Homeland Grocery Stores

[Pete]

This is off topic, but I couldn't find a thread discussing this. Does anyone know what is taking the place of the former Buy For Less on Pennsylvania just north of NW 23rd? Some construction is obvious but I could not find any signs of what is happening. I guess that it is too much to hope for a Crest market.

VASA Fitness:

https://www.okctalk.com/content.php?...g-to-23rd-Penn

[AP]

Edit: Moved to VASA thread

[Bill Robertson]

Thought there might be some discussion on this thread about the new Homeland planned at 36th and Lincoln. I think their main warehouse is slightly west of it on NE 36th. I'm thrilled to see this happening for NE side. I gave up on Homeland back when the store at Classen and NW 18 fell into disarray and price points shot up. The CEO and Councilor Nikki Nice's ability to get this going, make me consider giving Homeland another chance because I think this is a great investment in local community.

Their warehouse is behind the corporate office on 36th just west of Lincoln. They’re planning on moving the warehouse when they move the
corp office but last I heard they don’t know where it will be.

[HOT ROD]

is that where the former Safeway warehouse/offices are?

[Bill Robertson]

is that where the former Safeway warehouse/offices are?

The offices yes. The warehouse I’m not sure. They’ve been in 3 warehouses in the last ten years.

[corwin1968]

I just saw on Facebook that people are saying Homeland has bought or is going to buy three current grocery stores in Ponca City.

They must be pretty optimistic on the future success of their company.

[Bill Robertson]

I just saw on Facebook that people are saying Homeland has bought or is going to buy three current grocery stores in Ponca City.

They must be pretty optimistic on the future success of their company.

Yes. More than those three actually.

[scottk]

I just saw on Facebook that people are saying Homeland has bought or is going to buy three current grocery stores in Ponca City.

They must be pretty optimistic on the future success of their company.

They are also purchasing the Food Pyramid stores in Stillwater and Bartlesville. One of the Ponca City stores use to be Homeland, then Albertsons, and presently Food Pyramid. The other non Food Pyramid store in Ponca City is less than a mile from Food Pyramid they are purchasing.

In a town of 25,000 or so, it seems odd they would be able to operate three stores all under the same flag. To my knowledge, the only other large grocery store in town after this purchase would be Walmart?

Bartlesville already has two Homeland Stores, a Food Pyramid (which they purchased) and a United on the west end of town, and a WalMart SuperCenter on the east side.

Stillwater has two Walmart SuperCenters, Walmart Neighborhood Market, and the Food Pyramid (Homeland).

All three communities also have Aldi as a grocery option.

https://www.winsightgrocerybusiness....tores-oklahoma

This account gives you an idea of the condition/look of the two stores in Ponca City, about a third of the way down on the photo page: https://www.flickr.com/photos/763602...th/5309235266/

[Ward]

Their warehouse is behind the corporate office on 36th just west of Lincoln. They’re planning on moving the warehouse when they move the
corp office but last I heard they don’t know where it will be.

AWG (Homeland) , has, or did have, a fairly new warehouse on HWY 152 between OKC & Mustang, I think it’s Council.

It was open when I used to have to deliver there, I have not been out there in the last few years.

[Bill Robertson]

AWG (Homeland) , has, or did have, a fairly new warehouse on HWY 152 between OKC & Mustang, I think it’s Council.

It was open when I used to have to deliver there, I have not been out there in the last few years.

Yes and no. Homeland and AWG have a very weird relationship. They’re connected but not. My wife has tried to explain it to me for years and I still don’t understand it.

[John1744]

AWG is a co-op that supplies their respective owners. So AWG is owned by companies like Homeland, Buy For Less, Crest, Food4Less, Cash Saver, Harps etc and in turn AWG supplies those companies. One of the nice things about AWG is it's a completely equal co-op in that no matter how big you are from a 2 million dollar a week Crest Food to a $30,000/week Piggly Wiggly in the boonies you get essentially the same pricing on goods. What does happen though is some companies like Crest or Homeland will eventually get big enough and be enough of a percentage of warehouse movement that they can begin to influence what get's put in that warehouse. So if Crest is 1/4 of AWG OKC's business and they want to cross dock and store Crest branded products in that warehouse you're probably going to listen to them. Or if Buy 4 Less and Homeland start going all organic / all natural this takes space away from maybe a lower quality item a lower volume store carries but does well with. This can make it hard for smaller stores to get unique items in also. The OKC warehouse is almost always at max capacity since they absorbed AWG Fort Worth a few years ago.

AWG also does ad printing, signage, they have chemical programs. And essentially you try to go through AWG if you are supplied by them because they may have 1,000 stores on a program getting a massive bulk discount and getting a better price than your 20 stores alone can. Also the better the co - op does, the better you do because you get a share of the profits at year end from the warehouse.

Hope that makes sense, I can try to explain further if anyone has questions.

[Dob Hooligan]

AWG is a co-op that supplies their respective owners. So AWG is owned by companies like Homeland, Buy For Less, Crest, Food4Less, Cash Saver, Harps etc and in turn AWG supplies those companies. One of the nice things about AWG is it's a completely equal co-op in that no matter how big you are from a 2 million dollar a week Crest Food to a $30,000/week Piggly Wiggly in the boonies you get essentially the same pricing on goods. What does happen though is some companies like Crest or Homeland will eventually get big enough and be enough of a percentage of warehouse movement that they can begin to influence what get's put in that warehouse. So if Crest is 1/4 of AWG OKC's business and they want to cross dock and store Crest branded products in that warehouse you're probably going to listen to them. Or if Buy 4 Less and Homeland start going all organic / all natural this takes space away from maybe a lower quality item a lower volume store carries but does well with. This can make it hard for smaller stores to get unique items in also. The OKC warehouse is almost always at max capacity since they absorbed AWG Fort Worth a few years ago.

AWG also does ad printing, signage, they have chemical programs. And essentially you try to go through AWG if you are supplied by them because they may have 1,000 stores on a program getting a massive bulk discount and getting a better price than your 20 stores alone can. Also the better the co - op does, the better you do because you get a share of the profits at year end from the warehouse.

Hope that makes sense, I can try to explain further if anyone has questions.

Thanks. Very informative. So, does AWG stand for "Associated Wholesale Grocers", or something like that? Is this something like IGA was 30-60 years ago?

[John1744]

Thanks. Very informative. So, does AWG stand for "Associated Wholesale Grocers", or something like that? Is this something like IGA was 30-60 years ago?

That is indeed what it stands for and rose from the ashes of Fleming essentially. AWG bought the the old Homeland warehouse back in like 1995 right after Fleming collapsed and hired up a ton of Flemings best employees and quickly took the place of Fleming for the independent grocers in the area. IGA is a brand that independents can use. You still get your groceries from AWG but you brand as an IGA store and they are based I think in Chicago. It gives you access to their name, their marketing and a lot of the same programs AWG features. IGA is more of a branding deal than a supply deal.

[Bill Robertson]

AWG is a co-op that supplies their respective owners. So AWG is owned by companies like Homeland, Buy For Less, Crest, Food4Less, Cash Saver, Harps etc and in turn AWG supplies those companies. One of the nice things about AWG is it's a completely equal co-op in that no matter how big you are from a 2 million dollar a week Crest Food to a $30,000/week Piggly Wiggly in the boonies you get essentially the same pricing on goods. What does happen though is some companies like Crest or Homeland will eventually get big enough and be enough of a percentage of warehouse movement that they can begin to influence what get's put in that warehouse. So if Crest is 1/4 of AWG OKC's business and they want to cross dock and store Crest branded products in that warehouse you're probably going to listen to them. Or if Buy 4 Less and Homeland start going all organic / all natural this takes space away from maybe a lower quality item a lower volume store carries but does well with. This can make it hard for smaller stores to get unique items in also. The OKC warehouse is almost always at max capacity since they absorbed AWG Fort Worth a few years ago.

AWG also does ad printing, signage, they have chemical programs. And essentially you try to go through AWG if you are supplied by them because they may have 1,000 stores on a program getting a massive bulk discount and getting a better price than your 20 stores alone can. Also the better the co - op does, the better you do because you get a share of the profits at year end from the warehouse.

Hope that makes sense, I can try to explain further if anyone has questions.

That’s a very good description of this business agreement. The day to day functions between the “owners” and AWG is complicated.

[Bunty]

They are also purchasing the Food Pyramid stores in Stillwater and Bartlesville. One of the Ponca City stores use to be Homeland, then Albertsons, and presently Food Pyramid. The other non Food Pyramid store in Ponca City is less than a mile from Food Pyramid they are purchasing.

In a town of 25,000 or so, it seems odd they would be able to operate three stores all under the same flag. To my knowledge, the only other large grocery store in town after this purchase would be Walmart?

Bartlesville already has two Homeland Stores, a Food Pyramid (which they purchased) and a United on the west end of town, and a WalMart SuperCenter on the east side.

Stillwater has two Walmart SuperCenters, Walmart Neighborhood Market, and the Food Pyramid (Homeland).

Don't forget Sprouts in Stillwater, fomerly IGA.

[Mr. Blue Sky]

Good job, John. You explained the AWG affiliation very well. It’s complicated for sure. But, what wasn’t mentioned is that Homeland is technically an HAC, Inc. company headed by CEO Marc Jones. Homeland was horribly mismanaged as they emerged from bankruptcy many years ago and now, by almost all accounts, have found a solid footing. What a difference a new management team can make.

I know Homeland gets a lot of flack here, but honestly, Homeland is now a very progressive company. They are highly thought of by many in the business and was recognized last year by one of the industry’s top publications as a Retailer of the Year. They’ve been called a turnaround miracle story by another. The manager at May and Britton, who has been there for quite a while, was a national Grocer of the Year (Manager category). The chain is employee-owned and employees receive regular cash payments into their ESOP accounts (essentially, profits paid directly to employees).

To me, Homeland is a very interesting company with leadership that will do them well beyond where they are today

Just adding a little more info to John1744’s posts.

[AP]

Don't forget Sprouts in Stillwater, fomerly IGA.

Isn't there also an Aldi?

[Bill Robertson]

Good job, John. You explained the AWG affiliation very well. It’s complicated for sure. But, what wasn’t mentioned is that Homeland is technically an HAC, Inc. company headed by CEO Marc Jones. Homeland was horribly mismanaged as they emerged from bankruptcy many years ago and now, by almost all accounts, have found a solid footing. What a difference a new management team can make.

I know Homeland gets a lot of flack here, but honestly, Homeland is now a very progressive company. They are highly thought of by many in the business and was recognized last year by one of the industry’s top publications as a Retailer of the Year. They’ve been called a turnaround miracle story by another. The manager at May and Britton, who has been there for quite a while, was a national Grocer of the Year (Manager category). The chain is employee-owned and employees receive regular cash payments into their ESOP accounts (essentially, profits paid directly to employees).

To me, Homeland is a very interesting company with leadership that will do them well beyond where they are today

Just adding a little more info to John1744’s posts.

Very well said. And the turn around has made my wife very happy, which makes me happy.

[Pete]

Yes, Marc Jones and his team deserve a lot of credit.

The complaint about Homeland are almost always about the past. Everything they have done since Jones took over has been stellar.

[TheTravellers]

Yes, Marc Jones and his team deserve a lot of credit.

The complaint about Homeland are almost always about the past. Everything they have done since Jones took over has been stellar.

Will definitely agree, we've been shopping at the 18th/Classen store pretty often as a very acceptable substitute for Uptown (our regular store). They have a great selection of made in Oklahoma stuff, found some Prairie Bomb cheese (by Lovera) there yesterday, should be interesting...

[baralheia]

I would absolutely love to see this revitalized Homeland start expanding within OKC again.... The inner-city southside needs more options than a slew of Walmart Neighborhood Markets.

[bchris02]

The complaint about Homeland are almost always about the past. Everything they have done since Jones took over has been stellar.

I agree with this. I live in Arizona now and the Homelands in OKC these days are as nice if not nicer than any Safeway out here. They did a stellar job on the 18th/Classen location. Now Fry's Marketplace, owned by Kroger, is another deal entirely. That's become my favorite grocery store.

[TheTravellers]

I agree with this. I live in Arizona now and the Homelands in OKC these days are as nice if not nicer than any Safeway out here. They did a stellar job on the 18th/Classen location. Now Fry's Marketplace, owned by Kroger, is another deal entirely. That's become my favorite grocery store.

Congrats on getting out, hope you're happier there...

[bchris02]

Congrats on getting out, hope you're happier there...

Thanks. Yeah I’m loving it out here so far.

[OKCbyTRANSFER]

Ah, I was thinking I haven't seen a lot of posts from you. Congrats on your move