View Full Version : Supermarket Chains
This is a subject that came to my attention several times over the years. I really don't have a lot to offer on the subject, except to say that the retail grocery business is interesting, from a historical perspective. I'm looking to find more information, and maybe even a whole book on the subject. Here are some interesting factoids: When I was in H.S., I worked for Safeway. The union rules were, they had to let "courtesy clerks" go after high school, or else place them in a full-time job. They saw how much I liked being a courtesy clerk, rounding up carts in the snow & changing the letters on the sign every Sunday night during below-zero winter in Alaska. But, the job they gave me was more confining and indoors in back & not meeting the public. I got tired of it & quit, which was a mistake. Anyway, Safeway had modern stores built in the late 50's, the "Marina"-style. There's even a former "Marina" Safeway building here. One day, I carried groceries out for a guy whose brother had built the local S'way buildings. But guess what? Safeway closed up in Anchorage--"exited the market" as is the trade jargon. A few years later, they Re-entered the market--by buying the stores of a local chain that had competed with them across the street. Okay. Almost 40 years ago, there was a grocery store in a bedroom community near a large city in Iowa that had a distinctive name. Years later, I moved 375 miles south, to Zurra, and there was a small local chain owned by a local guy, and it had the same name. The local guy sold his stores to Albertsons, later. I had wondered if there was a connection to that store in Iowa, but one "expert" I know was dismissive--said no way--you're crazy. Wrong as usual. Well, this evening I was reading, searching the web, and found the missing link. The store(s) in Iowa and the ones here were started up by the same guy. He later sold his Zurra stores to a local guy, here. Then, the Iowa company continued on, and set up stores in the Phoenix, Az., area. I guess there are still some stores in Iowa in small towns by that same name, but not sure if they are owned by the same group, any longer. I believe A "Hy-Vee"(an Iowa-based chain) sits on the site of that other store I was talking about. Hy-Vee started up with a partnership between two Reorg Mormons in 1930. The building they occupied still sits in a tiny hamlet called Beaconsfield, Iowa. The partners only used that location for several years, when they departed for the big city of Lamoni, I believe it was. But, the Hy-Vee company owns that tiny building in Beaconsfield, and there's a plaque on the side of it denoting it's significance. Okay, #3: There was a grocery local chain operating here that had quite a few stores in the area, and had built some really impressive new buildings. But rather suddenly, about 20 years ago, they closed up. The new store near my house was taken over by a competitor, who moved from down the street. Their old store is now a Lirrrarry. Now, THAT company, which is a subsidiary of Kroger(now 2nd largest retailer in the country), is "exiting the market" as they say, and has sold it's stores here to another local chain---who--get this--bought the former Smitty's stores from Albertsons after THEY exited the market. See? Plus, we have market saturation. For Kroger to cut and run--that must tell you it's a bloodbath. We've got somewhere around 8 or 9 WalMart Supercenters in the area; on top of that, Two Sams; and Wal Mart(retailer #1 in the world)has also got "Neighborhood Markets" in the gaps between Supercenters. See? Plus, HyVee is putting in it's second store here, three years after the first. How do you like that? I do most of my business with a little franchise store, presently operated under the "Cash Saver" banner. All us po' folks go there. Okay, did more research---just the tip of the iceberg. Did you know that "Piggly Wiggly" was founded in Memphis, Tn., and was the first self-service chain, with market prices on each item, and checkout counters & grocery carts? And then there's the epic rise-and-fall of A&P. I could go on and on and on, but I won't. Neither of those two companies have stores, here. You prolly don't care, but I find it darned interesting. One thing I did find out in my reading is that in the last several decades, it has become a common practice for grocery chains to sell, or even TRADE their holdings of stores in a given market to one of their competitors. They gain advantages such as logistics, better control over stores in closer, vs remote areas. Piggly Wiggly's corporate owner is headquartered way out in New Hampshire, nowhere near any P-W stores! You ought to hear about the Safeway acquisition of Randall's & Tom Thumb in Tx--but I'll save it for next time. Anyway, someone like myself should write a book--no, a 3-volume set, on the retail grocery business. It is a fascinating subject; it's even downright weird, sometimes. Hope I didn't go on too long. Any constructive comments to add on the subject?
Please? Comments? So, how do you kids like Albertsons? They only stayed here 3-4 years.
Paragraphs are our friend. >8)
This was very interesting. I grew up shopping a huge Safeway store with my mother once a week, which was bought out by a Kroger in my teens. I think that store is still there to this day. Now 40 years later I alternate grocery shopping in between an older small Hyvee and a large, much newer store Price Chopper. And they just recently opened up a Discount Savers store nearby, which is a lot like Aldis, another deep discount grocery store that only sells its own brand, no name brand food brands at all. This makes for huge savings, but DH is very brand conscious so doesn't like to shop there. It doesn't matter to me and I mostly buy Hyvee store brand, especially canned goods when I shop there, which doesn't bother him for some reason there.....
rosarugosa
11-30-14, 8:52am
A couple of years ago, we switched from Stop & Shop (owned by large multinational and with very high prices) to Market Basket (a regional chain owned by the Demoulas family). We probably save $20 per week shopping at MB.
Anyway, there was quite the grocery store drama in our area this year that you might find interesting. Apparently the family was split into two factions headed by two cousins, Arthur T Demoulas and Arthur S Demoulas. Arthur T was ousted by the family board, but was so beloved by employees that a massive walk-out supported by customers and lasting well over a month ensued. It had a really large regional impact. ATD was ultimately victorious. The rest of the family sold their shares to him, the employees happily returned to work and customers happily returned to the store. I'm giving the really short version, but you can look it up on the web if your interested.
We don't have Kroger's or Albertson's or Safeway in this area. It's Stop & Shop, Shaw's, Hannaford's, & Market Basket.
ETA:
Songbird: Yes to paragraphs!
Packy: For someone who doesn't have a lot to offer on the subject, you sure had plenty to say! :D
lessisbest
11-30-14, 10:57am
If you live in the middle of "nowhere" (right outside of "nothing") you don't get a lot of choices, even though we are the shopping center for this region. We have 3 Dillons (Kroger associated), Wal-Mart, Aldi and Sam's Club to choose from. No Unions, I glad to say.....mucking up the works of free enterprise.
There are any number of documentaries on the subject and you can find them free on-line. A good book that covers some of this topic is "What To Eat" by Marion Nestle.
Good. Very Good. It sounds like Lessistbest & Songbird are located very close to the geographic center of the 48 states, like littlebittymee. Dillon's is a Wichita, Ks-area company owned by the much-larger Kroger(Cincinatti, Ohio). But, until this year, David Dillon was the CEO of Kroger! He retired out at 63. He said they were paying him an obscene amout--$13 million/year. But, that is less than most executives for companies of that size. Rosarugosa is out east & we don't have those stores she mentioned. I'm surprised Rosa doesn't have an A & P nearby, as I thought they were still operating in the Northeast. Y'know, that intra-family company dispute reminds me of one that a small regional chain in Iowa called Fareway had a few years ago. Not sure how they resolved it, but prolly not as much drama as what Market Basket had. Fareway is a pretty good place to shop--it's no-frills & kind of like a 1960's supermarket or Aldi's. . Their competitor, Hy-Vee, is upscale, by comparison. Thanks kids, for mentioning those cases & companies, though, cause I will chase 'em down on the web this evening.
Here in our area Albertson's recently bought out Safeway. It was offered to Fred Meyer (Kroger) but they declined.
I've never liked Albertson's. Their stores never seemed really clean or up to date. Kinda chintzy. My mother, however, is a loyal fan. Of course she still pays more for gas at the only station here that pumps your gas for you. She must like Albertson's customer service better.
JaneV2.0
11-30-14, 11:48am
I think Albertson's has just swallowed Safeway, hasn't it? Here in the Seattle area, we have two Kroger affiliates--QFC and Fred Meyer, and (my favorite chain) Grocery Outlet, as well as a few others with such distinctive names as Central Market (I think) and Albertson's/Safeway. There are also Whole Foods and Trader Joe's in the mix.
ETA: I shop most of them for different things. Albertson's has the best cream (Ingredients: cream), and Safeway has the best salami (garlic!). QFC is grossly overpriced, but has good sales. Fortunately, they are all nearby.
early morning
11-30-14, 12:58pm
Locally (10 mile radius) I have Aldi, Wally World, Kroger, IGA, and Marketplace (a very local chain that used to be called Marsh). We shop almost totally at ALDI, supplemented with occasional trips to the closest Trader Joe's, and Dorothy Lane Markets, a local upscale shop. Both are about 35 miles south of us, but closer to my workplace. We really love our Aldi. TJs and DLM are pricier but have wonderful stuff. Packy, your thread starter was really interesting, thanks! I look forward to more grocery info. Back in the 1950s there was a local, 25 hour, 7 days a week store in a nearby town, called Woody's Market. It started as a farm market in the 30s/40s, then expanded. LONG before "super stores" Woody had put in a pharmacy, check-cashing, money orders, butcher shop, bakery, take-out, made to order pizza. In the bakery, the cake decorators worked in front of a long glass window so you could watch their expert moves. Fascinating to a young child! By the 60s, he had added a stand-along beer, wine and party store (the "Little Farm"), a newspaper/magazine shop in the grocery, and a second floor restaurant that spanned the roadway and led to the parking lot across the street. There were fountains with electric trains in the front and back of the store, and the customer service was wonderful. If you wanted something they did not stock, you just asked, and it was ordered. Amazing. I shopped there until Woody became too ill to continue, his children were not interesting the store, and with all the competition of mega-stores by that time, no one was interesting in purchasing it. It closed in the late 90s, I think it was. I so totally miss that store. All others are judged wanting in comparison. . .It actually has a Ohio State Historical Marker on the site now.
Krogers is head-quartered in my town and dominates the grocery market in this area. Barney Kroger was a true innovator in several business ventures, one being the founding of a local bank which only just recently was absorbed by a national bank. His Provident Bank was the only bank in Cincinnati that did not suffer from depositor runs during the Great Depression, mainly because Barney converted $15M of his personal savings into cash and displayed it in the window of the headquarters branch at 7th & Vine. Depositors could easily see that money was available and safe in the bank.
Until about 15 years ago the only real competition Kroger had in the local market was another local chain, Thriftway. Winn-Dixie came in and offered Thriftway's owner quite a deal for the rights to the name and local inventories, leaving the stores and other real property in the original owners hands. Winn-Dixie promptly destroyed the brand and within only a couple of years were a willing takeover target from who? You guessed it, Kroger!
iris lilies
11-30-14, 2:13pm
We are very loyal to the store in the local St. Louis chain (Schnuck's)where they treat customers really great, and our favorite checkout woman works there. We talk plants each Sunday while she is ringing us up. I've brought her black iris, magic lilies, and a banana tree over the years. This chain is really very good in reflecting the neighborhoods they serve. Some of them are terrible, some of them are great. They had a cool store downtown, and it's very very successful and in a place where many people didn't think they could succeed.
When our neighborhood entrepreneur opened a new store a block away from me called Fields Foods, we were torn. On one hand, how can we not support a grocery store a block away, when we've been clamoring for an upscale one for 25 years? OTOH, we cannot leave our chain store, it's so great! So I compromise and do regular shopping on Sunday, but I make an effort to spend $25 weekly at the upscale yuppie/organic/locavore Fields Foods one block away from me. The coolest thing about it is that you can buy a glass of wine, put that glass in the special cup holder in their carts, and do leisurely shopping while drinking a glass of wine. Brilliant!
Teacher Terry
11-30-14, 2:16pm
Love the wine & grocery shop idea! Albertson's was very expensive when they were here but they left about 4 years ago. Winco has the best prices here & treat the employees well. It is an employee owned company.
Love the wine & grocery shop idea! Albertson's was very expensive when they were here but they left about 4 years ago. Winco has the best prices here & treat the employees well. It is an employee owned company.
Winco is a great resource; many of my Portland friends shop there. I'm waiting impatiently for one to show up close to me.
The old standby grocery names don't seem to exist around here anymore, ie Safeway's, Kroger's, Albertson's etc. If they do, they have been bought and renamed. Safeway is now called Randall's. We have too many competitors and really good regional chains like HEB for old-style groceries to stay in business. Within a four mile radius, we have Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Central Market (HEB), Sprouts, Costco, Natural Grocers, multiple farmer's markets and several regional small markets. And a Walmart. We are spoiled by all this food abundance. DH is in the grocery business and like everything else it is changing too. The trend towards eating healthier is making its impact felt except in those markets where the consumer doesn't demand it. Now that we are thinking about how to afford retirement, we joke that we will have to move to Walmartville which is all some small communities seem to have anymore.
Not only did I go on and on with reckless disregard for paragraphs, I spelled "Cincinnati" wrong! Or, maybe it's "Cinncinnattie". Yes, the company that owns Albertsons owns Safeway(as of 2014), who owns Randalls in Texas & Carrs Markets in Alaska, etc., etc. I guess that regroup moved them right behind Krogers(the largest grocery retailer), with Wal Mart(who also sells groceries)being the largest retailer, overall. Safeway left town decades ago, Albertsons cut-and-ran after several years, and now Kroger is pulling up stakes, basically leaving "Pyramid Foods/Price Cutter", a local company who recently bought up several independents (& rented the old Dillons buildings), to compete with Wally Mart! Yes, there are two Aldi's. But, we are Wall-to-wall with Wal marts, here. I believe their stores actually compete against each other. Kinda scary. Makes me think that someday, Walmart will buy Kroger, and Kroger will buy Albertsons, who in turn will buy Walmart, if they fall on hard times. They will end up being "Too big to fail", or else we will all starve to death. Except for Iris, who has an enormous stockpile of home-canned food. See how that works?
I wonder why Mr BAE hasn't checked in here, and given us the scoop on the Orcas Island Grocery Supply? My best information is that a place in Eastsound called "Island Grocery" is the major grocery, and there are smaller places such as convenience stores that stock food. It sounds like the "Island" establishment does charge a premium for their merchandise, and I suppose that is understandable. The nearest Large Supermarket is the Safeway in Anacortes, Washington, and going to shop there involves a ferry boat ride to get to the Washington State mainland. Hope that is correct. Thank Me.
Okay--here's an interesting one. There is a privately-held, 167-store chain in Southern California called "Stater Brothers". Several years ago, the company constructed a 2,000,000 square foot distribution center near San Bernardino. Wow! I wonder if that includes the parking lot and greenspace around it? The company prides itself on high standards for its stores and the employees. The butchers(meatcutters) undergo two years of training through the company, to gain a credential. Have any of you ever been in one of their stores? I know I have, when I visted California. How do you like that?
I haven't but my beloved (transplanted from SoCal) called every market in town "Stater Brothers" for years.
Training employees--what a concept! Apprenticeships are common in Germany, I've read--wonder if it would work here...:idea:
Here in the NE, Wakerfern Corp. owned Shop Rite supermarkets. Many years ago, a few people left that company and formed Supermarkets General and opened Pathmark Supermarkets (my employer for over 20 years). Ahold, a company that owns several chains including Stop & Shop, planned a leveraged buyout so they could have stores in the urban areas where Pathmark was successful. That didn't work out, but years later, A&P bought Pathmark, kept some stores and closed many others.
And through all this, Shop Rite is still more successful than either Pathmark or A&P, both of which had higher prices than Shop Rite. Most of my coworkers shopped at Shop Rite! The super Walmarts, however, beats Shop Rite's prices on many items. Some chains will take whatever legal action they can to prevent another grocery store from opening in the area. We have a lovely, clean A&P that fought a smaller Shop Rite opening a few miles away (which was replacing an older smaller store in another part of the same town). They lost, and the A&P is never busy while the SR is always packed.
Not only did I go on and on with reckless disregard for paragraphs, I spelled "Cincinnati" wrong! Or, maybe it's "Cinncinnattie". Yes, the company that owns Albertsons owns Safeway(as of 2014), who owns Randalls in Texas & Carrs Markets in Alaska, etc., etc. I guess that regroup moved them right behind Krogers(the largest grocery retailer), with Wal Mart(who also sells groceries)being the largest retailer, overall. Safeway left town decades ago, Albertsons cut-and-ran after several years, and now Kroger is pulling up stakes, basically leaving "Pyramid Foods/Price Cutter", a local company who recently bought up several independents (& rented the old Dillons buildings), to compete with Wally Mart! Yes, there are two Aldi's. But, we are Wall-to-wall with Wal marts, here. I believe their stores actually compete against each other. Kinda scary. Makes me think that someday, Walmart will buy Kroger, and Kroger will buy Albertsons, who in turn will buy Walmart, if they fall on hard times. They will end up being "Too big to fail", or else we will all starve to death. Except for Iris, who has an enormous stockpile of home-canned food. See how that works?
Wouldn't it be scary if someday Walmart took over all of the grocery stores in the US!
Everything I read or hear about Walmart now says don't buy fresh produce or meat from them....
I haven't but my beloved (transplanted from SoCal) called every market in town "Stater Brothers" for years.
Training employees--what a concept! Apprenticeships are common in Germany, I've read--wonder if it would work here...:idea:Wal Mart needs to catch on to that concept! Anyway, a local, tired old joke in So Cal goes Q: "Why are there so MANY Stater Brothers? A: "Their Mom didn't know there was a Safe-Way." Get It? Safe-Way? Sorry if you found that tasteless and offensive. It won't happen again.
This isn't about the grocery business, but there is a parallel that is getting to be common practice in big business. In 1926, a guy decided to quit his job at Rand-McNally, the Road Map company, and start his own. So, H.M. Gousha Company competed with Rand-McNally until 1996. By then, the handwriting was on the wall-there were technologies emerging that would reduce the need for the low-tech, tree-eating but reliable paper road atlases and gas station maps. At that point, Rand-McNally bought the H. M. Gousha Company, and then another big fish, a major publisher(I'm thinking Simon & Schuster?)acquired Rand-McNally. So, guess what? R-M then closed the doors of Gousha Map Co., thereby eliminating their long-time competitor. Yes, Wal-Marts' ever-increasing market share is something to be concerned about. That said, look at other has-been retail giants of the 20th Century--Woolworth, Kressge, A &P; Sears; Montgomery Ward; Safeway; and some others. I'll wager that Wal Mart is gone, or split up into different companies, 50 years from now. But, who knows what the casualties of the retail grocery turf wars will be in the meantime?
Yes, WinCo is definitely the store of choice out West. Headquarters here in Boise. Good prices, and depending on the store, excellent selection. Some stores are bigger than others. Employee owned and all employees are treated exceptionally well. Can't say enough about it -- I only shop elsewhere when there are sales to beat WinCo, or sometimes Costco. Albertson's is also Boise originated, and while they did sell a lot of stores, they have bought a lot back. I seldom shop there because the prices are higher, but we have a store a short walking distance away so pick up quickie things there.
Boise has Trader Joe's and Whole Foods and the Boise Co-op, which we love, as well as a couple of smaller natural food stores, and we shop there when that's what we're after. WinCo is getting better with that.
Yes, WinCo is definitely the store of choice out West. Headquarters here in Boise. Good prices, and depending on the store, excellent selection. Some stores are bigger than others. Employee owned and all employees are treated exceptionally well. Can't say enough about it -- I only shop elsewhere when there are sales to beat WinCo.
.
This is a good one to hear about! 97 stores, and growing. Maybe it is all the bigger they need to be, though. Privately held, majorly by employees. I'm beginning to see an issue--quite often a conflict of interest, between the shareholders and the well-being of the company itself, in companies that are publicly-traded. Makes me think an organization should plan to buy back shares, when it can. Another thing is: I wonder what the circumstances were that gave them a start in Boise, also home of Albertsons?
iris lilies
12-2-14, 12:21pm
Since we are talking about chains, DH and I are familiar with Migros, the chain that's all over Switzerland. It's the one that is responsible for closing out mom and pop bakeries, butchers, etc. It's too bad.
It's also the place where DH's auntie was able to buy a small package of 6 ice cubes for her American guests. Migros selection for Swiss candy bars is very good, and depending on the size of store there may be an entire aisle devoted to Swiss chocolate.
Since we are talking about chains, DH and I are familiar with Migros, the chain that's all over Switzerland. It's the one that is responsible for closing out mom and pop bakeries, butchers, etc. It's too bad.
It's also the place where DH's auntie was able to buy a small package of 6 ice cubes for her American guests. Migros selection for Swiss candy bars is very good, and depending on the size of store there may be an entire aisle devoted to Swiss chocolate. Wowee! You kids keep throwing these grocery chains at me that I never heard of, and they make for interesting followup reading. Migros, is one of the World's 40 largest retailers. They covered Switzerland, then Turkey & then into France and Germany. They are innovative in their business model(to littlebittyme, anyway), and are very diverse in the consumer goods they offer. No small irony, since originally they started by selling only six items, all basic foodstuffs, out of trucks. Anyway, they apparently leave plenty of room for smaller competitors to fill out niche and boutique and specialty markets. At least, that is my take. But, they are the chocolate heavyweight! Ha. No pun intended. Will be back after I find out more. Thank you & thank Mee.
Around here there are Natural Grocers, Sprouts, Whole Foods, and a few Trader Joe's out of my driving range. They are opening new stores all the time. The other supermarkets like Kings and Safeway are closing stores. I think at least in the cities that will be the trend. I'd much rather shop in a smaller store without all the wasted space of processed foods in the center aisles. We do have one of the smaller WalMart Grocery stores that may go in despite some local resistance. It will be interesting to see how they do.
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2025 vBulletin Solutions Inc. All rights reserved.