So far this year, at least nine grocery chains have come under new ownership. Could your store be the tenth? Kroger’s announcement last week that it’s buying Harris Teeter represents the biggest, and latest, deal in the grocery merger and acquisition game (read: “Sold! Kroger Buys Harris Teeter”). About six weeks earlier, Bi-Lo scooped up Sweetbay, Harveys and Reid’s (read:[Read More…]
Talk about turning a negative into a positive: a West Coast grocery chain is informing customers that their credit card information may have been compromised. That’s the negative part, of course. The positive part? Its customers are saying “thank you” in response. Not what you might expect. Raley’s announced today that “a portion of its computer network systems may have[Read More…]
Coupons are going digital. Prices are becoming personalized. So one-size-fits-all sale prices printed on paper could become a relic of the past. In other words – say goodbye to your weekly supermarket sales circular. At least that’s what Safeway is saying. Touting the success of its apps, digital coupons and “Just For U” loyalty program, the California-based chain says it’s[Read More…]
If you’re going shopping this weekend, and paying with a credit card – watch out. Beginning Sunday, stores can charge you extra for it. Under the terms of a settlement reached last year, stores will have the option of adding a surcharge for credit card payments – passing the cost that they already pay to the credit card companies, on[Read More…]
Workers are back on the job at Raley’s supermarkets. But for how long? The nine-day strike that ended today has all sides breathing a sigh of relief – but it’s also raising questions about how long a unionized, locally-owned, family-run chain can survive in a Walmart world. Thousands of employees of Sacramento-based Raley’s, and Raley’s-owned Nob Hill, walked out earlier[Read More…]
Maybe you’re a supporter of unions, maybe you just don’t want the hassle of pushing past picketing employees – but perhaps you’d change your mind for some free bananas? It’s been one week since thousands of employees began a strike against Sacramento-based Raley’s and its Nob Hill affiliate (read: “Supermarket Strike Divides Shoppers”). And the store is trying everything it[Read More…]
Thousands of shoppers in Northern California have a choice – cross picket lines, or cross town, to get their groceries. And whatever their choice, most aren’t happy about having to make it at all. Union employees of Sacramento-based Raley’s and its Nob Hill subsidiary went on strike Sunday. Talks broke down after more than a year of negotiations centering on[Read More…]
Sure, you like your local grocery store, but have you “liked” them? A roundup of the most and least popular grocery retailers on social media sites (see the full list below) can yield some interesting insights, though it also shows that “likes” aren’t necessarily everything. Florida-based Publix was recently criticized (in “Frozen & Refrigerated Buyer” magazine) for being “technology-challenged”: “Yes,[Read More…]
Some stores are loyal to their loyalty cards, others hope introducing cards will make their customers loyal to them. But still others refuse to go the loyalty card route – and they may be onto something. If you haven’t read the latest exciting issue of “Frozen & Refrigerated Buyer” magazine – and, really, what’s keeping you? – the trade publication[Read More…]
Sure, you’re loyal to your local grocery store – but do you have the card to prove it? More supermarkets are looking to the loyalty card as their ticket out of oblivion. Sacramento, California-based Raley’s, which also operates Bel Air Markets, Nob Hill Foods and Food Source stores across Northern California and Nevada, is the latest to unveil a store[Read More…]
