434 replies to this topic

[Chris322]

FormerCashier, on Jun 5 2009, 10:41 PM, said:

Wow.....
I had the chance to talk to a WD co-manager tonight and got the standard "naw we are doin fine, nobody will buy us"......
Yea, who knows if this actually becomes a reality what will happen. I do know that with other stores Kroger owns (Fred Meyer in AK for example, wonderful stores btw wish we had them here, could really give Wal-Mart a run for their money) have Kroger brand stuff. It would seem very weird to buy Kroger peanut butter in a WD store. But hey, again stranger things have happened.
I hope that WD works out for you. WD certainly treated me well, Lord knows I was with the company long enough.
I read that about the Summit too, but we also (and Bayer properties) need to realize that its stupid to let that much space sit empty. If a company, such as WD wants it, then by all means let them have it.
Yea.....I walked into the Greensprings FW Wednesday evening and it was clean, shelves were bare. The employees seemed almost, IDK how to describe it. Shoot if I was in their position, I'd be rejoicing. But they seemed almost attitudinal. If they keep up that, I can promise customers wont be coming back. And I dont think they will. At 645pm...prime time...I counted maybe 5 customers in the whole store. Very sad.......

I think with what WD has going for them, Kroger would buy them and operate them as is. WD has a strong brand image going on with their private labels right now. I don't think Kroger would screw with that. I just don't see Kroger converting the stores to Kroger stores. I think they would leave them as is and let them do business. I just don't think the C&S deal was the best for Bruno's. It might have been all they could do, but I still think it is just postponing the inevitable. All of these stores will close within the next 2 years unless something drastic happens.

I still can't get over the fact that Kroger tried to buy Bruno's back in '98! Can you imagine what it would be like if that had happened? We would now have a Kroger everywhere instead of Publix or WD. Publix would never have moved into AL like they have if Kroger had been here. And I think that is the same reason that Kroger will not come here now...they don't want to compete with Publix.

Edited by Chris322, 05 June 2009 - 10:40 PM.

[FormerCashier]

Chris322, on Jun 5 2009, 11:38 PM, said:

I think with what WD has going for them, Kroger would buy them and operate them as is. WD has a strong brand image going on with their private labels right now. I don't think Kroger would screw with that. I just don't see Kroger converting the stores to Kroger stores. I think they would leave them as is and let them do business. I just don't think the C&S deal was the best for Bruno's. It might have been all they could do, but I still think it is just postponing the inevitable. All of these stores will close within the next 2 years unless something drastic happens.

I still can't get over the fact that Kroger tried to buy Bruno's back in '98! Can you imagine what it would be like if that had happened? We would now have a Kroger everywhere instead of Publix or WD. Publix would never have moved into AL like they have if Kroger had been here. And I think that is the same reason that Kroger will not come here now...they don't want to compete with Publix.

They are obviously doing pretty good competing with Publix in Atlanta......
And you hit the nail on the head---IT WAS THE BEST THEY COULD DO....and you're exacty right----give C&S 2 years every store will be closed or sold. And I dont buy for one second that some of these stores wont become SFMs.......look for the Mobile area stores to be sold off soon....somethin a vendor mentioned the other day........didnt say to who....but said he heard that they (C&S) were getting ready to sell
As for the conversions.....and this is just me.....but if I was Kroger....everything Montgomery/Auburn (bc they do have a store in Auburn and in Phenix City) NORTH I would convert; MGM south leave as-is. Mainly because it would be easier for these stores to be absorbed into the Atlanta District.....Basically south of MGM could become part of some new Florida district......it would be easier and cheaper....think of the savings on advertising alone....plus all products could come from the ATL DC......no more of this Hammond BS that WD does now.....and as for all the LA stores....most of Kroger's are on the far western side of the state....WDs stores are on eastern side...they could easily be absorbed into Krogers Southwest Division and converted.....now for the South ALA stores, the south GA stores in areas where there is no Kroger, and all the FL stores....leave them alone and let them continue to operate as WD stores. FL does not have Kroger....brinigng the name to FL might actually do some harm instead of good. But like I said, in markets like Birmingham, Meridian, MS and all the remaining stores in MS, Tuscaloosa, Anniston/Gadsden, MGM, and all of LA convert----it would be cheaper and easier for Kroger....plus me personally I just like Kroger if you havent already guessed haha
And as for the private labels....if they become Kroger owned.....they carry Kroger private labels.....thats the case in all Kroger-owned non-Kroger stores....(i.e Fred Meyer, King Soopers, Dillons, etc)....granted some will be "WD" products....but if you'll notice...they are Kroger products that have that stores name on it.....all HBA, Frozen Meats/Seafood, Dairy will be Kroger brand.....
And here is something else intresting....do you ever read supermarketnews.com? Very intresting article on Albertsons LLC (the Albertsons that have stores in LA and FL) wanting to grow the company and expand??? I highly doubt that they will buy WD....but still....I've always thought that Albertsons would be a good fit for Alabama, esp the BHM/MGM areas.....and now with all these emply Brunos/FW stores around, and with some of them being in good locations (i.e Hwy 150, or Wildwood, or even some of the old FW locations, such as Gardendale or Prattville) whats to say that maybe just maybe they wont consider coming up here??? Some of the locations in FL hold their own aganist Publix and even WD.....they have nice, clean stores and their prices and sales are actually pretty good. Plus some stores carry more GM products.....would be a nice alternative to what we have now. Plus they could be VERY easily serviced from the Supervalu DC here......

Edited by FormerCashier, 06 June 2009 - 10:44 AM.

[Chris322]

FormerCashier, on Jun 6 2009, 01:11 AM, said:

They are obviously doing pretty good competing with Publix in Atlanta......
And you hit the nail on the head---IT WAS THE BEST THEY COULD DO....and you're exacty right----give C&S 2 years every store will be closed or sold. And I dont buy for one second that some of these stores wont become SFMs.......look for the Mobile area stores to be sold off soon....somethin a vendor mentioned the other day........didnt say to who....but said he heard that they (C&S) were getting ready to sell
As for the conversions.....and this is just me.....but if I was Kroger....everything Montgomery/Auburn (bc they do have a store in Auburn and in Phenix City) NORTH I would convert; MGM south leave as-is. Mainly because it would be easier for these stores to be absorbed into the Atlanta District.....Basically south of MGM could become part of some new Florida district......it would be easier and cheaper....think of the savings on advertising alone....plus all products could come from the ATL DC......no more of this Hammond BS that WD does now.....and as for all the LA stores....most of Kroger's are on the far western side of the state....WDs stores are on eastern side...they could easily be absorbed into Krogers Southwest Division and converted.....now for the South ALA stores, the south GA stores in areas where there is no Kroger, and all the FL stores....leave them alone and let them continue to operate as WD stores. FL does not have Kroger....brinigng the name to FL might actually do some harm instead of good. But like I said, in markets like Birmingham, Meridian, MS and all the remaining stores in MS, Tuscaloosa, Anniston/Gadsden, MGM, and all of LA convert----it would be cheaper and easier for Kroger....plus me personally I just like Kroger if you havent already guessed haha
And as for the private labels....if they become Kroger owned.....they carry Kroger private labels.....thats the case in all Kroger-owned non-Kroger stores....(i.e Fred Meyer, King Soopers, Dillons, etc)....granted some will be "WD" products....but if you'll notice...they are Kroger products that have that stores name on it.....all HBA, Frozen Meats/Seafood, Dairy will be Kroger brand.....
And here is something else intresting....do you ever read supermarketnews.com? Very intresting article on Albertsons LLC (the Albertsons that have stores in LA and FL) wanting to grow the company and expand??? I highly doubt that they will buy WD....but still....I've always thought that Albertsons would be a good fit for Alabama, esp the BHM/MGM areas.....and now with all these emply Brunos/FW stores around, and with some of them being in good locations (i.e Hwy 150, or Wildwood, or even some of the old FW locations, such as Gardendale or Prattville) whats to say that maybe just maybe they wont consider coming up here??? Some of the locations in FL hold their own aganist Publix and even WD.....they have nice, clean stores and their prices and sales are actually pretty good. Plus some stores carry more GM products.....would be a nice alternative to what we have now. Plus they could be VERY easily serviced from the Supervalu DC here......

I can tell you like Kroger! But that's okay because I do too! I just like the name. There's just something about it. It's very catchy! I like your explanation as to what they could do as far as conversions. It makes a lot of sense. Leave WD where it is still strong and well known, and turn everything that could support Kroger into Kroger.

It is interesting that Albertsons LLC wants to grow. They are owned by Cerberus Capital Management. Usually those investment firms don't invest much into companies as far as acquisitions. They just buy them and drain them for all they can get (see Bruno's under KKR & Lonestar Funds). If it were the Albertsons that are owned by Supervalu, it would be okay. And they may still look to expand. I don't know. The problem is that most if not all of the former Bruno's and FW locations are now gutted. They sold the equipment out of them, so it would cost a lot of money to open any of those stores back up. I drove in front of my old store the other day, and it is totally gutted. Everything is gone. The bottom line here is that we need more competition! My mother shops at Walmart, and she has already seen an increase in their prices since Foodmax closed. In most areas now there is only Walmart and WD. Gadsden has Johnson's, which keeps everyone in Etowah County in line! But we need a new grocery store badly, and I don't think Publix is what we need. We need either Kroger or Albertson's. Safeway might be nice, but I don't think they'll come to AL.

As far as the Mobile stores being sold, I think that is the plan and has been the plan for quite some time. There is a reason they kept so many of them. I think they will sell to various owners including Rouses, Food for Less, and Greer's. Food for Less and said it wanted as many as 6 stores, and Greer's was also said to be interested in some stores. Rouses was also known to have visited some coastal stores. SFM will sell anything they can sell!

As for my interview, I got the job. It will be a couple weeks before I can actually start. They do new hire orientation only on Saturdays, and I have something I have to do next Saturday. It will be the next Saturday before I can do that. But at least I know I have the job!

Edited by Chris322, 06 June 2009 - 04:01 PM.

[FormerCashier]

Chris322, on Jun 6 2009, 04:49 PM, said:

I can tell you like Kroger! But that's okay because I do too! I just like the name. There's just something about it. It's very catchy! I like your explanation as to what they could do as far as conversions. It makes a lot of sense. Leave WD where it is still strong and well known, and turn everything that could support Kroger into Kroger.

It is interesting that Albertsons LLC wants to grow. They are owned by Cerberus Capital Management. Usually those investment firms don't invest much into companies as far as acquisitions. They just buy them and drain them for all they can get (see Bruno's under KKR & Lonestar Funds). If it were the Albertsons that are owned by Supervalu, it would be okay. And they may still look to expand. I don't know. The problem is that most if not all of the former Bruno's and FW locations are now gutted. They sold the equipment out of them, so it would cost a lot of money to open any of those stores back up. I drove in front of my old store the other day, and it is totally gutted. Everything is gone. The bottom line here is that we need more competition! My mother shops at Walmart, and she has already seen an increase in their prices since Foodmax closed. In most areas now there is only Walmart and WD. Gadsden has Johnson's, which keeps everyone in Etowah County in line! But we need a new grocery store badly, and I don't think Publix is what we need. We need either Kroger or Albertson's. Safeway might be nice, but I don't think they'll come to AL.

As far as the Mobile stores being sold, I think that is the plan and has been the plan for quite some time. There is a reason they kept so many of them. I think they will sell to various owners including Rouses, Food for Less, and Greer's. Food for Less and said it wanted as many as 6 stores, and Greer's was also said to be interested in some stores. Rouses was also known to have visited some coastal stores. SFM will sell anything they can sell!

As for my interview, I got the job. It will be a couple weeks before I can actually start. They do new hire orientation only on Saturdays, and I have something I have to do next Saturday. It will be the next Saturday before I can do that. But at least I know I have the job!

Congrats!!! I hope it works out for you!!

[Chris322]

I thought this was interesting from http://www.businesss...f...ent&src=rss

It discusses the prospect of Woolworth's taking over Winn-Dixie, BI-LO, or Bruno's. This was posted June 5, 2009

Quote

Woolworths:

Fresh from the acquisition of Macro Wholefoods and Gage Roads Brewing Co, the people at Woolworths are looking at acquisition opportunities in North America and, according to the AFR, have appointed Citigroup's M&A team to do a reconnaissance mission. Possible takeover targets include Winn Dixie, which operates across Florida and the Deep South, Alabama's Bruno's and Bi-Lo, also in the South. There's also been takeover speculation down the aisles in Russia and Brazil, but it is unlikely that Woolies, under Michael Luscombe, will want to venture there. Winn Dixie may be the most attractive target, but America's Kroger, Safeway and SuperValu are believed to be eyeing the 520-store chain. To succeed in the former Confederate States Luscombe may need to apply some other type of grit.

This is not the same Woolworths that existed in the US. That retail chain has been defunct since 1997. I don't know much about this group, but I have been able to determine that it is the Australian group Woolworths Limited, which operates supermarkets in Australia under the names Safeway and Food for Less.

Edited by Chris322, 09 June 2009 - 09:57 AM.

[Chris322]

Southern Family Markets has posted a new ad for the Rainbow City and Pelham Food World stores. The ads are pretty good. They have dropped the Bonus Value Card, and have gone to an Everyday Low Price format. They may actually win some people over with this!

[FormerCashier]

Chris322, on Jun 10 2009, 10:45 AM, said:

Southern Family Markets has posted a new ad for the Rainbow City and Pelham Food World stores. The ads are pretty good. They have dropped the Bonus Value Card, and have gone to an Everyday Low Price format. They may actually win some people over with this!

WOW.....thats cool.......but Its like the Bilo/Brunos thing....only a southern company knows how to run a southern company.......and doin away with the BV Card is the 1st positive thing SFM has done....maybe they will do it chainwide.

Power buy...200% guarantee.....plus on the back page SOUTHERN FAMILY MARKETS BREAD.......and ya think they wont be converting?????

Edited by FormerCashier, 10 June 2009 - 08:21 PM.

[Chris322]

FormerCashier, on Jun 10 2009, 09:17 PM, said:

WOW.....thats cool.......but Its like the Bilo/Brunos thing....only a southern company knows how to run a southern company.......and doin away with the BV Card is the 1st positive thing SFM has done....maybe they will do it chainwide.

Power buy...200% guarantee.....plus on the back page SOUTHERN FAMILY MARKETS BREAD.......and ya think they wont be converting?????

I think they may be able to pull this off. As far as being southern, C&S might not be, but the folks making the local decisions are. I think the BV card will disappear chain wide. They are making too much of a deal out of it on that ad for it not to happen chain wide. We'll know as soon as other stores convert. As far as milk and bread goes, they have to be branded as something that can be carried in all of the SFM stores, whether they are under the SFM, Bruno's, or FW banner. SFM stores already stocked SFM brand milk and bread, so it was easier to just add it to the Bruno's and FW stores. They could not continue to use Southern Home on anything. I don't know why they don't just label their milk and bread Best Yet like the rest of their private label, but whatever. I don't think they will ever turn any stores into SFM stores. It would cost them too much to change the signs. This first ad looks pretty good. Time will tell if it works or not. And they need to realize that a grand opening only works if it really is a grand opening. If nothing changed except the ownership and tossing the BV card, that doesn't appear like much of a change for the average customer. To employees this was probably a huge change. I wouldn't know since they fired me and closed my store!

What did you think about the Australian company that is supposedly looking at Winn-Dixie, BI-LO, and Bruno's? I also heard a rumor that SFM is going to reopen 21 closed stores, but I don't buy that one for a minute.

[pkrikard]

Chris322, on Jun 10 2009, 09:52 PM, said:

I think they may be able to pull this off. As far as being southern, C&S might not be, but the folks making the local decisions are. I think the BV card will disappear chain wide. They are making too much of a deal out of it on that ad for it not to happen chain wide. We'll know as soon as other stores convert. As far as milk and bread goes, they have to be branded as something that can be carried in all of the SFM stores, whether they are under the SFM, Bruno's, or FW banner. SFM stores already stocked SFM brand milk and bread, so it was easier to just add it to the Bruno's and FW stores. They could not continue to use Southern Home on anything. I don't know why they don't just label their milk and bread Best Yet like the rest of their private label, but whatever. I don't think they will ever turn any stores into SFM stores. It would cost them too much to change the signs. This first ad looks pretty good. Time will tell if it works or not. And they need to realize that a grand opening only works if it really is a grand opening. If nothing changed except the ownership and tossing the BV card, that doesn't appear like much of a change for the average customer. To employees this was probably a huge change. I wouldn't know since they fired me and closed my store!

What did you think about the Australian company that is supposedly looking at Winn-Dixie, BI-LO, and Bruno's? I also heard a rumor that SFM is going to reopen 21 closed stores, but I don't buy that one for a minute.

Chris,
SFM is planning to leave all the Bruno's and Food World's under the current names. I have heard that some of the SFM AND PW names might change back to their former store names (FW OR Bruno's) and that includeing the former WD and Bi-lo being changed to FW or Bruno's. I work for SFM in a PW store (use to be FW).
Thanks,
Paul

[Chris322]

pkrikard, on Jun 10 2009, 10:39 PM, said:

Chris,
SFM is planning to leave all the Bruno's and Food World's under the current names. I have heard that some of the SFM AND PW names might change back to their former store names (FW OR Bruno's) and that includeing the former WD and Bi-lo being changed to FW or Bruno's. I work for SFM in a PW store (use to be FW).
Thanks,
Paul

Yes, I remember you Paul. We haven't talked in quite a while, but we used to blog together a lot. How are things in your store? My personal belief is that SFM will eventually "recreate" Bruno's by morphing itself into Bruno's. They will probably convert all of their stores to Bruno's and FW, then there will be nothing stopping them from renaming the company itself Bruno's. If by some long shot they happen to be successful, it would be nice to see them start opening new stores again. There are plenty of empty store buildings throughout Alabama! I wish they would open one of the stores in Calhoun County up again. We have 2 empty Foodmax buildings and 1 empty Food World within a 4-6 mile stretch of Alabama Hwy. 21. I wish I was still working at Foodmax! I feel so out of the loop! I haven't quite been able to let go yet, and I still feel a personal connection to this. I'm not in the middle of everything like I used to be, and it bothers me! I'm hoping once I start at WD I'll be able to let go and move on.

[FormerCashier]

Chris322, on Jun 10 2009, 09:52 PM, said:

I think they may be able to pull this off. As far as being southern, C&S might not be, but the folks making the local decisions are. I think the BV card will disappear chain wide. They are making too much of a deal out of it on that ad for it not to happen chain wide. We'll know as soon as other stores convert. As far as milk and bread goes, they have to be branded as something that can be carried in all of the SFM stores, whether they are under the SFM, Bruno's, or FW banner. SFM stores already stocked SFM brand milk and bread, so it was easier to just add it to the Bruno's and FW stores. They could not continue to use Southern Home on anything. I don't know why they don't just label their milk and bread Best Yet like the rest of their private label, but whatever. I don't think they will ever turn any stores into SFM stores. It would cost them too much to change the signs. This first ad looks pretty good. Time will tell if it works or not. And they need to realize that a grand opening only works if it really is a grand opening. If nothing changed except the ownership and tossing the BV card, that doesn't appear like much of a change for the average customer. To employees this was probably a huge change. I wouldn't know since they fired me and closed my store!

What did you think about the Australian company that is supposedly looking at Winn-Dixie, BI-LO, and Bruno's? I also heard a rumor that SFM is going to reopen 21 closed stores, but I don't buy that one for a minute.

Well......I dont know what to think about it actually. Now...keep in mind that Bilo is in Chapter 11. So Bilo is now on the market for anyone. If anything, they would be a good candidate for Safeway, but only due to their location to Safeway's Virginia stores. As for WD....anything is possible I guess. There is no more Bruno's lol.
Yea, once SFM took over, everything changed to Best Yet. But, if i do remember....back 15years ago lol when Brunos still had the "Staff" private label, wasnt the bread/milk under that stores (i.e. Brunos/FW) name??? What I dont get is why they are using the SFM name instead of Best Yet???? Paul, any insight on that, and is that the case in your store??? Also Paul are they gonna do "Grand Openings" chain wide now??
And yes, have they done a remodel or something to justify a "Grand Opening"????? Tossing the BV card was a smart move IMO..... If they havent done anything, than customers are gonna basically do a "whatever yea right" and move on.
And yea, that is proably just garbage about re-opening stores. Like you said, why gut the stores and sell off everything and then turnaround and reopen. UNLESS....SFM has closed how many stores before Brunos??? And when they did, they didnt use a liquidator. So therefore, the shelving/coolers wouldnt have been sold off....or am I mistaken in that??? They may have a wharehouse full of this stuff.......so maybe there might just be some truth to that.....I doubt it tho lol.

Edited by FormerCashier, 10 June 2009 - 11:35 PM.

[Chris322]

FormerCashier, on Jun 11 2009, 12:27 AM, said:

Well......I dont know what to think about it actually. Now...keep in mind that Bilo is in Chapter 11. So Bilo is now on the market for anyone. If anything, they would be a good candidate for Safeway, but only due to their location to Safeway's Virginia stores. As for WD....anything is possible I guess. There is no more Bruno's lol.
Yea, once SFM took over, everything changed to Best Yet. But, if i do remember....back 15years ago lol when Brunos still had the "Staff" private label, wasnt the bread/milk under that stores (i.e. Brunos/FW) name??? What I dont get is why they are using the SFM name instead of Best Yet???? Paul, any insight on that, and is that the case in your store??? Also Paul are they gonna do "Grand Openings" chain wide now??
And yes, have they done a remodel or something to justify a "Grand Opening"????? Tossing the BV card was a smart move IMO..... If they havent done anything, than customers are gonna basically do a "whatever yea right" and move on.
And yea, that is proably just garbage about re-opening stores. Like you said, why gut the stores and sell off everything and then turnaround and reopen. UNLESS....SFM has closed how many stores before Brunos??? And when they did, they didnt use a liquidator. So therefore, the shelving/coolers wouldnt have been sold off....or am I mistaken in that??? They may have a wharehouse full of this stuff.......so maybe there might just be some truth to that.....I doubt it tho lol.

True, there is no more Bruno's, but I bet C&S would unload Southern Family in a heartbeat if they had half a chance! I do remember when I was a little kid, all we ate was "Food World" Bread. I don't know why they don't use that again or just use Best Yet. Probably because they're not willing to pay for different packaging designs, so they just use SFM brand in every store. If I'm not mistaken, the PW stores use PW brand on everything. Personally, I think that every store should become a Food World. Food World would then be a stronger company, and could even have its own line of "Food World" private label products. I know, just wishful thinking!
SFM did close a lot of stores before. Many of them were fairly new BI-LO stores. So they may have an abundance of equipment somewhere. Who knows. But I don't see them opening any additional stores.

[Chris322]

I still read Bruno's bankruptcy documents occasionally, and today I found the document for their plan of liquidation. The have a narrative about the history of the company, and I knew it sounded very familiar. I realized it is the actual Wikipedia posting for Bruno's! They just used the Wikipedia page instead of accounting the history of the company themselves! I knew it was from Wikipedia because I wrote most of it!! OMG!!!

Bruno's plagiarizing from Wikipedia! I hope this hits the news! A few things have been added, but for the most part it is the exact same article! See for yourself!

Bruno's document: http://www.kccllc.ne...00000000049.pdf
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruno%27s

[DR Gizmo]

Hi Chris---long time huh? Congrats on your job!! As for me, I have been SUPER busy. We closed for 3 days but all of us worked to get revamped for the "new" store. I worked 12-14 hour nights to get ready. The store itself has been crazy busy and new faces are showing up everyday. It has been FANTASTIC to be able to order to fill shelves. The store looks better than it has in about 3 years. We still have milk and eggs with SH logo and I was told we could legally use the name for 1 year--but sometimes we get sun-up eggs but no more SH products throughout the store. Maybe they have to use all the containers and labels they have printed already--not sure. The produce is pretty and everything is plentiful--why did the company hold out on us for so long......I've been reading the blogs and maybe they are prepping the Mobile stores to be sold-out(not sure) I just know right now we are drawing business from Walmart and it is great. With all the car-jackings at a local walmart and the nasty stores I think we will be getting more business but will never see WallyWorld shut their doors.Anyway, so far..pretty good here, just hope and pray the bad rap that C&S has isn't true and they really try to run grocery stores.

[Chris322]

DR Gizmo, on Jun 28 2009, 08:06 AM, said:

Hi Chris---long time huh? Congrats on your job!! As for me, I have been SUPER busy. We closed for 3 days but all of us worked to get revamped for the "new" store. I worked 12-14 hour nights to get ready. The store itself has been crazy busy and new faces are showing up everyday. It has been FANTASTIC to be able to order to fill shelves. The store looks better than it has in about 3 years. We still have milk and eggs with SH logo and I was told we could legally use the name for 1 year--but sometimes we get sun-up eggs but no more SH products throughout the store. Maybe they have to use all the containers and labels they have printed already--not sure. The produce is pretty and everything is plentiful--why did the company hold out on us for so long......I've been reading the blogs and maybe they are prepping the Mobile stores to be sold-out(not sure) I just know right now we are drawing business from Walmart and it is great. With all the car-jackings at a local walmart and the nasty stores I think we will be getting more business but will never see WallyWorld shut their doors.Anyway, so far..pretty good here, just hope and pray the bad rap that C&S has isn't true and they really try to run grocery stores.

Yes, DR, it has been a long time. I am glad that everything is going well. I keep wanting to go check out the Rainbow City store and see what's new, but I haven't had a chance. I have checked out their ads online, and they seem to be pretty good. I hope everything continues to go well for you and everyone else in the remaining stores. I personally just dont' see SFM staying around. I think that the good thing is that most of the remaining stores are the best of the best. They will probably end up being sold to someone before it is all said and done. It would be nice if they would open some new stores, but I doubt that it will happen. All we have around here now is WD.

Well, again, best of luck to you! Keep me posted on what goes on. I still haven't fully moved on yet! I feel out of the loop...I guess because I am!!!