Thread: Albertson's "upscale"?

On Fri, 14 Nov 2008 19:09:30 GMT, notbob <[email protected]> wrote:

>Read an article in Time magazine about Aldi's, the Mid-West discount grocer.
>The article claimed "...many are leaving upscale grocers like Whole Foods
>and Albertson's..." ???? Say what?
>
>Since when is Albertson's upscale? It's not even as upscale as Safeway, who
>is trying to reinvent itself into the upscale market, with the usual absurd
>prices to match. In fact,, Alberston's was the cheapest market in our area,
>with the lowest prices, best sales, etc. Medium selection, pricey produce,
>but great prices, everall. Being on a budget and a fanatical price watcher, I
>shopped Alberstson's 95% of the time.
>
>It appears the author of the Time piece has never done any serious shopping.
>
>nb

I think it depends on the region. Albertsons owned Jewel here in
Chicago from 1999 until 2006. The stores kept the Jewel name. They
were overpriced and produce was/is terrible but they currently have
45% market share here followed by Safeway (dominicks) with 15%. I
rarely shop there because I like the more ethnic oriented places but
to most yuppies they would be considered upscale second only to whole
foods. Jewel is now owned by supervalu and still sucks. (IMO) It
looks like Albertsons has a few stores here now but most are just
pharmacy.

Lou

notbob <[email protected]> wrote:

>Read an article in Time magazine about Aldi's, the Mid-West discount grocer.
>The article claimed "...many are leaving upscale grocers like Whole Foods
>and Albertson's..." ???? Say what?
>
>Since when is Albertson's upscale?

Compared to 99 Cents Only, it is.

(BTW 99 Cents Only is publicly traded, and its stock has
doubled in price since July.)

There's one near us, and they do have a lot of good product.

Steve

notbob wrote:
> Read an article in Time magazine about Aldi's, the Mid-West discount grocer.
> The article claimed "...many are leaving upscale grocers like Whole Foods
> and Albertson's..." ???? Say what?

Latest issue of "Gourmet Retailer" talks about that too, specifically
mentioning Aldi's new formats.

Theres also a good article on beer, too.

<http://www.gourmetretailer.com/gourmetretailer/content_display/in-print/current-issue/e3i42833b59abc42b13727d7848f71552af>

> Since when is Albertson's upscale?

Like Randall's, Krogers, and HEB they have several upscale formats as
well as the traditional, generic footprint stores.

-sw

notbob wrote:

> Since when is Albertson's upscale? It's not even as upscale as Safeway, who
> is trying to reinvent itself into the upscale market, with the usual absurd
> prices to match. In fact,, Alberston's was the cheapest market in our area,
> with the lowest prices, best sales, etc. Medium selection, pricey produce,
> but great prices, everall. Being on a budget and a fanatical price watcher, I
> shopped Alberstson's 95% of the time.

They were even better when they were the original Lucky's stores.
Comparing Safeway to Lucky's was like comparing night and day.

-sw

"notbob" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]..
> Read an article in Time magazine about Aldi's, the Mid-West discount
> grocer.
> The article claimed "...many are leaving upscale grocers like Whole Foods
> and Albertson's..." ???? Say what?
>
> Since when is Albertson's upscale? It's not even as upscale as Safeway,
> who
> is trying to reinvent itself into the upscale market, with the usual
> absurd
> prices to match. In fact,, Alberston's was the cheapest market in our
> area,
> with the lowest prices, best sales, etc. Medium selection, pricey
> produce,
> but great prices, everall. Being on a budget and a fanatical price
> watcher, I
> shopped Alberstson's 95% of the time.
>
> It appears the author of the Time piece has never done any serious
> shopping.
>
> nb

I think it depends on the area.

There is a beautiful new Albertsons in Paso with a full service meat/fish
department, full service Deli with quite a few hot foods, a fair cheese
section, a bakery, a more than fair produce assortment even some locally
grown produce along with a good liquor and wine/local wine section. They
even have a section for local foods marketed by restaurants, wineries &
specialty Santa Maria Seasonings.

Not a bad store with a pleasant environment.

Dimitri

On 2008-11-14, Sqwertz <[email protected]> wrote:

> They were even better when they were the original Lucky's stores.
> Comparing Safeway to Lucky's was like comparing night and day.

Apparently, Lucky's is back. Just before I left CA, one of the two Alby
stores in Lvrmr was going back to Lucky's, or so I heard. Safeway ....the
one store name that has remained constant.... has gone way upscale in the
SFBA market. A wine tasting section, gourmet coffee dept w/ in-house
roasting, and something I haven't seen since the WT Grant and SH Kress days
....a hot nut counter! Look out, WF.

nb

On 2008-11-14, Dimitri <[email protected]> wrote:

> There is a beautiful new Albertsons in Paso with a full service meat/fish
> department, full service Deli with quite a few hot foods, a fair cheese
> section, a bakery, a more than fair produce assortment......

Our Alby had all that, but just basic. Even the ethnic selection was pretty
good, but that due to high deversity of area. Overall, it was just a basic
grocery for the SFBA, far from up or even good middle (Nob Hill). Nothing
really gourmet about it.

SFBA has some really high end grocers, some that put even WF to shame. I
guess they choose their niche market depending on the area and go with it.

nb

notbob wrote:
>
> On 2008-11-14, Sqwertz <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > They were even better when they were the original Lucky's stores.
> > Comparing Safeway to Lucky's was like comparing night and day.
>
> Apparently, Lucky's is back. Just before I left CA, one of the two Alby
> stores in Lvrmr was going back to Lucky's, or so I heard. Safeway ....the

The one near me has gone back to being Lucky.
This was about the same time they stopped requiring
their affinity card for purchasing specials.

> one store name that has remained constant.... has gone way upscale in the
> SFBA market. A wine tasting section, gourmet coffee dept w/ in-house
> roasting, and something I haven't seen since the WT Grant and SH Kress days
> ...a hot nut counter! Look out, WF.

The one near me was greatly remodeled and expanded.
They now have a mini-Starbucks inside the store,
even though there's a regular Starbucks in the
same shopping center. They've greatly increased
their deli section, fish section, and wine
department. Lots more ethnic food on the shelves.

I haven't seen in-house coffee roasting -- this
is a skilled operation, I wonder how they do it?
Nor have I seen a hot nut counter. Were you kidding
about that?

On 2008-11-14, Mark Thorson <[email protected]> wrote:

> I haven't seen in-house coffee roasting -- this
> is a skilled operation, I wonder how they do it?

Not that skilled, with computer-timed PID'd fluid-bed roasters like WF has,
it's strictly a burger flip operation. This is only a gourmet coffee
bean bar, there still being a Starbie's in the house.

> Nor have I seen a hot nut counter. Were you kidding
> about that?

Nope. Got one in the newer Lvrmr Safeway out by the freeway, it being a
major convergience/stop for workers commuting out of SFBA to Central Valley.

Natch, it also got the dimly lit soothing country store produce dept
treatment, too, so they can charge prices like, persimmons: $3.95 EA!!

nb

"notbob" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]..
> Read an article in Time magazine about Aldi's, the Mid-West discount
> grocer.
> The article claimed "...many are leaving upscale grocers like Whole Foods
> and Albertson's..." ???? Say what?
>
> Since when is Albertson's upscale? It's not even as upscale as Safeway,
> who
> is trying to reinvent itself into the upscale market, with the usual
> absurd
> prices to match. In fact,, Alberston's was the cheapest market in our
> area,
> with the lowest prices, best sales, etc. Medium selection, pricey
> produce,
> but great prices, everall. Being on a budget and a fanatical price
> watcher, I
> shopped Alberstson's 95% of the time.
>
> It appears the author of the Time piece has never done any serious
> shopping.
>

I think it depends where you are. The Albertsons I went to in Orlando was
expensive and had a lot of prepared "convenience" foods.

FWIW, Aldi is not a midwest grocer, it is nationwide. It orginated in
Germany. We have two here in Raleigh, NC. Their produce comes from somewhere
like Ilinois, as I recall. It is excellent, very fresh, for the most part.

On 2008-11-14, cybercat <[email protected]> wrote:

> Germany. We have two here in Raleigh, NC....

NC hardly qualifies as "nationwide". Try to find a single store West of
the Rockies.

nb

notbob wrote:
> Read an article in Time magazine about Aldi's, the Mid-West discount
> grocer. The article claimed "...many are leaving upscale grocers like
> Whole Foods
> and Albertson's..." ???? Say what?
>
> Since when is Albertson's upscale?
>
> nb

It used to be, nb. When Albertson's bought out a locally (family owned)
Memphis chain some years ago they remodeled the stores and had very nice
meats and produce. An Albertson's butcher offered me freshly ground pork
for my Thai dumplings even though they were told they could no longer grind
their own pork. They were warned they didn't know how to clean the meat
grinders and had to sell pre-packaged stuff.

Albertson's didn't last long where I live because the chain lost money with
their marketing tatics. And they cut jobs. Schnuck's which is a local
(midsouthern chain) bought them out and rescused those jobs. And
reinstituted their quality. I love their produce and their meat selections.
Of course, there's no Schnuck's where I am now in SC.

At one time Albertson's was a high quality chain of grocery stores. I don't
have anything like a Safeway in the area, not even in Memphis. Kroger (aka
Meyers) sucks there. There is no Kroger here in SC. And Piggly Wiggly
started in Memphis but turned into (I'll be flamed for saying this) want a
bucket of chitterlings, ham hocks and some collard greens. You go with what
is available.

I don't do "upscale" markets. I'm not paying a premium for fancy ground
chicken/sundried tomato sausages offered at Whole Foods, for example. For
one thing, I despise chicken sausage. For another, how often does one use
things like that?

I do appreciate a grocery store that has good produce, good meats at a
butcher counter, custom ground or cut. And a seafood department. I don't
know about Albertson's anymore, honestly. But at one brief point in time
they were good

Jill

"notbob" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]..
> Natch, it also got the dimly lit soothing country store produce dept
> treatment, too, so they can charge prices like, persimmons: $3.95 EA!!
>
> nb

I had to laugh about Safeway's persimmon price too. I just bought over 9
pounds of beautiful persimmons at a Mexican market for $9 total (99 cents a
pound), not 3 persimmons (probably 1 pound) for $12.

Ken Kozak
Walnut Creek, CA

jmcquown wrote:
>
> Albertson's didn't last long where I live because the chain lost money with
> their marketing tatics. And they cut jobs. Schnuck's which is a local
> (midsouthern chain) bought them out and rescused those jobs. And
> reinstituted their quality. I love their produce and their meat selections.
> Of course, there's no Schnuck's where I am now in SC.
>
> At one time Albertson's was a high quality chain of grocery stores. I don't
> have anything like a Safeway in the area, not even in Memphis. Kroger (aka
> Meyers) sucks there. There is no Kroger here in SC. And Piggly Wiggly
> started in Memphis but turned into (I'll be flamed for saying this) want a
> bucket of chitterlings, ham hocks and some collard greens. You go with what
> is available.

It's interesting how the various grocery chains have
battled each other over the years. But it's only
interesting in the sense that watching hummingbird
territorial wars is interesting. Unlike hummingbirds,
these battles can result in me being forced to change
my buying habits. I hate that. I hate change. I did
buy a converter box, and it'll be sitting unopened
in its original packaging on top of the TV until the
day I need it.

notbob wrote:
> Lucky's is back.

Yeah, and I didn't appreciate the switch (back).

> Safeway ....the
> one store name that has remained constant.... has gone way upscale in the
> SFBA market. A wine tasting section, gourmet coffee dept w/ in-house
> roasting, and something I haven't seen since the WT Grant and SH Kress days
> ...a hot nut counter! Look out, WF.

Our SW's in the Campbell/SJ area have scaled-up, but I haven't seen a
hot nut counter!

Dave

notbob wrote:
> Our Alby had all that, but just basic. Even the ethnic selection was
> pretty good, but that due to high deversity of area. Overall, it was
> just a basic grocery for the SFBA, far from up or even good middle
> (Nob Hill). Nothing really gourmet about it.
>
> SFBA has some really high end grocers, some that put even WF to
> shame. I guess they choose their niche market depending on the area
> and go with it.
>
> nb

You're talking about Time Magazine judging "gourmet", nb. Gourmet to whom?!
I wonder what "gourmet" means to some people? I love artichoke hearts; is
that "gourmet"? I buy freshly caught shrimp now and then from the grocery
store. Then again, I'm in fresh shrimp country. They sell it (never
previously frozen) to the grocery store, cleaned and deveined. Does that
make it "gourmet"? It's just a regular full service grocery store down
here. IMHO you can't judge a grocery store based on their name or a a
magazine article. You may certainly criticize your local locations of said
stores

Jill

notbob wrote:
> On 2008-11-14, Sqwertz <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > They were even better when they were the original Lucky's stores.
> > Comparing Safeway to Lucky's was like comparing night and day.
>
> Apparently, Lucky's is back. Just before I left CA, one of the two Alby
> stores in Lvrmr was going back to Lucky's, or so I heard. Safeway ....the
> one store name that has remained constant.... has gone way upscale in the
> SFBA market. A wine tasting section, gourmet coffee dept w/ in-house
> roasting, and something I haven't seen since the WT Grant and SH Kress days
> ...a hot nut counter! Look out, WF.
>
> nb

the new two story whole foods in pasadena, ca has a hot nut counter.

harriet & critters in azusa (where it is very warm this evening due to
the santana winds blowing)

Mark Thorson wrote:
> jmcquown wrote:
>>
>> Albertson's didn't last long where I live because the chain lost
>> money with their marketing tatics. And they cut jobs.
(snippage)
> It's interesting how the various grocery chains have
> battled each other over the years. But it's only
> interesting in the sense that watching hummingbird
> territorial wars is interesting.

I happen to like hummingbird wards. Only in that I don't get them back in
TN and here they are likely to kill each other over a bit of sugar water.

> these battles can result in me being forced to change
> my buying habits. I hate that. I hate change. I did
> buy a converter box, and it'll be sitting unopened
> in its original packaging on top of the TV until the
> day I need it.

Oh, you mean DTV? Heh. I hate being forced to go digital by February 2009.
Sure, it's nicer, maybe even better. But since it's not likely I'll be home
by February 2009 I'll just have to worry about it when I get back home to my
analog TV. Maybe then I'll have a converter box. Or I'll just have to go
back to reading books, which I much prefer

Jill

"notbob" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]..
> On 2008-11-14, cybercat <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> Germany. We have two here in Raleigh, NC....
>
> NC hardly qualifies as "nationwide". Try to find a single store West of
> the Rockies.
>

I figured that if they were here and in the midwest they were everywhere.
Relax. It's not like I had some kind of emotional investment in the topic.