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As long as we're critiquing the tone of posts, I don't think you're in much of a position to take the high ground since not unlike listening to a sports broadcast where the announcers are slappies for the home team it too is rarely correct nor interesting.
Depends upon the broadcast team. Some are complete homers while others are more impartial. I can only speak about my personal experiences on the matter and also the knowledge that I have as a former manager in retail and the food industry. I think that makes me a bit more qualified to voice my opinion on this subject than people that just post links from alleged experts or industry analysts that often times are out of touch with reality. And taking the high ground is almost always wiser than taking the low ground.
I've now heard recent speculation on CNBC that Amazon's next target is Macy's. The argument is that Macy's is cheap given the underlying value of its real estate owned. As with Whole Foods, Amazon would gain sourcing and distribution networks needed to advance Amazon's retail efforts. Here's the thesis.
A Macy's acquisition would surprise me, but the acquisition of Whole Foods also was a shocker.
If Amazon were to acquire Macy's, it would confirm to me that Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is using Amazon's inflated stock value to acquire real assets, with the potential to build a dominant internet/physical retail enterprise. Will the market value Whole Foods (and Macy's) earnings at an inflated triple-digit P/E as currently afforded AMZN? If so, the Bezos physical expansion strategy will be another winner.
Here's a counter take about a Macy's acquisition by Amazon, as well as a discussion of what is ahead for Whole Foods.
This article suggests that Amazon will de-emphasize groceries at Whole Food locations. Based on everything else that I've read, this seems unlikely as Amazon clearly wants to dominate groceries.
Some believe that the Whole Foods 365 store will be the model that Amazon will utilize across the U.S., perhaps supplemented by Amazon distribution centers.
Likely, a key goal of Amazon is to lower last mile distribution costs, which most readily will be accomplished by having customers pick up purchases directly at physical locations. The cost of these locations and the volume of traffic can be enhanced by a robust physical retail experience.
Considering that the analysts were constantly hyping Tesco's Fresh & Easy and the new Whole Food's concept, I would rather wait and see.
I know several supermarket analysts and I would respect their opinions more if they did not spend 100% of their time in New York and California.
Due to your close connections to the retail food industry and insightful comments made concerning Kroger elsewhere, I'm interested in what you may know about the possible merger between Kroger and Ahold Delhaize to form one of largest supermarket chains in the world:
At first glance it appears that Kroger would acquire Ahold Delhaize because Kroger is the larger company in revenue (2016, app. $115-B vs. $62-B); however, Ahold Delhaize has more locations. This speculation may not turn out to be the case, but should it materialize, would the headquarters remain in Cincinnati or relocate to Zaandam, Netherlands?
Although this merger would not garner the media attention of the Amazon/Whole Foods merger, it would, nevertheless, have enormous ramifications for the retail food industry. What do you see happening here?
Due to your close connections to the retail food industry and insightful comments made concerning Kroger elsewhere, I'm interested in what you may know about the possible merger between Kroger and Ahold Delhaize to form one of largest supermarket chains in the world:
At first glance it appears that Kroger would acquire Ahold Delhaize because Kroger is the larger company in revenue (2016, app. $115-B vs. $62-B); however, Ahold Delhaize has more locations. This speculation may not turn out to be the case, but should it materialize, would the headquarters remain in Cincinnati or relocate to Zaandam, Netherlands?
Although this merger would not garner the media attention of the Amazon/Whole Foods merger, it would, nevertheless, have enormous ramifications for the retail food industry. What do you see happening here?
Interesting. Economies of scale certainly will be important in combating Amazon's technological advantages.
This merger would seem to face significant antitrust challenges, before considering possible divestitures. The problem is that any divestitures probably would be at significant discounts in today's grocery retail market.
Delhaize America is headquartered in Salisbury, NC.
A Kroger merger with Ahold/Delhaize would be disastrous. There's already a considerable amount of overlap between Food Lion and Kroger/Harris Teeter in the Carolinas and Virginia
It would be tantamount to Rite Aid/Walgreen's, Staples/OfficeDepot/OfficeMax, or Albertsons/Safeway
Ahold already had to divest stores (10 of which went to Publix) in Richmond as a condition of their merger with Delhaize; If they were to merge with Kroger, then another brand could leave the marlet
Here in NC, Food Lion outnumbers Harris Teeter in many of the markets, but they run quite a bit of low volume units that lack any amenities.
Last edited by Renownedtheworldaround; 07-17-2017 at 12:16 PM..
Due to your close connections to the retail food industry and insightful comments made concerning Kroger elsewhere, I'm interested in what you may know about the possible merger between Kroger and Ahold Delhaize to form one of largest supermarket chains in the world:
I have no inside knowledge. My only experience in the supermarket industry is that I visit close to 60 different supermarkets in 20 different states each year. I see some great ones and i see some utter disaasters.
If Kroger's management is astute, they really need to call a timeout on any acquisitions for a while.
Here are some of the issues that I see at their various divisions IMHO. These observations come from the time I have walked through their stores, not by reading their financial filings with the SEC.
1) They are losing market share big time to Walmart, Meijers, and Woodmans in SE Wisconsin. They need to either commit to converting those stores to a successful Kroger's format or dump them. Schnuck's in St. Louis acquired their Hilander stores in that region and could be a potential acquirer.
2) Many people in Chicago are not happy with the current state of Mariano's. Kroger's got rod if some of the goofy stuff like pianos in stores and the like but they also got rid of a few things that loyal customers like. They do not have a decent loyalty program as they have not rolled out the full loyalty program. For example, they offer 600 e-coupons at Fry's and Smith's and only 150 at Mariano's.
3) I have always heard that Fred Meyer's was a great operation. I was in their Idaho stores last month and those places looked very long in the tooth. Have they dome any remodeling? Those stores looked a lot worst than the Winco Food Stores that PRIDE themselves on being a warehouse operation. And they are NOT price competitive even on the store brands (and neither is Walmart).
4) The Tennessee and North Carolina stores are run down and need a full remodel. Some of the stores are a complete disgrace.
5) Finally, they have to figure out the prepared foods section. They do some great prepared foods at some of the Cincinnati st However, when they take it to other regions, there is no real commitment to doing it right. They just opened a store in a heavily Hispanic area of Tucson. The other stores in the area have tortillarias and a good variety of fresh prepared Mexican foods. The Fry's store serves Boar's Head which overpriced for the market. All the food selections look like they come from the Cincinnati area as opposed to locally. Tomorrow morning, I can stop in that store and get a fresh baked pretzel but I cannot buy a fresh made tortilla. At least they finally quit putting out wedge salads!
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I spend too much time in supermarkets. When I am in Ohio, I generally head to Starbucks as my parents and in-laws don't have internet service.
I have no inside knowledge. My only experience in the supermarket industry is that I visit close to 60 different supermarkets in 20 different states each year. I see some great ones and i see some utter disaasters.
I don't visit as many states as you do, but when I am away I usually do sample the retail business in a given market. I especially like going to the local grocery and discount stores. Although there are very few local discount store chains remaining.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jlawrence01
If Kroger's management is astute, they really need to call a timeout on any acquisitions for a while.
Here are some of the issues that I see at their various divisions IMHO. These observations come from the time I have walked through their stores, not by reading their financial filings with the SEC.
1) They are losing market share big time to Walmart, Meijers, and Woodmans in SE Wisconsin. They need to either commit to converting those stores to a successful Kroger's format or dump them. Schnuck's in St. Louis acquired their Hilander stores in that region and could be a potential acquirer.
I've never been in a Hilander store, but from what I've seen and read they were a local operation Kroger bought and Kroger didn't do much to upgrade their stores.
Give Kroger time in Wisconsin. They just took over Pick and Save. They know what to do to turn it around.
Agree they should pause the acquisitions except if something really, really good comes up.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jlawrence01
2) Many people in Chicago are not happy with the current state of Mariano's. Kroger's got rod if some of the goofy stuff like pianos in stores and the like but they also got rid of a few things that loyal customers like. They do not have a decent loyalty program as they have not rolled out the full loyalty program. For example, they offer 600 e-coupons at Fry's and Smith's and only 150 at Mariano's.
Meh. People will always complain about things that change. It's too early to come to any concrete conclusions.
If Kroger has been able to run Food 4 Less stores there somewhat successfully, they already know the market. They know what needs to be done.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jlawrence01
3) I have always heard that Fred Meyer's was a great operation. I was in their Idaho stores last month and those places looked very long in the tooth. Have they dome any remodeling? Those stores looked a lot worst than the Winco Food Stores that PRIDE themselves on being a warehouse operation. And they are NOT price competitive even on the store brands (and neither is Walmart).
My wife is from the western part of the Midwest. I've noticed that a lot of stores in that part of the world are long in the tooth. I was in a Shopko Hometown store recently and couldn't believe how rundown it was. I thought Shopko was supposed to be a pretty good retailer. I don't think the big chains put a lot of money in stores located in low population areas.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jlawrence01
4) The Tennessee and North Carolina stores are run down and need a full remodel. Some of the stores are a complete disgrace.
Haven't been in one in a long time. With regard to North Carolina, are you talking about Kroger stores or Harris-Teeter?
Last edited by PerryMason614; 07-17-2017 at 09:49 PM..
5) Finally, they have to figure out the prepared foods section. They do some great prepared foods at some of the Cincinnati st However, when they take it to other regions, there is no real commitment to doing it right. They just opened a store in a heavily Hispanic area of Tucson. The other stores in the area have tortillarias and a good variety of fresh prepared Mexican foods. The Fry's store serves Boar's Head which overpriced for the market. All the food selections look like they come from the Cincinnati area as opposed to locally. Tomorrow morning, I can stop in that store and get a fresh baked pretzel but I cannot buy a fresh made tortilla. At least they finally quit putting out wedge salads!
If Kroger isn't localizing its offerings, that's an impending disaster.
It's surprising if true, because Macy's made the mistake of firing regional purchasing agents after it's big acquisition spree, with disastrous results. Surely, Kroger management must have been aware of this.
>>Haven't been in one in a long time. With regard to North Carolina, are you talking about Kroger stores or Harris-Teeter?<<
Kroger branded stores, not HT.
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