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Bruno's grocery stores

Chris322

By Chris322
in Alabama

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snowbird203 Unincorporated Area

snowbird203

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Hey, Chris. I'm sure the union doesn't want Publix coming in since (I think) it is non-union, but Publix rarely closes a store once it opens. A good, secure job is better than none at all. This whole situation stinks for the employees who don't know what is happening from one day to another. You don't know whether to look for another job or stay where you are and hope for the best. It also stinks for us customers who lose patience with the uncertainty. Good luck to all of you.

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Chris322 Whistle-Stop

Chris322

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Hey, Chris. I'm sure the union doesn't want Publix coming in since (I think) it is non-union, but Publix rarely closes a store once it opens. A good, secure job is better than none at all. This whole situation stinks for the employees who don't know what is happening from one day to another. You don't know whether to look for another job or stay where you are and hope for the best. It also stinks for us customers who lose patience with the uncertainty. Good luck to all of you.
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HSVTiger Hamlet

HSVTiger

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Fresh Market opens in Huntsville this winter '06

Star Market 3 locations, for being a "local" grocer

really does a decent job. They have really raised their standards

and seem to be doing well, even though their stores are in old previous ones,

except their original Five Points/ downtown location which is a pleasant throwback

to the old style grocer of the 1960's.

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Chris322 Whistle-Stop

Chris322

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I just wanted to take this time to wish everyone a happy holiday season. I hope everyone has had a wonderful Thanksgiving. As grocery workers, our rush is over for the next couple of weeks until Christmas shopping begins. Everyone will be at the huge retail sales over the weekend, so we can take a little rest. I take it there have been no more announcements for anyone. I haven't heard anything in a while. If I do hear something, I'll be sure to post it first thing!

Chris

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kft1695 Unincorporated Area

kft1695

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One site that I have found making an announcement about store closures is at WKSR.com. Look up news

and there's an article about colsures there. All the stores have had 40% off everthing in the store, even mark

down items. It has been pretty hectic, to say the least. People are coming out of the wood works, waiting

to get a buggy. It's absolutely crazy.

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cmtfromga Crossroads

cmtfromga

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I just wanted to take this time to wish everyone a happy holiday season. I hope everyone has had a wonderful Thanksgiving. As grocery workers, our rush is over for the next couple of weeks until Christmas shopping begins. Everyone will be at the huge retail sales over the weekend, so we can take a little rest. I take it there have been no more announcements for anyone. I haven't heard anything in a while. If I do hear something, I'll be sure to post it first thing!

Chris

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cmtfromga Crossroads

cmtfromga

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Good morning to all. I was just checking in to see what was up. I am sorry to hear about more closings in Tenn. I thought all the stores were purchased earlier. Guess I fell out of the loop.

Things here in Georgia are so so I guess. It seems when I get comfortable that all will be ok I hear a rumor from vendors or our sales go down. So far I have not heard anything from the company. I did hear yesterday a rumor from a Frito Lay driver that I have known for years. I am going to see if I can find anything out before I say anything. I dont want to start anymore rumors, there are enough.

I hope all of you have a Merry Christmas and a better New Year. Please continue to write to let us know how you are doing.

I am going to work on my resume this week I think. I will stick it out with the store until the end. i feel like i owe my managers that much for putting up with me.

Take care all.

Chris SFM 293

Athens, Ga

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canstacker Unincorporated Area

canstacker

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Good morning to all. I was just checking in to see what was up. I am sorry to hear about more closings in Tenn. I thought all the stores were purchased earlier. Guess I fell out of the loop.

Things here in Georgia are so so I guess. It seems when I get comfortable that all will be ok I hear a rumor from vendors or our sales go down. So far I have not heard anything from the company. I did hear yesterday a rumor from a Frito Lay driver that I have known for years. I am going to see if I can find anything out before I say anything. I dont want to start anymore rumors, there are enough.

I hope all of you have a Merry Christmas and a better New Year. Please continue to write to let us know how you are doing.

I am going to work on my resume this week I think. I will stick it out with the store until the end. i feel like i owe my managers that much for putting up with me.

Take care all.

Chris SFM 293

Athens, Ga

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canstacker Unincorporated Area

canstacker

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Sorry to say but get your resume ready. Sales are still poor, once you get an image of being high priced, it is very tough to change that perception with customers. There is no mission statement and they change their marketing and merchandising philosophy every time the wind shifts. Everyone sits around and points fingers at each other for continuing failure. C&S needs to get rid of the Bruno corporate riff raff at SFM and get someone who will establish a clear strategy, communicate it to the stores and most importantly to the consumer. And they need to invest in store remodels and clean up and update the stores. When the stores changed from Food World or whatever format to SFM, the only thing that changed besides higher prices was the sign on front of the store. If you put lipstick on a pig, it is still a pig. Consumers see thru all of this. Remember, a fish stinks from the head down, that means from the senior managers in Bham down.....coincidentally they are all Bruno people who Bruno BiLo didnt want. My guess is that C&S will cut their losses and get out soon. They tried to get rid of the Tenn stores and no one wanted them, so they cut and run.....look for this to continue.

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snowbird203 Unincorporated Area

snowbird203

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Sorry to say but get your resume ready. Sales are still poor, once you get an image of being high priced, it is very tough to change that perception with customers. There is no mission statement and they change their marketing and merchandising philosophy every time the wind shifts. Everyone sits around and points fingers at each other for continuing failure. C&S needs to get rid of the Bruno corporate riff raff at SFM and get someone who will establish a clear strategy, communicate it to the stores and most importantly to the consumer. And they need to invest in store remodels and clean up and update the stores. When the stores changed from Food World or whatever format to SFM, the only thing that changed besides higher prices was the sign on front of the store. If you put lipstick on a pig, it is still a pig. Consumers see thru all of this. Remember, a fish stinks from the head down, that means from the senior managers in Bham down.....coincidentally they are all Bruno people who Bruno BiLo didnt want. My guess is that C&S will cut their losses and get out soon. They tried to get rid of the Tenn stores and no one wanted them, so they cut and run.....look for this to continue.
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Chris322 Whistle-Stop

Chris322

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Happy New Year! I have a new rumor to share with you. The latest rumor states that the Bruno's stores, which have been for sale for several months, have been purchased by Kroger. Several things support this rumor. First off, we were promised new, redesigned shirts in different colors in October and were told we'd get them by November 1. Then they pushed it back to sometime before Thanksgiving. Then they sent an e-mail saying that we were not getting them "because they decided to stay with the same supplier." Secondly, C&S truck drivers were told by the warehouse to not accept any returns to the warehouse by Bruno's, Food World, or Foodmax stores. The last piece of evidence is the fact that the last several grocery trucks we recieved were not on C&S trucks. They came in on rental trucks from Ryder. As far as I know there are no longer any trucks which say Bruno's, Food World, or Food Max. The rumor claims that Kroger is also going to purchase some of the SFM stores which have closed with the intention of reopening them. I think that it would be a good thing for these stores to be run by the Kroger company under the Kroger name. I guess time will tell if it is true or not. An announcement was supposed to be made today, but evidently has not.

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pkrikard01 Unincorporated Area

pkrikard01

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Hi ALL,

Happy New Year to all. SFM is closing down some stores in B'ham (5-7 stores thats in B'ham). I have heard a rumor that a investment group is buying SFM and some of the Food World's and changing the SFM back to Food World that they bought rights too(the Food World name). In the next week or 2(or this week) there be a announcement made about it. But that is a rumor, of course. Thanks sharing the rumor with us Chris. C&S have bought new trailers to replace the Bruno's ones. That came from a C&S driver.

Thanks,

Paul

Happy New Year! I have a new rumor to share with you. The latest rumor states that the Bruno's stores, which have been for sale for several months, have been purchased by Kroger. Several things support this rumor. First off, we were promised new, redesigned shirts in different colors in October and were told we'd get them by November 1. Then they pushed it back to sometime before Thanksgiving. Then they sent an e-mail saying that we were not getting them "because they decided to stay with the same supplier." Secondly, C&S truck drivers were told by the warehouse to not accept any returns to the warehouse by Bruno's, Food World, or Foodmax stores. The last piece of evidence is the fact that the last several grocery trucks we recieved were not on C&S trucks. They came in on rental trucks from Ryder. As far as I know there are no longer any trucks which say Bruno's, Food World, or Food Max. The rumor claims that Kroger is also going to purchase some of the SFM stores which have closed with the intention of reopening them. I think that it would be a good thing for these stores to be run by the Kroger company under the Kroger name. I guess time will tell if it is true or not. An announcement was supposed to be made today, but evidently has not.
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Chris322 Whistle-Stop

Chris322

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Perhaps what has happened is that the company has been sold and divided among different companies. My guess would be that if an investment firm has bought some of them, they would either retain the Food World name or revert back to it, in the case of SFM. The rest, I assume, would obtain the banner of their purchaser (Kroger?). Either way, things are getting interesting in the Deep South! I didn't work today, so I don't know if any more news has surfaced or not. If there is a deal concerning Kroger and an investment firm, I only hope and pray that I'm on the Kroger side of it! Investment firms never mean anything good. Just look at what KKR did to the company in the 1990s. Now Lonestar Funds is letting it dwindle back down again. In my opinion, the stores need new life that could only be obtained by hanging a Kroger banner or some other new, strong name out front to let the public know that the stores are truly under new management. It was on ABC 33/40 tonight that 6 SFMs would be closed.

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snowbird203 Unincorporated Area

snowbird203

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Glad to hear some news about the closed SFM locations. Does anybody know if SFM or C&S owns the property where they closed the stores -- or is it leased from someone else -- or a combination of owned and leased? The Manchester TN location is (I think) a stand-alone Bi-Lo/SFM, but the Tullahoma location is in the center of a shopping center. I haven't seen any "for sale" or "for lease" sign on the Tullahoma store, so I was wondering. Doubt that store will become a Kroger since there is one diagonally across the street.

Regardless of who opens a new store, the heart of the old store will be missing -- the great employees who were like a family to each other and to the customers.

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joshzwhite Crossroads

joshzwhite

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The Manchester store is setting empty. It was funny the other day when I drove by and witnessed a car stop, and people get out and walk toward the store. Considering it has been empty for a month now. It is so sad to see it that way, that was the nicest store in town. Food Lion is nasty and I would rather not eat then step foot in their nasty store. It is so sad that the Manchester store is closed and I feel so sorry for those who lost their jobs. It was the one store in town where you saw the same associates and they actually asked "Did you find everything ok today?". I hope that it is true and that Kroger or Publix are on their way to Manchester! We sure need them because its hard to get in and out of Wal-Mart when you only need one or two things.

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