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Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
23,809 posts, read 34,443,504 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by billb7581
We've bought food for 15 or so people annually when we went to the Outer Banks for 15 years straight, from Food Lion, because that is all that was down there, and never had a problem with anything. There is another market there now that we never used, because Food Lion was fine.
I quick google of Food Lion meat, turns up something that occured in 1992 with relabeling expired meat, guess what? There was an independent grocer in Riverton that got busted doing the same thing, I am guessing the practice was widespread at the time. I work in trailer refrigeration, and I've seen countless deep frozen loads of food that have thawed out to 50 degrees or so, and rethawed when the refrigeration unit gets repaired, including trailers bound for Trader Joes and Wegmanns. Bottom dollar has a sign that you get your item replaced plus the money back if something is spoiled.
I'm glad that you haven't had problems, but I know what I've seen in Food Lion stores near me, therefore I felt that I should give a warning. They have the reputation in areas not prone to tourists, & it's on-going. A different chain came into my town & almost everyone goes there. I heard a rumor that one of the nearly unused Food Lions was going to be changed to Bottom Dollar & asked about it on the Charlotte board. I got a post & some DMs telling me that the store in Mooresville was nasty.
Go ahead & search some of the other boards for Food Lion, Bottom Dollar, or even the now-gone Bloom. Maybe they are trying to get into new markets & will change their ways. Ingles has come into my town & they crush Food Lion. Another chain, Publix is coming into the Charlotte area, too. Food Lion is in trouble here, & their headquarters is in nearby Salisbury.
Southbound, I think you may just have a bad impression from Food Lion if the stores near you are not the best, and there certainly are many that aren't. But with over 1,000 stores that is bound to happen. They do have many that aren't bad at all, and they've been remodeling a ton of them. The Bottom Dollar brand seems to be doing pretty well, especially as evidenced by the fact that they are expanding it in the tough Philly market.
That said, the selection (at Food Lion and probably even moreso at Bottom Dollar) is not very good.
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
23,809 posts, read 34,443,504 times
Reputation: 10256
Quote:
Originally Posted by GoPhils
Southbound, I think you may just have a bad impression from Food Lion if the stores near you are not the best, and there certainly are many that aren't. But with over 1,000 stores that is bound to happen. They do have many that aren't bad at all, and they've been remodeling a ton of them. The Bottom Dollar brand seems to be doing pretty well, especially as evidenced by the fact that they are expanding it in the tough Philly market.
That said, the selection (at Food Lion and probably even moreso at Bottom Dollar) is not very good.
GoPhils, have you seen the Ingles out here, in your travels?
You're right, though. People here hate Food Lion, with good reason.
Southbound, I think you may just have a bad impression from Food Lion if the stores near you are not the best, and there certainly are many that aren't. But with over 1,000 stores that is bound to happen. They do have many that aren't bad at all, and they've been remodeling a ton of them. The Bottom Dollar brand seems to be doing pretty well, especially as evidenced by the fact that they are expanding it in the tough Philly market.
That said, the selection (at Food Lion and probably even moreso at Bottom Dollar) is not very good.
The SJ market actually isn't all that competitive, and esp. by Cinnaminson where there isn't Wegmans. Whole Foods and Trader Joes each just have one store for the entire South Jersey, and in Marlton (a little far from Cinnaminson).
I don't consider Aldi to be a supermarket and significant in South Jersey. Wawa and grocery food sales at Target and Costco likely affect regular supermarket sales more than Aldi's presence and sales here.
It's really just ShopRite on Route 130, with the other unionized chains (Acme, Pathmark, etc.) all failing.
Wal-Mart doesn't have a SuperCenter on 130, although there is the regular Wal-Mart and Sam's Club together.
Giant-PA won't open up in South Jersey because of not wanting the union in SJ to unionize its stores.
Bottom Dollar Food is non-unionized so it likely has lower labor costs. The Marlton store was picketed by the local union when it first opened.
Aside from labor advantages, the efficient/small, new clean store formats are appreciated.
My personal take is there isn't a compelling reason to go there though besides the clean format. For others, maybe they just want basic stuff for cheap like Mac and cheese boxes for very low prices.
I suppose the benefit is that anything in the store won't be overpriced.
Sorta like one can go to Whole Foods and be assured you won't be picking up products with partially hydrogenated soybean oil. Likewise, one can go to Bottom Dollar Food and likely any item won't be expensive.
Whereas if you go to ShopRite, you'll find everything and anything including healthy food, junk food, expensive and inexpensive items.
The SJ market actually isn't all that competitive, and esp. by Cinnaminson where there isn't Wegmans. Whole Foods and Trader Joes each just have one store for the entire South Jersey, and in Marlton (a little far from Cinnaminson).
I don't consider Aldi to be a supermarket and significant in South Jersey. Wawa and grocery food sales at Target and Costco likely affect regular supermarket sales more than Aldi's presence and sales here.
It's really just ShopRite on Route 130, with the other unionized chains (Acme, Pathmark, etc.) all failing.
Wal-Mart doesn't have a SuperCenter on 130, although there is the regular Wal-Mart and Sam's Club together.
Giant-PA won't open up in South Jersey because of not wanting the union in SJ to unionize its stores.
Bottom Dollar Food is non-unionized so it likely has lower labor costs. The Marlton store was picketed by the local union when it first opened.
Aside from labor advantages, the efficient/small, new clean store formats are appreciated.
My personal take is there isn't a compelling reason to go there though besides the clean format. For others, maybe they just want basic stuff for cheap like Mac and cheese boxes for very low prices.
I suppose the benefit is that anything in the store won't be overpriced.
Sorta like one can go to Whole Foods and be assured you won't be picking up products with partially hydrogenated soybean oil. Likewise, one can go to Bottom Dollar Food and likely any item won't be expensive.
Whereas if you go to ShopRite, you'll find everything and anything including healthy food, junk food, expensive and inexpensive items.
For this particular store you may have a point, but I was more referring to Bottom Dollar expanding in the whole Philly/SJ metro, where as you alluded to even supermarket giants like Safeway and Ahold (in SJ at least) couldn't make it.
Bottom Dollar isn't trying to compete with Whole Foods/Trader Joe's anyway.
If you don't consider Aldi a supermarket, then what do you consider Bottom Dollar? They are both fairly similar, the only thing Bottom Dollar has that Aldi doesn't is some brand names. I think Bottom Dollar is trying to find a middle ground between Aldi and a traditional supermarket, but IMO is much more similar to Aldi than ShopRite.
And for those that do want a traditional supermarket, I just read that the ShopRite there was voted the best supermarket in SJ or something. And I'm not sure how you can say "there isn't a Wegmans." There are 2 within 15 minutes of Cinnaminson. And considering those are the only 2 Wegmans in SJ, I'm sure there's a lot more people driving further than that to get there.
They are looking to open up another Bottom Dollar in Woodbury, it just got approval by the town. I've never been in any of these places, so not really sure what to think. I have an aversion to Aldi's which is probably unreasonable, but I just can't shake the image of one of those places where you everythign has pretty much expired or is close to it and shelves stacked with brands I've never heard of, lol.
We do pretty well cost wise with my wifes planning and couponing. In my immediate area we basically have an Acme and then there is a ShopRite around 8 or so miles north of us. The Acme is a much nicer store compared to the ShopRite, but the ShopRite tends to have the better deals. Between shopping the sales at these places and making good use of our BJ's membership (milk savings alone more than pays for the annual fee) and hitting up the numerous farmstands around us in season, we really haven't found the need to shop at the discount places.
Aldi has higher quality products and better quality control than most supermarkets. If something is close to expiring, they put it on a discount rack and they pull it off the shelves as soon as it is expired. Their store brands are almost all equal or superior to the national brands. They do not carry national brands unless it's a special buy item. That is the whole point of Aldi - you save because the products are private label. You are not paying for national advertising campaigns and shelf space fees. Aldi also carries gourmet items. I get delicious creamy havarti cheeses, hummus, king crab legs, marzipan stollen, delicious German riesling and ice wine (at non-NJ locations that sell alcohol), wonderful ready-to-bake pizzas, and great fresh produce even cheaper than Produce Junction.
I don't consider Aldi a "discount" store. I consider it a store that sells superior products that are often cheaper than the supermarkets.
Aldi has higher quality products and better quality control than most supermarkets. If something is close to expiring, they put it on a discount rack and they pull it off the shelves as soon as it is expired. Their store brands are almost all equal or superior to the national brands. They do not carry national brands unless it's a special buy item. That is the whole point of Aldi - you save because the products are private label. You are not paying for national advertising campaigns and shelf space fees. Aldi also carries gourmet items. I get delicious creamy havarti cheeses, hummus, king crab legs, marzipan stollen, delicious German riesling and ice wine (at non-NJ locations that sell alcohol), wonderful ready-to-bake pizzas, and great fresh produce even cheaper than Produce Junction.
I don't consider Aldi a "discount" store. I consider it a store that sells superior products that are often cheaper than the supermarkets.
Like I said, it was just my perception and I gather I'm not alone in that from what I hear other people saying IRL. I also said it was most likely very inaccurate. I don't have one near me, but haven't really felt the need to seek out something cheaper since we do pretty well shopping the sales and using our BJ's membership. I have jokingly heard people refer to Aldi in the past as one of the four horsemen of the "ghetto apocalypse". Basically if your town contains one each of the following, you are in the ghetto...
1. Family Dollar
2. Aldi and/or Wal*Mart
3. Crown Fried Chicken
4. Cash for Gold
Basically if your town contains one each of the following, you are in the ghetto...
1. Family Dollar
2. Aldi and/or Wal*Mart
3. Crown Fried Chicken
4. Cash for Gold
Cash For Gold has appeared in shopping centers in Cherry Hill and Marlton. Granted, Crown Fried Chicken isn't in town.
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