Kroger Re-establishing Presence In San Antonio Market (Houston, Austin: to buy, live)

[ged_782]

Originally Posted by CantWeAllJustGetAlong

New to San Antonio…..used to live in cities with Kroger’s and Harris Teeter. I thought they were decent enough grocery stores basically the same as HEB. I’m probably in the minority, but I think grocery stores are pretty much all the same. They have aisles, they have food, they have cashiers. Each of the stores carries some products I like more than at the others, but at the end of the day, they are all more or less decent places to shop. Since the pandemic, I’ve made a lot more use of curbside pick up and delivery for my groceries….I don’t recall the last time I was in a grocery store. I really don’t see myself ever doing much in store grocery shopping again….just so convenient for me to stay home and do it online. I’m sure I’ll give Kroger’s delivery service a try. Kind of interesting they are completely bypassing the bricks and mortar part of the business. I wonder if other stores will follow.

Kroger gave up the brick & mortar stores they had here years ago. Establishing a single fulfillment center with a staff of ~160, is allowing them to re-enter the market at minimal capital cost.

People who order their groceries online don't need physical stores, so Kroger would be every bit as convenient for them as HEB's home delivery. Online ordering & home delivery of just about everything has exploded in the last couple of years. Pandemic or not, I suspect this is becoming the new normal for a lot of people who previously scoured the isles and waited in checkout lines. If Kroger can provide quality products and service at a competitive cost, then they should be successful.

[Azure110]

HEB does need the competition for sure so I welcome Kroger here, even if it is just online.

[ged_782]

Originally Posted by CantWeAllJustGetAlong

Do you know if Kroger’s plan is to only offer delivery or will they also facilitate curb-side pick up (e.g. drive to the fulfillment center, wait in your car, and they bring out the groceries to your car)? I just assumed it would be both.

AFAIK, it is delivery only.

I know HEB offers their curbside service at their stores, but I suspect Kroger having only a single facility in the San Antonio area, it could turn into a logistical nightmare having a bunch of customers from across the metro all coming to a single place to pick up their orders.

[ashbeeigh]

Again, I think it’s about Favor and HEB’s presence in that world. Favor is headquarters in Austin and H-E-B is headquarters in San Antonio. There’s a very clear reason why Kroger placed these centers in both cities.

[elnina]

Originally Posted by ged_782

AFAIK, it is delivery only.

I know HEB offers their curbside service at their stores, but I suspect Kroger having only a single facility in the San Antonio area, it could turn into a logistical nightmare having a bunch of customers from across the metro all coming to a single place to pick up their orders.

I am pretty sure that's a "trial" attempt to see if there is any demand and they will expand accordingly.

HEB definitely needs more competition.
Now the question is what Kroger can offer to beat this competition...
I AM very interested to find that out.

[elnina]

Originally Posted by CantWeAllJustGetAlong

LOL….stuck in traffic at the Kroger’s waiting for your cookies. A bit off topic, but I ended up getting Walmart+ for free thru a credit card offer, and that provides for free grocery delivery, which is nice. When I want or need stuff from HEB, I go pick it up curbside. I think they have a $5 fee for delivery, but the curbside is free if you request pick-up a day in advance (sometimes you can get away with the same day). I think Central Market (which is owned by HEB, right?) has curbside, but I think you always have to pay a fee for that one. Lots of options.

Curbside doesn't make much sense to me other than saving time on big orders.
If I am already AT the store, then I would rather go in and make my own choices (pick the right cut of meat, or select produce).
Their staff is too much in a hurry to compare and make an informed selection. Those (mostly) kids don't even know their customers fine preferences.
It's not a problem with non food, you just say what brand and size, but food is a completely different kind of shopping that does involve more careful choices IF someone cares about them.

[tr_resident]

H-E-B doesn't have a monopoly on San Antonio. WalMart is their biggest competition. I love my HEB but there are things I can only get at WalMart. Can't stand Giant, Kroger, Albertsons, Food Lion, and all those crappy stores. They are all like black and white TV compared to HEB being color.

[elnina]

What I don't like is that HEB is trying to replace all other brands with their own. Surely, pretty soon there won't be others, just HEB.
Sorry, but not everything under their label is great ... We should have more choices.

[Remington Steel]

Originally Posted by elnina

What I don't like is that HEB is trying to replace all other brands with their own. Surely, pretty soon there won't be others, just HEB.
Sorry, but not everything under their label is great ... We should have more choices.

For every 1 item that is an HEB brand, there are about 3-10 other brands of the same item. So where do you get they are trying to “replace” all other brands? And I’m not talking about the Gucci HEB on Broadway which specializes in the HEB brand items, but all the other HEB stores.

[GrandmaChris]

I like HEB a lot - but also like Kroger - Spent 5 years in AZ and FRY's a Kroger store was our favorite. We still use Kroger most of the time - we get Fuel points off with what we buy and a lot of times they have 4x Fuel points for Gift Cards.