Ukrops owners throwing in towel?? (Roanoke, Blacksburg: neighborhood, construction, school)

[Future_Trance]

Ukrops was an interesting place - kinda like a grocery store and mall put together, but I think Kroger's and Food Lion dominate the area so competition-wise they had to bring something other than the grocery store mall thing...i.e, I noticed the prices at Ukrops substantially higher than Kroger's - how many high earners in Roanoke with disposable income to say that could afford their prices for regular shopping outings - not many I think...Ukrops might have faired better situated closer to Hunting Hills, and smaller in size for those folks private shopping.

And did you guys see the interviews on the local news station - channel 10 - I think - when that lady said "Well, I guess they (Ukrops) has to close to help the economy...WTF?) - classic Roanoker for you?

[540_804]

Originally Posted by roanoker 4

Couldn't a new grocer move into to the Ukrops building who knows how to operate a business and keep the Ukrops Kitchen prepared foods area like it is?
Ukrops could sell its grocery stores but keep its kitchen facility in Richmond and cater to a grocer like Kroger, for example? Plus the new grocer could stay open longer, especially on Sundays and sell alcohol, cigarettes, lottery tickets like every other grocery store in the world! Those changes would get me to shop there!

Only the Ukrops in Roanoke is closing as of now.

And from what I understand, Ukrops' central kitchen already supplies a lot of Richmond-area grocery stores with their prepared foods, just under the respective store's brand. Theoretically, whatever store takes occupation of the Roanoke location could work out a similar deal, but I'm not sure it would happen. Having freshly-prepared food delivered from Richmond daily may not be cost-efficient.

[540_804]

Every time someone mentions Ukrops, everyone always mentions how they are more expensive than other stores but I haven't necessarily found that to be true, except for their prepared foods (At Ukrops, 8-pieces of fried chicken cost ~$9-10 where at Food Lion you can typically get it for 4.99-6.99.). Their other products, including fresh produce, tend to be priced competitively with other stores, sometimes even lower!

Everyone brings price into things, but I think its mostly more perception that reality. Ukrops is seen as a more expensive store when they are not necessarily which probably discouraged a lot of shoppers from even going there to check it out.

[ChadTrent]

Originally Posted by 540_804

Every time someone mentions Ukrops, everyone always mentions how they are more expensive than other stores but I haven't necessarily found that to be true, except for their prepared foods (At Ukrops, 8-pieces of fried chicken cost ~$9-10 where at Food Lion you can typically get it for 4.99-6.99.). Their other products, including fresh produce, tend to be priced competitively with other stores, sometimes even lower!

Everyone brings price into things, but I think its mostly more perception that reality. Ukrops is seen as a more expensive store when they are not necessarily which probably discouraged a lot of shoppers from even going there to check it out.

Yeah. People seem to be in love with Fresh Market, and all it is is an overpriced Kroger with less of a selection. I don't think price is the issue. I think people in this area are reluctant to change and reluctant to embrace anything new.

[mccamp]

I don't think UKROPs failed because of Roanoke or our perceived "resistant to change" attitude.

UKROPs failed for a number of reasons, in my opinion:

They didn't market themselves as a specialty grocer like Fresh Market does. They marketed themselves as an average grocery store, more upscale, but a grocery store none-the-less.

Their prices were a bit higher than Kroger, Food Lion and Wal-Mart. Good deals could be found, but you couldn't count on them week in and week out. (Like Wal-Mart.)

They weren't open on Sundays and they didn't sell alcohol. I do our shopping on Sundays. When I needed something quick during the week, I used UKROPs, but most of our shopping is done on Sunday, after church or in the evenings. I don't think we're alone in our shopping habits.

The recession. Starting in 2007, folks started shopping differently. In 2008, they changed their habits drastically. Their messaging and marketing didn't keep up with the times. Wal-Mart and Kroger led the charge, changed their store layouts and started stocking lower-priced "value" items that customers were looking for. I didn't see that approach at UKROPs.

So, please, let's not put the failure of UKROPs on the citizens of Roanoke. I'm sure there are some folks who are resistant to change. But I don't think they focus all their powers on avoiding grocery stores who provide value.

Simply put, UKROPs failed because they failed to react to the larger market. That's why most businesses fail.

[ChadTrent]

I think it's definitely the citizens of Roanoke that caused the failure. No, Ukrops isn't open on Sunday. So what? People in the bible belt are so adamant about Sunday being a day of rest. Why not extend that courtesy to everyone? I'm not trying to turn this into a religious debate or anything. But, just like you said, people were reluctant to change once again. Some people will only shop on Sundays. They are resistant to change.

One of the reasons we stopped shopping there is that the items always ring up incorrectly. Without fail every time we shop there, at least one item will ring up a higher price than the price on the shelf said. One time after we got the cashier to fix the prices to the correct price, we ended up paying almost $20 less. We shopped there at least 20 times, and I honestly cannot recall a time where that didn't happen. Usually it was only 10-20¢ or so, so sometimes we didn't even bother messing with it, but it ALWAYS happened.

But, regardless of the reason, I guess it won't matter much longer anyways...

[roanoker 4]

My sentiments exactly, somehow Ukrops was just mismatched here. It was rather funny at times as few people understood why they were always closed on Sundays, Holidays and didn't sell beer/wine, etc. I'm sure there were other reasons that people here didn't care for the store as it took so long to build and open. Frankly, after giving it a try I decided to stop shopping there as I sensed an attitude by Ukrops that they gave up on Roanoke early on. I was shocked that they had the nerve to tell Roanoke shoppers that if we didn't shop there they would close. What kind of business marketing is that? When I wrote to their "customer service" folks in Richmond giving them tips on how to run a successful business here they stuck to their beliefs and they wouldn't budge on any of my suggestions. In other words, Roanoke if you don't like our grocery we aren't going to change for you. I believe this mixed up business was yet another fiasco brought here by our dysfunctional city government!

[540_804]

I'm much more inclined to believe "somehow Ukrops was just mismatched here" as stated by roanoker4 than to agree with "the citizens of Roanoke that caused the failure"

When a new player enters a market (in this case Ukrops) it is 110% the responsibility of the new entrant to win its market share. You can't place any of the blame on the market (Roanoke). Its just not the way it works. Even if Roanoke was the most backwards, unprogressive, brand-loyal, change-resisting place in the world, the new entrant would still bear the burden of succeeding in the market.

I think one of the failures with Ukrops is that they were too passive and not proactive enough. I can't blame them for that, though. Its difficult to break into a new market and be expected to commit the time, effort and, most importantly, the money to actively try to succeed. It can be a risky task.

And locating a store in Roanoke was risky to begin with. Richmond is so far away, both physically and even a bit psychologically. Ukrops has succeeded (for the most part) with Richmond area stores because they are seen as the home team. On a psychological level, Ukrops is probably seen as an outsider by many Roanokers. Its such a large jump from Richmond to Roanoke.

I think they should have considered somewhere like Charlottesville first. I think Charlottesville would probably more easily embrace Ukrops. Plus, opening a store in Charlottesville would probably both physically and psychologically help bridge the gap between Richmond and Roanoke.

Also, I kind of take issue with its location. The Ivy Market location was beautiful, and if it was ever built out like the original plans seemed to indicate it would, the store probably would have been a bit more successful. But for some reason it seemed a bit isolated for some reason. Maybe because of its location in which it is surrounded on 3 sides by pretty large roadways.

I've always thought Ukrops would have been more successful in a downtown location. Especially with the increase in downtown residents. Most residents downtown don't really have access to any grocery stores. As the downtown population grows, I think the demand for downtown shopping will increase as well. And I think whichever store moves there first will pretty much win the business. Right off of the top of my head, I can picture Ukrops anchoring a mixed-use development in the parking lot that is bordered by the Downtown Y, Cotton Mill Lofts and Fork in the City. That ENTIRE neighborhood that sits next to the area is being redeveloped. It would have been cool to have maybe a 5 or 6 story development on that lot with Ukrops on the first floor with a few other retail tenants (maybe a Cold Stone, Five Guys, Chipo0tle, etc) and the top 4 or 5 floors being residential apartments and/or condos. But of course that is all just me dreaming.

Don't get me wrong, though. In spite of my criticism for Ukrop's management in Roanoke, I still think they are a great store. They have been and would have been a great asset to the community. And their track record of civic behavior and community involvement would have been greatly appreciated in the city. It'll be sad to see them go and very unfortunate that so many will lose their jobs.

[ChadTrent]

Originally Posted by 540_804

I think they should have considered somewhere like Charlottesville first. I think Charlottesville would probably more easily embrace Ukrops. Plus, opening a store in Charlottesville would probably both physically and psychologically help bridge the gap between Richmond and Roanoke.

Charlottesville has a Whole Foods, which is a whole league above Ukrops. Ukrops probably realized they couldn't compete there.

I dream of one day having a Whole Foods here, but I realize that will probably never happen with the type of shopper we have in Roanoke.

[mccamp]

Originally Posted by ChadTrent

Charlottesville has a Whole Foods, which is a whole league above Ukrops. Ukrops probably realized they couldn't compete there.

I dream of one day having a Whole Foods here, but I realize that will probably never happen with the type of shopper we have in Roanoke.

I disagree. The raw data for Roanoke and the New River Valley tells us that Whole Foods can make a go of it here. There is money in the RNR, it's just not flashy. Whole Foods looks for communities where they can get local and organic produce easily, has like-minded customer base and proven farmer's markets. They also look to see if other natural food stores have succeeded. In Roanoke's case, we have an excellent and profitable store in Raleigh Court.

Whole Foods is slow to expand. It took 12 years for them to open a store in Boston. Boston! for pete's sake. Where money flows out of the faucets and Cambridge is organic central.

I think if they opened a Whole Foods, it would be on the Franklin County/Roanoke County line. Lots of money flowing into Franklin County. Just look at the housing developments.

I think if folks looked around, they'd be surprised at the number of people moving into the area, starting new businesses and talking up Roanoke to their friends. The change everyone is seeking may be happening slowly, but it is happening. In the past 18 months, six families have moved onto our street from other places. They are innovative, educated and are starting to bring the change everyone's been craving. The change isn't going to come from the long-time residents. It's going to come from the new folks moving here and bringing their ideas and ways of life. They have money. They're willing to spend it. Retailers are waking up to the idea.