Does Anyone See The Point of FreshCo?

bylo wrote: ↑ That "principle" also applies in the opposite direction. Crappy Tyre bought a chain of tire stores in Texas in the 1980s and tried to CTCize them. That didn't work out well for them. Texans buy tires at tire stores, not housewares and other non-automotive stuff.

Timmies tried to invade the US. There are still some in a few border states south and west of ON but the dream of nationwide expansion turned into a nightmare.

TravellingChris wrote: ↑ Just had another new FreshCo (Safeway conversion) open close to my workplace. Stopped to check it out last night. There were a few specials that caught my eye--and some, like 88 cents for a package of Heinz Bagel Bites, were sensational. However, I wasn't blown away by the regular prices. I was in the market for toothpaste: there was absolutely nothing happening in the section (no deals at all). I ended up paying less for Colgate today at one of the remaining Safeways.

Another issue is the insane store layout: in one aisle oral care is next to cat food and across from dog food, which in turn is next to baby care. I don't know, are they planning product tie-ins between baby diapers and puppy pads?

I actually had a colleague complain to me that now that her local Safeway has been converted, she can't do all her shopping at that store (FreshCo) anymore--she has to go to Save-on-Foods as well. Hilariously, when I was in FreshCo last night I was passing by the pharmacy and an elderly lady was talking very loudly to the druggist--making the exact same complaint: "Why did you take out the bakery, deli and meat department? Now I have to go elsewhere for those services!"

Methinks these conversions are going to backfire on Sobeys.

jacnel wrote: ↑ Honestly, the entire acquisition of Safeway by Sobeys has been a ****. First they buy Safeway, then they try to bring in "synergies" to save money which is just a fancy way of saying "let's force our way of doing things on an already profitable business," customers leave because of your changes. After that they decide to just abandon the entire thing altogether and convert a lot of Safeway locations to FreshCo, oh and a bunch of union busting to boot.

Safeway would have been better off being acquired by Metro, at least when they acquired A&P here in Ontario they realized that each brand has its own niche and the worst thing you can do it force your way of doing things onto your acquisition. As such, A&P, later Metro Ontario, was allowed to do their own thing separate from the Quebec division and now Metro is a big player in the grocery market (and has an excellent share price to boot). In fact Metro Ontario and Quebec still operate differently, the Ontario side has Air Miles while Quebec does their own thing. Had Empire done this when they bought Safeway maybe they wouldn't be in this mess.

IMO, Empire is probably the poorest run grocer in Canada. Their competitors Metro and Loblaw know what they're doing and acquire companies that make fiscal and operational sense. Empire on the other hand just swallows up anything they can touch, no matter the logic (or faulty logic) behind such a purchase. First they wanted A&P Canada (which they lost to Metro), then they bought Safeway, then Farm Boy, and now Longo's. They seem addicted to growth at all costs and are making so many missteps because of it. I hold a few Empire shares, and while my Metro and Loblaw shares have skyrocketed, Empire has been floundering.

To think they could have probably been a very successful company had they just bought Safeway and allowed the people in the company to run the western division on their own. When the Ontarians came in they started burning everything.

jacnel wrote: ↑ Honestly, the entire acquisition of Safeway by Sobeys has been a ****. First they buy Safeway, then they try to bring in "synergies" to save money which is just a fancy way of saying "let's force our way of doing things on an already profitable business," customers leave because of your changes. After that they decide to just abandon the entire thing altogether and convert a lot of Safeway locations to FreshCo, oh and a bunch of union busting to boot.

Safeway would have been better off being acquired by Metro, at least when they acquired A&P here in Ontario they realized that each brand has its own niche and the worst thing you can do it force your way of doing things onto your acquisition. As such, A&P, later Metro Ontario, was allowed to do their own thing separate from the Quebec division and now Metro is a big player in the grocery market (and has an excellent share price to boot). In fact Metro Ontario and Quebec still operate differently, the Ontario side has Air Miles while Quebec does their own thing. Had Empire done this when they bought Safeway maybe they wouldn't be in this mess.

IMO, Empire is probably the poorest run grocer in Canada. Their competitors Metro and Loblaw know what they're doing and acquire companies that make fiscal and operational sense. Empire on the other hand just swallows up anything they can touch, no matter the logic (or faulty logic) behind such a purchase. First they wanted A&P Canada (which they lost to Metro), then they bought Safeway, then Farm Boy, and now Longo's. They seem addicted to growth at all costs and are making so many missteps because of it. I hold a few Empire shares, and while my Metro and Loblaw shares have skyrocketed, Empire has been floundering.

To think they could have probably been a very successful company had they just bought Safeway and allowed the people in the company to run the western division on their own. When the Ontarians came in they started burning everything.

bluebellrose wrote: ↑ They pulled a Target?

starchoice wrote: ↑ Love the store. One just recently opened in my area. They had a deal this past week where you get a free pack of bacon for the first two hundred customers (no conditions) per day. Barely a handful of people there in line each day. The wife and I each got a pack a day so a total of 14 packs of Schneiders bacon over the past week.

Swerny wrote: ↑ You and your wife went to the grocery store together 7 days in a row for free bacon?

You must have a lot of free time

No doubt that’s “essential” outings during a pandemic.