Kroger

[chuck5815]

And I thought that CNN had the market cornered on Fake News. Wow!

http://www.pbodom.com/images/PDFs/co...iptArticle.pdf

[bchris02]

Honestly discount vs tru mid-tier doesn't really matter to me. What matters to me is if the place is clean, if you can get in and out quickly, and if they have what I need. No grocery store in central OKC currently meets all of that criteria. The 18th and Classen Homeland fails all three. Crests (both the newer and older formats), Uptown Grocery, or the remodeled Homelands all do meet this criteria. Reasor's in Tulsa does as well and it would be a huge, huge deal if they were to ever expand into OKC.

I am really hoping that SQ 792 helps fix the grocery market here. It may take several years to do it but it should help grocery stores here be a little more profitable which hopefully translates into nicer stores with more locations (especially central OKC which is a grocery store desert..still).

[chuck5815]

Honestly discount vs tru mid-tier doesn't really matter to me. What matters to me is if the place is clean, if you can get in and out quickly, and if they have what I need. No grocery store in central OKC currently meets all of that criteria. The 18th and Classen Homeland fails all three. Crests (both the newer and older formats), Uptown Grocery, or the remodeled Homelands all do meet this criteria. Reasor's in Tulsa does as well and it would be a huge, huge deal if they were to ever expand into OKC.

I am really hoping that SQ 792 helps fix the grocery market here. It may take several years to do it but it should help grocery stores here be a little more profitable which hopefully translates into nicer stores with more locations (especially central OKC which is a grocery store desert..still).

it is really surprising that none of the grocers have pulled the trigger for a quasi-downtown location. i think an urban target would absolutely crush it in Midtown.

[Pete]

Kroger coming to OKC – with a twist

Kroger, second in size only to Walmart among grocers in the United States, will soon be entering the Oklahoma City market.

Kroger Fulfillment Network, a subsidiary of the grocery company, has submitted plans for a 49,000 square foot warehouse buildout on I-35 just south of Britton Road.

The facility will stock around 10,000 items and serve as a transfer point for online orders that originate at the company's mega-hub in Dallas, one of 20 huge and highly automated warehouses being constructed throughout the country.

Several sources told OKCTalk that Kroger had been scouting the market for traditional store locations before the national COVID-19 pandemic. Now, it appears they will come to Central Oklahoma as a delivery-only service.

Two years ago, Kroger announced ambitious plans to focus on an e-commerce delivery model thereby reaching markets where there are no physical Kroger grocery stores. They have already opened in Florida where they had previously lacked any retail presence and will be taking the same approach in the Northeast.

Kroger seems to be planning the same tactic in the OKC area. Typically, such a 'spoke' facility will serve deliveries in a radius of 90 miles and create 150 jobs.

Unlike stores that use third-party gig-economy drivers, deliveries will be made by Kroger refrigerated delivery vans that offer elevated service by employees that will be able to manage order changes and answer questions.

Orders can be placed on the Kroger website or through their smartphone app. Through various forms of automation similar to Amazon facilities, the total cost is positioned to compete with in-store purchases.

The main Dallas facility is nearing completion and then the local delivery network will be established. Kroger could start delivering orders in the area by the end of 2022.

[BoulderSooner]

this is fantastic news ..

[Pete]

I hinted at this in the thread about a West Edmond grocery store.

Between Kroger and Amazon, I believe most city MSA's will soon have very competitive grocery delivery models that will fill many existing holes and start changing the way people shop for groceries. This would mean fresh food would be available almost anywhere; food deserts, downtown and to the elderly and others who can't easily go get their own items.

Kroger is making an Amazon-like investment in infrastructure and will be using their own employees who will work with customers upon delivery to fix orders and answer questions.

The service has already taken off in Florida where like Oklahoma, Kroger has no retail stores.

The key is doing all this for reasonable fees (hence, the heavy automation) and by employees trained and enabled to satisfy any issues.

[MagzOK]

This is really wonderful. We shopped at Kroger growing up in the Dallas area. Those stores are very clean and tidy and no doubt that is a sign of good clean groceries coming out of a distribution center. Kroger is a nice upscale grocer and while I wish we were getting a brick and mortar store here. And though I won't personally use it, this delivery service should be pretty good for those in the market of grocery deliveries.

[Plutonic Panda]

Not really thrilled this will be a delivery only service. Hopefully at some point they reconsider that and place a few brick and mortar stores.

[Bowser214]

Growing in Western Oklahoma I remember every Thanksgiving going to visit Grandparents in Hutchison KS and we would stop by Dillions and get a sack of their all purpose flour. It was seasoned and made the best fried chicken!

[TheTravellers]

Not really thrilled this will be a delivery only service. Hopefully at some point they reconsider that and place a few brick and mortar stores.

Yeah, we just can't do delivery of produce and meat - we cook a lot and have to look at the ingredients in person, I don't want some random person deciding what to give us (we've seen the employees doing online shopping for customers pick stuff out and just nope). Also, we usually have some specific items that can't really be substituted for every few weeks, don't want to deal with that either. And finally, sometimes we see things that go well together and can make a meal out of, which wouldn't happen if we just ordered online. We don't have kids, and are picky/specific shoppers, so we're probably not the target demographic for them.

[MagzOK]

Yeah, we just can't do delivery of produce and meat - we cook a lot and have to look at the ingredients in person, I don't want some random person deciding what to give us (we've seen the employees doing online shopping for customers pick stuff out and just nope). Also, we usually have some specific items that can't really be substituted for every few weeks, don't want to deal with that either. And finally, sometimes we see things that go well together and can make a meal out of, which wouldn't happen if we just ordered online. We don't have kids, and are picky/specific shoppers, so we're probably not the target demographic for them.

Same ^

[Pete]

There are some people that will want to do their shopping in person, just like the many people who prefer to drive to a store rather than use Amazon.

But that construct is shifting more and more every day and I'm willing to bet that a lot of people will start grocery shopping in a different way when the delivery option becomes readily available and reasonable.

The grocery business in the U.S. is almost $700 *billion* a year. Won't be long until enough sizeable delivery infrastructure will be in place to get a good slice of that market.

[Brett]

The refrigerated delivery trucks, although a great idea, will cause the customer's bill to be inflated. Most everybody is price sensitive due to inflation. I would hope that an option for an on-site pick-up / drive-thru could be explored.

[Pete]

^

They will also be saving a fortune by not paying for traditional stores which are notorious for high overhead.

[mugofbeer]

^

They will also be saving a fortune by not paying for traditional stores which are notorious for high overhead.

It will be an interesting experiment to watch. I have 3 King Sooper (owned by Kroger) stores within 1 1/2 miles of my house and l can tell you by easy observation they are having a heck of a time finding employees - like everyone else. So store cost AND available employees.

I've had virtually no complaints about King Soopers in 20 years. Wal Mart is cheaper but KS runs good specials, has a ton of good private label products and a good deli-some selling Boar's Head products.

[catch22]

It will be an interesting experiment to watch. I have 3 King Sooper (owned by Kroger) stores within 1 1/2 miles of my house and l can tell you by easy observation they are having a heck of a time finding employees - like everyone else. So store cost AND available employees.

I've had virtually no complaints about King Soopers in 20 years. Wal Mart is cheaper but KS runs good specials, has a ton of good private label products and a good deli-some selling Boar's Head products.

I do about 99% of my grocery shopping at King Soopers. In Portland and the NW it is called Fred Meyer but basically the exact same as KS. Kroger does a good job I think.

[Pete]

In California, the Kroger stores are known as Ralphs and it was by far my favorite mainstream grocer.

[Ward]

^^^ Loved the Ralphs in California, Stater Bros not so much.

I was in a Krogers in DFW a couple of days ago, actually Southlake TX. The Krogers was reasonable clean but prices, in my opinion, were very high.

They only had 2 full service cashier stations open and staffed, and all the self serve checkout stations were open and running, but the woman running the self serve was grouchy and mean as heck. This was at 6:30 PM Tuesday evening.

I also went to Central Market. Love me some Central Market (upscale HEB operation).

Everytime I'm in Green Valley AZ I go to the Fry's Grocery next door in Sahuarita AZ. That is an awesome store, they are owned by Krogers.

[Jeepnokc]

We hit HEB when we are in South Padre. Great store brands. My wife is in love with their store made Guacatillo dip

[Ward]

"The service has already taken off in Florida where like Oklahoma, Kroger has no retail stores."

Florida has Publix grocery stores, and Publix is supreme in customer service. I don't think anyone can beat Publix, at least so far anyway. They seem to be relentless in customer service and people there are very loyal.

[mugofbeer]

We hit HEB when we are in South Padre. Great store brands. My wife is in love with their store made Guacatillo dip

They're getting closer. DFW now.

[April in the Plaza]

Will be interesting to see how this plays out. The average consumer expects just about all products to be delivered either for free or at a nominal fee. I would think the Instacart / Shipt model is probably more workable (than charging a large fee on each order) in the current environment.

https://nypost.com/2021/12/26/whole-...-delivery-fee/

[Pete]

In Florida where Kroger just started a delivery-only service that will be very similar to what we will see in the OKC area, they charge $6.95 per delivery or you can pay a $79 annual charge for unlimited delivery.

This isn't much different than Amazon Prime and there is a big difference: Kroger deliveries are by an employee who interacts with customers and can answer questions and fix problems on the spot, like unsatisfactory produce.

[BoulderSooner]

In Florida where Kroger just started a delivery-only service that will be very similar to what we will see in the OKC area, they charge $6.95 per delivery or you can pay a $79 annual charge for unlimited delivery.

This isn't much different than Amazon Prime and there is a big difference: Kroger deliveries are by an employee who interacts with customers and can answer questions and fix problems on the spot, like unsatisfactory produce.

that seems like a great pricing model ..

[fortpatches]

that seems like a great pricing model ..

And it is cheaper than the Walmart+ price of $98/yr