Mention the name “Cerberus”, and some supermarket shoppers shudder. The private equity firm saddened thousands of shoppers and employees when it shut down or sold two-thirds of the roughly 600 Albertsons locations it acquired in 2006. And customers of several chains acquired by Cerberus earlier this year are wondering whether their stores will suffer the same fate. But could we[Read More…]
It’s been two weeks now since new owners took over Albertsons, Jewel-Osco, Acme, Shaw’s and Star Market. And so far, the company hasn’t made any huge changes. Instead, it’s asking customers to weigh in on possible changes – including to its coupon policy. Supervalu sold the chains to an affiliate of Cerberus Capital Management last month. As first noted here[Read More…]
You may not have noticed that there were big changes overnight at the Albertsons, Acme, Jewel, Shaw’s and Star Market grocery chains. But you’ll notice the bigger changes that are still to come. Changes like new coupon policies and a potential phasing out of store loyalty programs – if your store even survives that long. New owners officially took over[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…]
Remember when Webvan was going to revolutionize the supermarket industry? Ordering your groceries online and having them delivered to your doorstep was going to be the way we all shopped in the future. But Webvan went bust a dozen years ago. So is it the future yet? In an era when music stores have been supplanted by music downloads, and[Read More…]
First, there was relief – several troubled supermarket chains would get deep-pocketed new owners. Then came uncertainty – who are these new owners, and what do they really want with these stores? Then came the realization – they’ve likely rescued the stores from an owner that was running them into the ground, just for the value of the ground they’re[Read More…]
(1/11 update – read: “Bigger, Better, or Goners? What’s in Store For Your Jewel-Osco, Acme, Shaw’s and Star Market”) The troubled supermarket operator Supervalu has now confirmed what’s long been rumored – it’s selling off several of its chains. Chicago-based Jewel-Osco, Philadelphia-based Acme, Boston-based Shaw’s and Star Market, and Albertsons stores in California, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington[Read More…]
If you’re saving up your pennies to buy the perfect holiday gift – be careful. Your local store may not take them. Portland, Oregon-based Fred Meyer found itself in the middle of a social media firestorm over the past 24 hours, after its Facebook fans reacted angrily to the story that a suburban Seattle woman shared last night: “My daughter[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…]
