Meat Department at Ingles

[neonpinklime]

The following is a copy of the email I received today about HT Asheville closing and re-opening as a Lowes Foods.

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Dear Valued Customer,

Our Very Important Customer (VIC) card records indicate the Asheville Harris Teeter at Biltmore Parkway Centre, 1378 Hendersonville Rd is your home store, and we want to share important news that will affect that location.

Harris Teeter announced June 1, 2012 an agreement with Lowe’s Food Stores, Inc. (Lowes Foods) whereby we are transferring six Harris Teeter stores to Lowes Foods and acquiring 10 Lowes Foods locations. Lowes Foods is eager to renovate this location, open its new store under the Lowes Foods banner and continue to provide you with excellent service. On June 17, our Harris Teeter is scheduled to close for a short period of time while Lowes Foods systems are installed and the store is renamed. Details on the reopening dates will be posted on the Lowes Foods website, www.lowesfoods.com.

We appreciate hearing from our customers about the agreement with Lowes Foods, and leaving a market is always a difficult decision, made only after careful thought and consideration for the long-term growth of the company. It is also hard to say good-bye to our loyal customers who have shopped with us over the years. If you are able to shop with us at another Harris Teeter location and would like to continue to receive weekly e-VIC emails or Fresh Catch, yourwellness or Wine Club newsletters, please click here or visit harristeeter.com, log in with your e-mail and password and click 'My Subscriptions' to update your e-VIC store to another Harris Teeter location. You can find our store locator on harristeeter.com. If you choose not to update your home store location, you will no longer receive e-VIC emails.

Our customers have also shown concern for our associates who work at the stores involved in the transaction. Harris Teeter views its associates as a top priority because without them, we could not have served you so well over the years. All Harris Teeter associates will be given job opportunities at other Harris Teeter locations and should they choose not to transfer with us, Lowes Foods will be speaking with them about employment opportunities as well.

We hope you will provide Lowes Foods the same warm welcome you so kindly demonstrated to Harris Teeter when we entered your town and that you will support the new owners in the same manner you supported us. We encourage you to sign up for the Lowes Foods Fresh Rewards card so that you can receive savings and updated information from Lowes Foods on the changes coming to your home store. Contact information for Lowes Foods and details on how to sign up for Fresh Rewards can be found at Home - Lowe's Food Stores, Inc. or by calling Lowes Foods Customer Care Center at 888-537-8646.

It was a pleasure to be your neighborhood supermarket for so many years.

Sincerely,

Harris Teeter Customer Relations
1-800-432-6111

[Shooting Stars]

Originally Posted by neonpinklime

So why is Ingles considering Boars Head? The rumor is that Ingles is fearful of competition from Harris Teeter. HT stores are starting to enter Ingles territory (including here in Asheville).

Ingles seems to realize that customers will shop at HT instead for Boars Head and they would be correct.

What's really sad is that Ingles customers have been requesting Boars Head for years. But the only thing that prompted Ingles to investigate getting it was not it's customers but rather threat of another chain. And it all comes down to money. What I've been told is that Ingles didn't want boars head because it's more expensive to carry. So as long as they had a monopoly they would rather carry cheaper, lower quality sandwich meats.

After shopping at the Ingles monopoly for 11 years now, I find your account to be utterly believable.

I have long felt that Ingles has no interest in being innovative or pursuing excellence. They only advance when forced to

I have requested products from lines they already sell. Often, they don't stock the items in the line that are the most popular! In a couple of cases they stocked my request, sold out rapidly, and never stocked it again. Too successful I guess.

What a legacy.

[neonpinklime]

Just a quick update. I'm "friends" with Ingles on Facebook. On May 9th they posted the following on their facebook wall:

Boar's Head Bulletin - you can now buy Boar's Head lunch meat and cheese at our ARDEN (Long Shoals Rd) store....this means so far we have Boar's Head at Flat Rock, Cashiers, Fletcher and Arden...more on the way!

A friend of mine that works in the produce department in Ingles on Merimon Road (Weaverville) said that last week a "team" from boars head was at the store preparing for the boars head roll out there. I've also been told that boar's head is at Ingles store in Brevard too.

I need to go get cold cuts today. I'm going to call the Ingles on Merimon and see if they've rolled them out yet.

[neonpinklime]

I shopped at the Ingles on Weaver Road in Weaverville, NC. They had a huge selection of Boars Head. Here's a picture. The representative told me that she did not know when boars head would be available at Ingles locations outside North Carolina. But she said the plan is to have it at ALL Ingles locations eventually. I went to Ingles Face Book page and asked them when it would be coming to my Ingles in Mars Hill, NC. They told me July 1. So if you want to know when your Ingles will have boars head, go to their facebook page and ask them. They have a schedule. See the INGLES name above the Boars Head Brand on the signage? I thought I'd never see the day!

[Shooting Stars]

Originally Posted by neonpinklime

I thought I'd never see the day!

Neither did Ingles, apparently.