what is so special -Randall Supermarket (Houston, Rice: middle-class, purchase, price)

[Watchful]

Best as I can tell - the 1990s were the heyday when Randall's had over 20% market share of the grocery market - they were neck and neck with Kroger IIRC.

At that time, HEB just had its toe in the water with only the small Pantry stores, and Kroger was just ramping up its higher end stores. Walmart was a minor presence in groceries at that time. All three of these went in whole hog, and apparently Randall's is now about only 4% of the share.

We moved to Houston in 1999 and Randall's was still pretty popular but the slide was well in place.

[hendersj31]

Like others have posted I am a big fan of HEB for many reasons. My local store on Bunker Hill is great and has a wonderful and fresh assortment of everything I want and need. This will always be my main store.
However, there IS something special about the Randalls on Memorial near BW8.

What makes this Randalls special? The fact that it is NOT the HEB on Bunker Hill. If you frequent this HEB you will know that it is almost always crowded and the curbside and delivery shoppers are all over the place with their big multi level carts. It is becoming a less than enjoyable experience.

[ParaguaneroSwag]

Originally Posted by hendersj31

Like others have posted I am a big fan of HEB for many reasons. My local store on Bunker Hill is great and has a wonderful and fresh assortment of everything I want and need. This will always be my main store.
However, there IS something special about the Randalls on Memorial near BW8.

What makes this Randalls special? The fact that it is NOT the HEB on Bunker Hill. If you frequent this HEB you will know that it is almost always crowded and the curbside and delivery shoppers are all over the place with their big multi level carts. It is becoming a less than enjoyable experience.

The Lake Charles, LA Albertsons (part of the same portfolio) has a similar clientele. The nearby Kroger is ALWAYS crowded. I guess the Albertsons companies get their profits from low traffic but charging premiums.

[Texas Ag 93]

Originally Posted by hendersj31

What makes this Randalls special? The fact that it is NOT the HEB on Bunker Hill. If you frequent this HEB you will know that it is almost always crowded and the curbside and delivery shoppers are all over the place with their big multi level carts. It is becoming a less than enjoyable experience.

You're not the only one bothered by this. I shop in person about half the time and get my groceries delivered about half the time, depending on my schedule and mood. When I shop in person, I'm always there by 8 am. It used to be a very easy time to go shopping, but now, the aisles are very often packed with the personal shoppers and their carts. It's made the shopping experience considerably more hassle, which ironically, is one of the main reasons I get my groceries delivered so often. I'm kind of contributing to the problem, OTOH, one personal shopper with a cart with 5-6 orders cuts down considerably on individual carts in the aisles and check out lines.

[hendersj31]

Same here. Early morning isn't better most days, but sometimes it is.
I agree that the curbside\personal shoppers cutdown on shoppers who would typically be in the store and at checkout but the downside is that they are a different kind of shopper. There is something in the process (maybe they have to maintain multiple shopping lists instead of one that get sorted at the end?) that is clearly cumbersome which is why they always seem to be parked somewhere and in the way.

Originally Posted by Texas Ag 93

You're not the only one bothered by this. I shop in person about half the time and get my groceries delivered about half the time, depending on my schedule and mood. When I shop in person, I'm always there by 8 am. It used to be a very easy time to go shopping, but now, the aisles are very often packed with the personal shoppers and their carts. It's made the shopping experience considerably more hassle, which ironically, is one of the main reasons I get my groceries delivered so often. I'm kind of contributing to the problem, OTOH, one personal shopper with a cart with 5-6 orders cuts down considerably on individual carts in the aisles and check out lines.

[Texas Ag 93]

Originally Posted by hendersj31

Same here. Early morning isn't better most days, but sometimes it is.
I agree that the curbside\personal shoppers cutdown on shoppers who would typically be in the store and at checkout but the downside is that they are a different kind of shopper. There is something in the process (maybe they have to maintain multiple shopping lists instead of one that get sorted at the end?) that is clearly cumbersome which is why they always seem to be parked somewhere and in the way.

True, but silver lining....they are excellent resources because they know where everything is. I've asked more than one where to find something.

[WRM20]

Originally Posted by LocalPlanner

In the 1980s, Randall's was the leader in upping the quality of "regular" grocery stores (as opposed to "gourmet" stores like Rice). You WANTED a Randall's nearby. Then Safeway bought them, and it changed. The chain was later sold to Albertson's.

That was when Randalls was a family owned business that paid attention to customer needs. It was also known for not selling alcohol, because the Onstead family that owned Randalls was Baptist and opposed to alcohol consumption.

[LocalPlanner]

Originally Posted by WRM20

That was when Randalls was a family owned business that paid attention to customer needs. It was also known for not selling alcohol, because the Onstead family that owned Randalls was Baptist and opposed to alcohol consumption.

Yes, being family-owned allowed them space to differentiate in such ways.

When they opened the first "flagship" on Voss in the 1980s, my parents drove extra miles to get there, especially when they wanted to buy steak (which became weekly). This was the first such concept I'm aware of in TX for an "elevated" (but again, not "gourmet") supermarket experience.

[gwarnecke]

Originally Posted by LocalPlanner

Yes, being family-owned allowed them space to differentiate in such ways.

When they opened the first "flagship" on Voss in the 1980s, my parents drove extra miles to get there, especially when they wanted to buy steak (which became weekly). This was the first such concept I'm aware of in TX for an "elevated" (but again, not "gourmet") supermarket experience.

I remember waiting 1+ hour to check out during the 50%-off-everything closing sale at that location.

[TallGreengrass]

Originally Posted by LocalPlanner

Yes, being family-owned allowed them space to differentiate in such ways.

When they opened the first "flagship" on Voss in the 1980s, my parents drove extra miles to get there, especially when they wanted to buy steak (which became weekly). This was the first such concept I'm aware of in TX for an "elevated" (but again, not "gourmet") supermarket experience.

Have you ever heard of Jamail’s? There was also Rice Epicurean that was very nice at the time.