are happy enough with that to be confident to return Williams Sonona to that area, unlike the West Elm in Downtown Reno that went out of business and wasn't replaced (why they didn't replace it with a new store in South Reno is beyond me). Back to Portland, Macys left downtown, Nordstrom Rack left downtown, Target downsized its store; numerous retailers have left downtown. I guess they did get a new CVS (and the Rite Aid closed) in downtown. Many retailers left before the 2020 incidents, which I found odd, as I had a very positive impression of Portland before.

Didn’t realize William Sonoma closed in the Alphabet District. There was another large kitchen retailer on 23rd that closed in the 2018-19 range. Must not be many home cooks in that area!

The Alphabet District is another really strong retail area, I haven’t been up that way since before-COVID but I don’t read much about stores closing there. One of the earlier RH Flagships opened here and is very successful.

Regarding downtown, I think there are some exclusive or high traffic brands that will drive good traffic down there despite the reputation. Most of Portland’s luxury retailers still choose Pioneer Place over Washington Square so having Tiffany, Louis, Zara, Scotch and Soda, and others with their exclusive stores downtown is beneficial. Also downtown has the closest Apple Store to a majority of the metro area. Nike and Columbia also have their flagships downtown. I think if Washington Square upgaded their tenant mix to meet downtown, you’d see a lot more closures.

[bryceleinan]

Given the state of Portland lately, I’m not shocked in the least. If you follow the Sherwood Police Department on Facebook, you can see the tremendous amount of shoplifting, and a lot of it stems from the grocery stores / Target / Walmart on Tualatin-Sherwood / Pacific Hwy. They said that unlike other jurisdictions, they do arrest for shoplifting, and a majority of crime is coming from their neighbors to the north.

[pseudo3d]

Just for fun - did anyone notice that this is yet another new Safeway decor package? Corrugated metal signs - reminds me of the Albertsons design from the early 2000's. It's corrugated metal behind the script of colorful lifestyle. I guess we can call this one Metallic Lifestyle. This store was remodeled from a regular arches lifestyle store and did get the cement floor as well. Looks like they're trying a black ceiling in the center store as well - hopefully that will be the first and last time we see that.

There are several pictures of cars parked in the garage below with smashed windows. Definitely not a safe place to shop for groceries. If I lived there and had a car I would avoid this store like the plague. This is a problem with all of downtown Portland. I saw some video recently that you can't even trust that you're safe with an empty car if your back seats fold down - the thieves drive down the street and pull up beside cars they think may have items in the trunk - smash the back window and fold down the seat to check the trunk . They patrol the streets more than the police themselves and notice when a different car is in the area then immediately smash the windows. Anyway the fact that you are likely to have your windows smashed if you shop here in a car greatly limits the radius this store can serve to pedestrians within walking range of home and with a backpack to bring home food. I wonder if this "Metallic Lifestyle" remodel with shrink corral was a final attempt to salvage the store prior to closure.

Unless the Safeway store they were standing in front of was not the same Safeway inside, I can't find pictures of that downtown Safeway with that décor package. The aisle signs still have the fake wood grain.