Retail Watchers

Here is a good article about the failed Amazon Fresh 1.0, quite a few pictures and details about 2.0 along with future plans. Sounds like in a nutshell they've got 5 out of 44 operating stores remodeled and the focus is shockingly on Food instead of technology. If the 5 store remodels stick then they'll redo the rest and start opening the mothballed stores. If not then they'll start again. They also introduce a VP of Retail who this time is from Woolworths of Australia (which like Kmart and Target down under has no relationship to the American brand other than they stole their name). I wonder if that means the Tesco folks finally got shown the door? And if this doesn't work out either, then I wonder if they're going to try the challenging concept of finding an American executive to answer their begging question about why Americans won't shop in these American stores?

https://www.retaildive.com/news/amazon- ... ls/699651/

They'd be better off expanding Whole Foods...

storewanderer wrote: ↑November 15th, 2023, 2:05 am They'd be better off expanding Whole Foods...

By the time they figure out how to make this measly 44 store Fresh chain tread water, the hundreds of Whole Foods stores are going to be completely broken from the lack of attention they're getting. The brand is being watered down severely, amenities like in store bars and restaurants are still not fully reopened nearly 4 years after the pandemic started, and the supposed "profit centers" of the store in the salad bar, hot bar and deli/prepared foods are generic and bland products from a recipe formulary as in-store innovation is a no-no now. Store chefs aren't paid to think, they're paid to execute the formula recipe book as prescribed by the corporate office yet every store is branded with "fresh and local" customized graphics for the town or region. They're leaping over dollars to pick up pennies and I fear that the deterioration of Whole Foods, the inconsistency in their store conditions as reported in some other threads, the lack of investment into new store locations in growing markets is going to create a situation where the entire retail division of Amazon gets closed down next time the economy gets bad and Wall Street gets mad about earnings.

Yes, they are ruining Whole Foods. The Reno Whole Foods is just not good. But it continues to be very busy. It does well over $1 million a week in sales. Meat area usually stinks, I've had multiple quality issues there. Bakery is so so. Deli is a joke, prepared foods are a joke (but people keep buying even the bad looking limited selection of prepared foods). Produce assortment, freshness, and quality is below average now and has been for about the past year. I think there are some local issues with this store. They seem very well staffed but I see a lot of standing around of employees. Center store is stocked well enough but shelves aren't maintained like they used to be. Their assortment seems to keep changing also which has become extremely frustrating for me.

Just went into a WF to do an Amazon return in Troy/Birmingham, MI (new (3-4 y.o) build replacing an 80s era Merchant of Vino-to-WF about 1/2 mile away). Floorplan was definitely not optimized for delivery/drive up. Amazon area was well staffed (3 people stumbling over each other) but that area seemed chaotic, as did the entire store, TBH, with pickers running about helter-skelter with their big carts.

I'm no WF aficionado, but was extremely meh (they have one product I might seek out next time I'm in the n'hood). Bakery was attractive looking with the cookie/brownie bar prominent.

They have local competition (Plum Market was started by the Merchant of Vino family after their noncompete with WF expired) and it's altogether better.

Romr123 wrote: ↑November 16th, 2023, 7:25 am Just went into a WF to do an Amazon return in Troy/Birmingham, MI (new (3-4 y.o) build replacing an 80s era Merchant of Vino-to-WF about 1/2 mile away). Floorplan was definitely not optimized for delivery/drive up. Amazon area was well staffed (3 people stumbling over each other) but that area seemed chaotic, as did the entire store, TBH, with pickers running about helter-skelter with their big carts.

I'm no WF aficionado, but was extremely meh (they have one product I might seek out next time I'm in the n'hood). Bakery was attractive looking with the cookie/brownie bar prominent.

They have local competition (Plum Market was started by the Merchant of Vino family after their noncompete with WF expired) and it's altogether better.

Bakery always looks nice, but I don't think anything is made in store anymore. Cakes are still decorated in store but I think everything else now is thaw and serve or par baked. All the cookies for example are frozen and some stores sell the same bakery cookie dough in the frozen section a few aisles away. At least they sell it in relative bulk size so it doesn't necessarily take away from in store sales but then it enables the customer to see the value, or lack thereof. These stores used to be built with full scratch bakery facilities, but I don't believe there is anything other than decorating and reheating equipment in the 10 year old or less stores that are around 40K Sq ft in the streamlined prototype.

I guess at least they're still getting some delivery service? They've overall gone from delivery flex order pullers sometimes outnumbering customers to little delivery business at all in the stores I've observed in OC area. They overexpanded the business and then decided to cut the quality with elimination of appropriate ice packs and frozen water bottles for cold bags, overstuffed ambient bags with damaged items like crushed bread, and generally demonstrated that they don't know how to handle food properly. The public has little tolerance for this and will not return after one bad order.

I used to really like WF!

In my area there is nothing to like about it any longer.

Small crowded stores with awful parking, no baggers, long lines, crazy number of "pullers" blocking customers from shopping and they are not delivering any customer service and seem to plead ignorance when asked a question, etc.

Those Amazon special prices are mostly a joke and seem to be fewer and fewer.

The balance of price and what you get for that price is not worth it.

People expect low prices from Amazon. Something like a WinCo with some technology and increased selection should be their model going forward.

babs wrote: ↑November 16th, 2023, 1:08 pm People expect low prices from Amazon. Something like a WinCo with some technology and increased selection should be their model going forward.

Their prices in Amazon Fresh are like, higher than Safeway.... and they hardly have any good specials except on very random items mostly near expiration (like a quasi clearance outlet type of store). Their selection is... very odd. I'd call it poor, but it isn't exactly poor (except for the stores with like half of their items in various categories out of stock, I would call that poor). Amazon Fresh is a total embarrassment and they need to shelve this concept now.

At a minimum they should take their name off the stores because having customers see a physical store with as many problems as this store has is not doing the consumer's image of Amazon any favors. Maybe they can let Nash Finish let them use the Econofoods banner and rebrand these terrible stores to Econofoods.

From my couple of experiences with Amazon Fresh that would be the only way I'd shop there---troll the clearance and weird price anomalies, pick up some loss-leader bananas and deli and be done....similar to how I shop Grocery Outlet/Dollar Tree/99 Cent Store/Big Lots.