Albertson's faces rocky path

Hi- Albertson's was hoping to merge with Rite Aid, and the deal just fell through. Here is the article that is on the CNBC site that goes into the problems Albertson's is facing now.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/09/after-a ... -path.html

The biggest problem with Albertson's is that they are so busy looking for deals to sell off the company. However, they have taken their eyes off of their operations. I can honestly say that the shuttered Chicagoland Dominick's stores were far better run and much more attractive than any Albertsons or Safeway store that I have seen in the west coast.

We avoid shopping at Safeway for a number of issues including:

1) There are always pricing issues. That is, the prices on the shelf are NOT what you are charged. The local stores have been cited by the county for the errors.
2) Their digital ads often are not recognized at the register.
3) There are three stores in this area and all of them have separate grocery ads with different prices.
4) All chicken products are fried from 6-8 am. Think about what fried chicken tastes like after sitting 3-8 hours.
5) On my last trip, the cashier in the EXPRESS lane took 3-5 minutes with each customer. That is nice when you have the time but inappropriate when there are 10 people in line. And yes, that is not infrequent 4-7 pm.
6) Just like in Dominick's last years, there are a LOT of markdowns due to expiration dates on dairy and meat.

Things are only going to get worse as a Sprouts store opened six months ago four miles away and ALDI is starting to open stores in Arizona in late 2018.

jlawrence01 wrote:3) There are three stores in this area and all of them have separate grocery ads with different prices.

Jewel, a subsidiary of Albertson's, no longer advertises on television.

For several years, I have gone to Jewels in Highland Park, Lake Forest and Wheaton.

Once I was in Wheaton, I wanted to buy something on sale at the Highland Park Jewel. It was not on sale in Wheaton. I went over to talk to the manager, who affirmed this was true. She then explained they have problems with customer's from neighboring areas who want a deal known from their local flyer. It was a colossal headache for the staff to manage customer expectations.

I no longer shop at the Wheaton location. For a long time, milk was regularly $2.50 a gallon. My local Jewels often charged more.

Many shoppers shop at their local store, so they are generally unaware that sales and what is on the shelf is carefully calculated for their location. I know I didn't notice until circumstances sent me to other stores.

Regards,
Cathy2

Cathy2 wrote:Jewel, a subsidiary of Albertson's, no longer advertises on television.

Really? Is this a very recent thing? I seem to recall seeing TV commercials for Jewel within the last couple of months---those commercials saying, "we've been in Chicagoland for [some very long time] and we're not going anywhere."

Hi,

If there is a branding commercial out there, I did not see it.

There are no longer commercials advising milk is on sale or back-to-school sale on bologna and white bread.

Regards,
Cathy2

Cathy2 wrote:Many shoppers shop at their local store, so they are generally unaware that sales and what is on the shelf is carefully calculated for their location. I know I didn't notice until circumstances sent me to other stores.

Regards,
Cathy2

Cathy,

I started noticing this in 2005 or so when the Eagle store closed in Woodstock. Mrs. jlawrence01 asked me to bring home a dozen eggs. Eggs at the Woodstock Jewel store were $2.19/doz. Man, that rounded really high. The next day, I saw the same eggs at the Crystal Lake store for $1.29.

I notices the same at my local Safeway store earlier this year. I needed one item - 6 oz tomato paste was $1.29. At the Safeway five miles away, it was 1.09. (And it was on-sale at the local Kroger affiliate for $0.43.

I think Jewel does have ads on tv about how local they are and how long they have been in the community. Cathy you should go to the Jewel on Lake Cook at Deerbrook Mall. The one they just remodeled last year. I was in there on Tuesday, and they had bananas for $.24 a pound, and when I was in there a few months ago they had really cheap milk. I was really tempted to get some milk. I think it was $1.49, but it was in the 90's that day, and it would have taken me 30 minutes to get it home.

They're targeting their ads at the local level. For example, the Jewel Wednesday color ad insert in the Tribune sometimes has a separate 1-2 page insert that has prices just for my local Jewel in Highland Park. You can find the same local ad online at their website.

Grocery giant Albertsons expects to raise $1.3B in IPO

Grocery conglomerate Albertsons expects to raise up to $1.3 billion when it goes public amid a coronavirus-related sales boom.

Some of the Idaho-based company’s stockholders will sell 65.8 million shares at $18 to $20 apiece in the upcoming initial public offering, Albertsons said Thursday. The high end of that price range would value Albertsons at roughly $11.6 billion.

Albertsons will give the IPO’s underwriters an option to buy another 9.8 million shares, which would bring the offering’s total proceeds to as much as $1.5 billion, according to a securities filing. The company said it won’t receive any proceeds from the IPO as its stockholders are selling the shares rather than Albertsons itself.

Albertsons — whose store brands include Safeway, Vons and its eponymous chain — first filed for an IPO in March and now plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “ACI.” The shares will likely start trading late next week, according to The Wall Street Journal.

https://nypost.com/2020/06/19/grocery-g ... oming-ipo/