Charlotte Supermarkets

[CLT2014]

Did Publix purchase the old Bank of America branch at the corner of Carmel and 51 as well? That building is currently being demo'd inside.

[InSouthPark]

17 hours ago, CLT2014 said:

Did Publix purchase the old Bank of America branch at the corner of Carmel and 51 as well? That building is currently being demo'd inside.

No...its going to be another bank, TD. 

[CLT2014]

38 minutes ago, InSouthPark said:

No...its going to be another bank, TD. 

Exciting 

[InSouthPark]

23 minutes ago, CLT2014 said:

Exciting 

I know right? There is an empty bank directly across the street too.  I was hoping for more for such a high profile corner with all the re-zoning going on in the neighborhood. 

[Matthew.Brendan]

Banks and Breweries. Charlotte's got a lot!

[LKN704]

Does anyone know the relationship between Harris Teeter and daddy Kroger?

I've been to Ralphs in LA and Fred Meyer in Seattle within the past two months. Both now use the Kroger fruit basket logo in addition to their store logo and the two stores I visited had the Kroger logo posted in random spots over the store. The overhead PA made random announcements that said things like "your local Kroger store is now hiring..." Both stores no longer had their own store brand, using the generic Kroger brand instead. Both used the Kroger cartoon people advertisements, with the "Fresh for Everyone" slogan. It's obvious that Kroger wanted customers to know that both stores were Kroger and I wonder if Kroger is contemplating getting rid of regional brands. 

It kind of reminds me of how Safeway once planned to do the same with their regional brands, though I think some of these brands were shut down and Safeway simply left the respective market:

Anyways, I don't go to Harris Teeter in DC (I'm a Safeway boy)...the stores are few and far between (while there is a Safeway almost everywhere) and kinda nasty and I find the pricing to be high. 

I was surprised to see they have a new logo (the Kroger fruit card is noticeably absent), new marketing campaign (with a different slogan than the other Kroger stores) that doesn't feature the cartoon people, and still seem to have VIC and the Harris Teeter brand. 

How/why does Harris Teeter have so many carveouts compared to other Kroger units? Could Kroger be considering selling off or separating HT?

Edited March 27, 2023 by LKN704

[Professor]

39 minutes ago, LKN704 said:

Does anyone know the relationship between Harris Teeter and daddy Kroger?

I've been to Ralphs in LA and Fred Meyer in Seattle within the past two months. Both now use the Kroger fruit basket logo in addition to their store logo and the two stores I visited had the Kroger logo posted in random spots over the store. The overhead PA made random announcements that said things like "your local Kroger store is now hiring..." Both stores no longer had their own store brand, using the generic Kroger brand instead. Both used the Kroger cartoon people advertisements, with the "Fresh for Everyone" slogan. It's obvious that Kroger wanted customers to know that both stores were Kroger and I wonder if Kroger is contemplating getting rid of regional brands. 

It kind of reminds me of how Safeway once planned to do the same with their regional brands, though I think some of these brands were shut down and Safeway simply left the respective market:

Anyways, I don't go to Harris Teeter in DC (I'm a Safeway boy)...the stores are few and far between (while there is a Safeway almost everywhere) and kinda nasty and I find the pricing to be high. 

I was surprised to see they have a new logo (the Kroger fruit card is noticeably absent), new marketing campaign (with a different slogan than the other Kroger stores) that doesn't feature the cartoon people, and still seem to have VIC and the Harris Teeter brand. 

How/why does Harris Teeter have so many carveouts compared to other Kroger units? Could Kroger be considering selling off or separating HT?

Kroger bought out Harris Teeter several years ago. Since Harris Teeter is a better store, Harris Teeter is considered their "A" store.  Kroger was O.K. but Harris Teeter disappointed many when they became part of Kroger. 

[CLT2014]

At the time of the acquisition, Harris Teeter had profit margins that were double Kroger as a whole. Unless those margins have eroded compared to the other brands.... my assumption is Kroger's leadership team doesn't want to mess with what is working. Kroger's team was very open about saying they wanted to learn from Harris Teeter on margins, prepared food, curbside delivery, et. They likely just value the HT brand enough to not want to completely associate it with Kroger. 

Essentially what they've done is grouped the majority of their stores that are mid-market under Kroger brand strategies (Ralph's, Fry's, FredMeyer, Smith's, Pick n' Save, et...) where they use the same advertising, store brands, logo, et...

The upscale brand club is Mariano's and Harris Teeter. These have kept independent marketing, their own logo, et. to remain more upmarket.

The discount chains are also not using the Kroger brand logo (to avoid the Kroger brand being brought down-market): Food4Less, Ruler Foods

Edited March 27, 2023 by CLT2014

[davidclt]

51 minutes ago, CLT2014 said:

Essentially what they've done is grouped the majority of their stores that are mid-market under Kroger brand strategies (Ralph's, Fry's, FredMeyer, Smith's, Pick n' Save, et...) where they use the same advertising, store brands, logo, et...

Like this: 

 

[LKN704]

18 hours ago, CLT2014 said:

At the time of the acquisition, Harris Teeter had profit margins that were double Kroger as a whole. Unless those margins have eroded compared to the other brands.... my assumption is Kroger's leadership team doesn't want to mess with what is working. Kroger's team was very open about saying they wanted to learn from Harris Teeter on margins, prepared food, curbside delivery, et. They likely just value the HT brand enough to not want to completely associate it with Kroger. 

Essentially what they've done is grouped the majority of their stores that are mid-market under Kroger brand strategies (Ralph's, Fry's, FredMeyer, Smith's, Pick n' Save, et...) where they use the same advertising, store brands, logo, et...

The upscale brand club is Mariano's and Harris Teeter. These have kept independent marketing, their own logo, et. to remain more upmarket.

The discount chains are also not using the Kroger brand logo (to avoid the Kroger brand being brought down-market): Food4Less, Ruler Foods

Thanks, great response. Has the quality of in-store fresh, perishable items (bakery, prepared foods, etc.) gone down since the Kroger acquisition?

One of the things that worries me most about the Kroger/Albertsons deal is that Safeway is supposedly one of the last of the major chains that still has an in-house bakery program...IIRC most Safeway stores bake their breads and doughnuts in-house from scratch. I don't really know much about the industry, but I would imagine that such a program is quite labor intensive and produces a fair amount of waste, and would be easy to cost cut away.

[Professor]

9 minutes ago, LKN704 said:

Thanks, great response. Has the quality of in-store fresh, perishable items (bakery, prepared foods, etc.) gone down since the Kroger acquisition?

One of the things that worries me most about the Kroger/Albertsons deal is that Safeway is supposedly one of the last of the major chains that still has an in-house bakery program...IIRC most Safeway stores bake their breads and doughnuts in-house from scratch. I don't really know much about the industry, but I would imagine that such a program is quite labor intensive and produces a fair amount of waste, and would be easy to cost cut away.

I've not seen a Safeway outside of California.  

[kermit]

56 minutes ago, LKN704 said:

 Has the quality of in-store fresh, perishable items (bakery, prepared foods, etc.) gone down since the Kroger acquisition?

IMO Teeter bakery is the same. Prepared foods significantly worse.  Produce has slid a bit (partly length of time on shelf, partly less selection), but still well above food lion levels.

Edited March 28, 2023 by kermit

[LKN704]

1 hour ago, Larry Singer said:

I've not seen a Safeway outside of California.  

They are also in the PNW, Hawaii, Alaska, and Intermountain West. They also have stores in Western Canada that were sold off a couple of years ago, but still use the Safeway branding/logo/store brands/signage as part of a licensing agreement. 

They also have an isolated network of stores clustered around Washington, DC that I don't exactly know how has survived the brand's exit from the East.

A quick Google search reveals that they used to have locations near Rocky Mount and the Outer Banks once upon of time when they still had operations in Southern Virginia some 40-50 years ago...unsure if they ever made it to Charlotte. 

Edited March 28, 2023 by LKN704

[InSouthPark]

2 hours ago, Larry Singer said:

I've not seen a Safeway outside of California.  

There are ton in AZ.  Pretty much every other corner in Tucson.

[kermit]

1 hour ago, LKN704 said:

A quick Google search reveals that they used to have locations near Rocky Mount and the Outer Banks once upon of time when they still had operations in Southern Virginia some 40-50 years ago...unsure if they ever made it to Charlotte. 

Wow, I had no idea about this. Safeway was never in the Durham (or Wilson area) area 50 years ago (or more recently), and I never saw advertisements for Safeway from the Raleigh TV station. I really doubt they made it to Charlotte.

[videtur quam contuor]

Never in Charlotte. We had Colonial and A&P though.

[KJHburg]

Yes there was a Safeway many moons ago in Nags Head it is a Fresh Market now.  Safeway has stores I think in DC area and that is why they went to where lots of Washingtonians vacation which is the OBX but they are gone from there many years ago.   Harris Teeter is not unionized and they operate as a Kroger owned separate company.    Kroger is in Hilton Head since it is from Kroger south which is based in Atlanta.  (Kroger has stores all over Georgia in all the metros)  Hilton Head has 2 Harris Teeters on either end of the island and 90,000 sq ft Kroger in the middle.  My HT card works at Kroger.     In saying all this Kroger is coming to NC in form of online grocery shopping from their now under construction Kroger Concord fulfillment center but I would not look for a Kroger store in the Charlotte area.  Kroger does have stores in Myrtle Beach but not the Charleston area and like I said in the Hilton Head Bluffton Savannah market.  

https://concordnc.gov/Services/Community/News/ID/92/Kroger-to-Build-High-Tech-Customer-Fulfillment-Center-in-Concord

[videtur quam contuor]

Kroger occupied the store which is now Food Lion, formerly Bi-Lo, when the center on Park Road near Ideal Way was built in the late 1970's. Dilworth residents fondly(?) referred to the store as the Kay-Rojay, as if French inspired. Kroger is a German name.

There were three Kroger stores by 1980 though they did not persist.

https://www.groceteria.com/place/north-carolina/charlotte/charlotte-history/6/

[DCMetroRaleigh]

On 3/28/2023 at 12:51 PM, InSouthPark said:

There are ton in AZ.  Pretty much every other corner in Tucson.

They are in the DC area.

[LKN704]

On 3/28/2023 at 1:04 PM, kermit said:

Wow, I had no idea about this. Safeway was never in the Durham (or Wilson area) area 50 years ago (or more recently), and I never saw advertisements for Safeway from the Raleigh TV station. I really doubt they made it to Charlotte.

I was curious about the subject, so I did some digging. It appears that some NC stores must have survived until the late 1980s/early 1990s based on this quote from a WaPo article from 1987 that details Safeway winding down their Richmond, VA division and combining the division's remaining stores with their Washington, DC division:

The Safeway division here grew out of the Landover operation several years ago and now has about 3,500 employees. The stores are throughout the eastern half of Virginia and in northeastern North Carolina.

Richmond is one of eight Safeway divisions that the grocery retailer, which is based in Oakland, Calif., has considered selling because of comparatively high labor costs.

[KJHburg]

Market share of Charlotte grocery stores is out and drum roll

1. Walmart 24.3%   32 stores in metro 

2. Harris Teeter 17.2%  58 stores   (note I just read that the Rea Farms Village Teeter is the 2nd busiest HT of the 146 stores they have) #1 don't where that one is.  The largest?  In New Bern at 100,000 sq ft which Kroger has many stores that size. 

3. Food Lion 13.9%  103 stores 

https://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2023/04/03/walmart-grocery-stores-retail-harris-teeter-kroger.html

Very interesting news from the Raleigh metro area on their top grocery  stores and shows how popular Wegmans is with only 3 open stores in Raleigh metro (other is in Chapel Hill)

Raleigh metro

1. Walmart 21.7%  18  stores 

2. Harris Teeter 20.2%   38 stores 

3. Food Lion 13.7%   64 stores 

4. Wegmans 5.2% with only 3 stores  open (north Raleigh, town of Wake Forest and Cary) 

 

 

[LKN704]

^For some reason I thought Publix was significantly larger in Charlotte at this point...I didn't realize they were so small.

[go_vertical]

I think they do quite well in neighborhoods where they currently have stores, but there are still large areas where a trip to a Publix would require a drive past many competitors.  I think we'll see their market share steadily rise as they become more saturated into the region.  Though, as long as inflation is an issue and a majority of people need to pinch pennies Wal Mart will continue to dominate. 

[KJHburg]

23 minutes ago, go_vertical said:

I think they do quite well in neighborhoods where they currently have stores, but there are still large areas where a trip to a Publix would require a drive past many competitors.  I think we'll see their market share steadily rise as they become more saturated into the region.  Though, as long as inflation is an issue and a majority of people need to pinch pennies Wal Mart will continue to dominate. 

I agree.  Walmart figures ONLY include walmart supercenters not their Walmart Neighborhood Markets or Sams Clubs too.  Publix is #4 with 9.2% market share with 22 local metro stores

[Prodev]

On 4/3/2023 at 9:21 PM, KJHburg said:

 

4. Wegmans 5.2% with only 3 stores  open (north Raleigh, town of Wake Forest and Cary) 

 

 

You forgot about Chapel Hill.