Supervalu / Albertson's (Boise: sales, how much, home)

[Lacerta]

So, last weekend, an article ran in the Statesman that described how much higher a grocery shopping trip to Albertson's / Supervalue costs than several of the local competition.

http://http://www.idahostatesman.com/business/story/350837.html (broken link)
(click the links under "related documents")

Granted, this is supposed to be before discounts, and Albertson's has the Value card thing, but the other places run sales too, they just advertise less, and their prices are apparantly so much lower to begin with, even after discounts, they would still be substantially less.

Then yesterday, Supervalu reported record sales and earnings for 4th quarter fiscal 2008 (up 30%!!)

http://http://www.idahostatesman.com/525/story/354941.html (broken link)

Does anyone else find that somewhat disturbing?

I've shopped at Albertson's my entire life, I prefer supporting local businesses whenever possible, but since being purchased by Supervalue, they have stopped carrying many of the products I've purchased for years. An average trip to the grocery store for me has gone up by around $20 since last year. I assumed it was due to rising product cost and gas prices, but now I see it was to line the pockets of Supervalu stockholders.

Now, am I out of line here? Maybe I'm missing something.

[truckingbronco]

Albertsons is horrible...that's why I take my money to Winco.

[LillyLillyLilly]

Albertson's has always been the highest priced grocery in the valley. I started going to WinCo after Albertson's implemented the loyalty card cuz I didn't think I should have to let them gather info on me to get the best price. Until then, I didn't realize how much cheaper WinCo is.

I went in Albertson's a couple years ago, before it was sold to SuperValu, looking for something I couldn't find anywhere else and spent some time wandering around checking prices. A bag of veggies I get at WinCo for $2.69 was going for $4.20 at Albertson's. Can't remember which brand (maybe Nathan's?), but some hot dogs at WC were $3.50, Alb. was $6! And on and on and on. I go there maybe once every 3 years to find something, but I buy ONLY the one item I need and get the heck out.

[micrguy]

I had an interview with a company that does some marketing for Albertson's and what they told me is that most of Albertson's customers do not do their weekly grocery shopping trip there. Most of Albertson's business is people picking up 3-4 items on their way home from work and they do not want to drive out of their way to go to Wal-Mart or Winco.

In Phoenix, Albertson's had so much competition that they had to close a lot of their stores there. If Albertson's is within a mile of another grocery store nobody shops there. It would be nice if another grocery chain would move to Boise and stir up a little competition.

[truckingbronco]

I think Boise is the first place I have ever lived that didn't have a Safeway, not that it's that cheap, but it would be nice to see variety.

[cleosmom]

Originally Posted by micrguy

I had an interview with a company that does some marketing for Albertson's and what they told me is that most of Albertson's customers do not do their weekly grocery shopping trip there. Most of Albertson's business is people picking up 3-4 items on their way home from work and they do not want to drive out of their way to go to Wal-Mart or Winco.

In Phoenix, Albertson's had so much competition that they had to close a lot of their stores there. If Albertson's is within a mile of another grocery store nobody shops there. It would be nice if another grocery chain would move to Boise and stir up a little competition.

That's me! I'm the typical, only need a couple things and don't feel like fighting the crowds at Winco or Walmart. Will purchase certain cuts of roasts that they carry that Winco doesn't.

[dooleythecat]

i live in emmett and have to shop albertson's, my child is lactose intolerant so I have to pay 9.00 gal for milk at the great american ripoff... but if I go up the hill I can get it at walmart for 6.50... I don't have a problem with them making a profit, but hey guys what about us poor people...

[Jarndyce]

I noticed a lot of Fred Meyer's in Boise. What's the impression of them? I've never heard of them.

I went to a Safeway in Reno on my way to check out Boise and I was SHOCKED at how great it was. The prices were super...the store was clean and upscale. I was shocked. I have Von's here in Cali and haven't been impressed with Von's ever (overpriced)....I assumed Safeway was the same since they're owned by the same company. Damn I was wrong. I was hoping Boise would have Safeway....didn't see them.

Albertson's is kinda of meh here where I live...decent selection..clean..

[boi2socal]

Fred Meyer is in the Kroger family...not sure where in California you are but related to Kroger, Ralphs, Food4Less, others.

Umm, best description I could give you is a Mervyn's plus grocery store for Fred Meyer. Clothes are better than Wal-Mart, groceries were less than Albertson's, more than Wal-Mart Supercenter and WinCo.

[LillyLillyLilly]

If you want to pick out dish patterns, grab an i-bolt, and shop for cole slaw ingredients all while you're waiting for your paint to mix, then Fred Meyer's the place for you.

I agree with the price scale boi2socal listed. Cheaper than Albertson's, more than WinCo, WalMart, and Costco.