Jump to content

Is Randall's Grocery Stores Going To Go Away?


Recommended Posts

if they are having problems why would you expect kroger or HEB to move in?

I still believe it's a viable location. I can't imagine that a store couldn't do well servicing the DT/MT market. Plus, I'm willing to wager there are a number of residents that still drive out to the Kroger on West Gray because Randalls tends to be a bit pricier, because they try to be an "upscale" grocery store, whatever that is. The brand hasn't been doing well either, so I wonder how much that has to do with success/failure of this location. If nothing else, Wal Mart Neighborhood Market makes sense like the one that opened in 2005 (?) in Uptown Dallas right off of 75.

Again, nothing but a rumor, that I hope to be not true since I do all of my shopping there, and am there at least 2-3 times a week.

Randalls on Wikipedia "Stores in the Randalls and Tom Thumb chains tend to be slightly more upscale and expensive than competitors such as Kroger... In early 2005, Safeway was rumored to be attempting to sell the then 138-store Randall's division. Instead, Safeway announced by the end of the year it would close 15 Randall's stores in the Houston area, one in Austin, and nine Tom Thumb stores in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.Following the closures Randall's/Tom Thumb operated 62 stores in Dallas, 36 in Houston and 14 in Austin. Safeway said the move would revitalize the Texas division and that it planned to remodel stores to fit its "Lifestyle" format and introduce proprietary products."

Edited by CSOM
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I still believe it's a viable location. I can't imagine that a store couldn't do well servicing the DT/MT market. Plus, I'm willing to wager there are a number of residents that still drive out to the Kroger on West Gray because Randalls tends to be a bit pricier, because they try to be an "upscale" grocery store, whatever that is.
i hear people here talking about how whole foods and central market are sooooo good that that is the only place they shop for groceries. with your comment on the Kroger, it just makes me think that people in midtown are "picky" about their shopping and a plain Randall's just won't do it. I know at least one person in my neighborhood (pecan park) who shops at whole foods. his profile begins with a D and ends with an ANAX. ;)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

i hear people here talking about how whole foods and central market are sooooo good that that is the only place they shop for groceries. with your comment on the Kroger, it just makes me think that people in midtown are "picky" about their shopping and a plain Randall's just won't do it. I know at least one person in my neighborhood (pecan park) who shops at whole foods. his profile begins with a D and ends with an ANAX. ;)

I went to Whole Foods for the first time a couple of weeks ago. I found it very stressful. The whole thing seemed unnecessarily complicated, and instead of having two or three or four choices for a product there are 15 or 20 each from another tiny little company you've never heard of.

People have told me they could spend all day shopping at Whole Foods. They meant it in a good way. I agree with them in a bad way.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Midtown Randall's is the closest store to me, but I avoid it for all but pharmacy purchases. The service is terrible, the selection isn't that great (we have been spoiled by Kroger on Gray), and I grow tired of being asked for money by the people that they let loiter in the parking lot.

I don't know if they are more expensive than Kroger, but there is more to grocery shopping than prices. Service is really important to me, and I don't think their front end staff does a good job (must be tough to get decent checkers and baggers these days). I especially dislike that they attempt to call me by my name. It isn't providing personal service when you can read it off the receipt!

I would love to see another chain (especially HEB) take it over.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest danax
I know at least one person in my neighborhood (pecan park) who shops at whole foods. his profile begins with a D and ends with an ANAX. ;)

I'd bet I'm the only one too, but it's not like I run across town to shop, I just stop on the way home from work once a week or so, unless I run out of food on the weekend. Shopping is fast and easy when you enter the store knowing exactly what you want. I buy the exact same thing every time, and the other grocers don't have those items for the most part, except for fruit.

I go to Randall's in Midtown once in awhile for weekend snacks since it's much closer than WF and has some "health food" items that HEB lacks. It seems no different than a signature Krogers so I wonder if even the grocers themselves ever really figure out why people will drive farther to shop somewhere where everything appears almost identical. I agree with travelguy that being panhandled, even by "legitimate" groups trying to sell something, might cause me to avoid a place.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i hear people here talking about how whole foods and central market are sooooo good that that is the only place they shop for groceries. with your comment on the Kroger, it just makes me think that people in midtown are "picky" about their shopping and a plain Randall's just won't do it. I know at least one person in my neighborhood (pecan park) who shops at whole foods. his profile begins with a D and ends with an ANAX. ;)

I would think a lot of people are picky about their shopping. When I lived in Minneapolis there was an "upscale" grocery store right next door that I never went to because Cub Foods was much cheaper. That's sort of the Randall's/Kroger comparison.

As for the pan-handling, I'm not sure when you go, but like I said I'm there all the time and I'm never bugged really by anyone. If I am I just ignore it and keep walking. Really it's no different than being hassled at other stores by school groups, etc. that I couldn't care less about. They still want my money and are bugging me for it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I still believe it's a viable location. I can't imagine that a store couldn't do well servicing the DT/MT market. Plus, I'm willing to wager there are a number of residents that still drive out to the Kroger on West Gray because Randalls tends to be a bit pricier, because they try to be an "upscale" grocery store, whatever that is. The brand hasn't been doing well either, so I wonder how much that has to do with success/failure of this location. If nothing else, Wal Mart Neighborhood Market makes sense like the one that opened in 2005 (?) in Uptown Dallas right off of 75.

Again, nothing but a rumor, that I hope to be not true since I do all of my shopping there, and am there at least 2-3 times a week.

Randalls on Wikipedia "Stores in the Randalls and Tom Thumb chains tend to be slightly more upscale and expensive than competitors such as Kroger... In early 2005, Safeway was rumored to be attempting to sell the then 138-store Randall's division. Instead, Safeway announced by the end of the year it would close 15 Randall's stores in the Houston area, one in Austin, and nine Tom Thumb stores in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Following the closures Randall's/Tom Thumb operated 62 stores in Dallas, 36 in Houston and 14 in Austin. Safeway said the move would revitalize the Texas division and that it planned to remodel stores to fit its "Lifestyle" format and introduce proprietary products."

I would have a real hard time thinking of Randalls as being "upscale." They were once, but now they're just Safeway under a different name. The brand has been failing I think not because they are too expensive - look at how well Whole Foods or Central Market does - but because Randall's/Safeway lacks the selection and just seems less of an enjoyable shopping experience as Kroger on West Gray (I love the olive bar!)

While we are on the topic of rumored Randalls closing, I heard the same thing about the location on Westheimer at Shepherd. I tend to doubt this one, since they recently completed a major remodeling, but it doesn't seem to have increased business there. Even remodeled, the place just has somewhat of a junky look, with big cartons stacked on top of the shelving.

I wouldn't be surprised if the Midtown location would do better if another chain took it over.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't know how these things are done, but maybe it would be cheaper for another chain because they wouldn't have the leftover debt from building the store in the first place?

Or if the building is owned by a developer, maybe a new store would be in a stronger position to negotiate lower lease rates from the building owner since it seems to be a building that is pretty custom-designed for grocery use.

Again, it's obvious that I'm not in real estate. Perhaps someone who is can say something more intelligent.

Randall's is hurting in a big way. They've been losing market share in the Houston area for several years. The wikipedia entry is accurate in that they try to occupy an upscale position within the market for non-specialty grocers (i.e. HEB, Kroger, Fiesta, Wal-Mart Supercenter, etc.), but they've just gotten squeezed from all sides in a business where there are very low margins. In the suburbs, HEB and Wal-Mart are crowding out any attempts at expansion on their part, and inside the city, changing demographics and the introduction of specialty grocers have been hurtful.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if the Midtown store ultimately didn't turn out to be feasible, but big corporations don't tend to have the same problems as independent grocers in that if they make a big capital investment that has lower yields than expected, the rest of the company can usually cover the capital outlay rather than any single store becoming financially distressed and closing. They view the construction cost as a sunk cost and as long as there are operating profits whose present value is in excess of what the store could be sold for, the store remains open. Since grocers have proprietary formats that other tenants would have to do an expensive remodel to be able to use, grocers have to be really hurting to be able to justify a store closure/divestiture.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

if they are having problems why would you expect kroger or HEB to move in?

Maybe I have this wrong, but I understood CSOM's rumor about Randall's problems applying to the whole chain, not the Midtown location. If that's the case, then it will be only a matter of time before another grocer moves in. I'd love for Kroger of HEB as well. DOes HEB have any "urban" store locations in its portfolio?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Maybe I have this wrong, but I understood CSOM's rumor about Randall's problems applying to the whole chain, not the Midtown location. If that's the case, then it will be only a matter of time before another grocer moves in. I'd love for Kroger of HEB as well. DOes HEB have any "urban" store locations in its portfolio?

A source that services the grocery industry tells me that Randall's is suffering and may be re-evaluating the midtown location.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Whole foods is too expensive, but Central Market is great. I like how Central Market has lots of organics but not everything is organic so you often have a choice, and it seems to be a lot cheaper than Whole Foods. Some things are even cheaper than Fiesta, and the shopping experience is much better than Fiesta or Randal's (or Whole Foods in my opinion).

If there were a Central Market anywhere near Downtown, Midtown, or the Museum District, it would be the only place where I would shop.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

RUMOR

A source that services the grocery industry tells me that Randall's is suffering and may be re-evaluating the midtown location. Has anyone else heard anything? That would be a major blow to DT/MT residential if that were to close. I'm thinking Kroger on West Gray or Fiesta on Fannin are the closest grocers otherwise? I can't imagine that would stay vacant too long until Kroger or HEB moved in. It is always busy when I go there.

Whole Foods would sweep that up in (2) seconds.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Maybe I have this wrong, but I understood CSOM's rumor about Randall's problems applying to the whole chain, not the Midtown location. If that's the case, then it will be only a matter of time before another grocer moves in.

That would be consistent with what I heard about the Shepherd location going down. Randalls already closed a large number of their Houston locations. It might just be a matter of time before they leave the market altogether to stronger competitors. I know a lot of locals feel that Safeway ruined a good local company.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i think a lot of folks are like me--value based shoppers. i don't see the extra value in shopping at the randalls relative to the increase in prices (substantial IMO). the location is much more convenient for me (or anyone coming hope off of I-45 or I-10) but i avoid this store because it's not a good value. i'd rather go to the krogers off montrose or gray.

thanks for the info. i'd love to see an HEB in that location.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That would be consistent with what I heard about the Shepherd location going down. Randalls already closed a large number of their Houston locations. It might just be a matter of time before they leave the market altogether to stronger competitors. I know a lot of locals feel that Safeway ruined a good local company.

I remember when one of the Randall's family members would star in the commercials.

It seems that they have not built any new store in ages, only closing them. If they don't do something, they will shutter all of them down.

i think a lot of folks are like me--value based shoppers. i don't see the extra value in shopping at the randalls relative to the increase in prices (substantial IMO).

Most of the Randalls store are just very 80's or 90's looking.

The thing is to have a warehouse feel now. We don't need to see generic cream colored tiles with ceiling grids in stores anymore.

We like the openess of HEB and the bare concrete floors.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The thing is to have a warehouse feel now. We don't need to see generic cream colored tiles with ceiling grids in stores anymore.

We like the openess of HEB and the bare concrete floors.

I think the Randall's stores on 34th and also at Buffalo Speedway have those formats. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's evident just by going in their stores that something is wrong at Randall's. The one at Weslayan and Bissonet stinks to high heaven every time you walk in. And others have mentioned their lack of selection, which is true, but there are two reasons why I will never set foot in a Randall's again. One is their pricing on milk. That doesn't sound like a big deal, but when they put gallons on sale 2 for $5, they neglect to mention that you have to buy two to get the sale price. I am single and cannot buy two whole gallons at once. So I had to pay the regular $3.49 for one gallon. And when I asked (well, complained) the cashier about it, reason #2 came into play - I received perhaps the single rudest response I've ever gotten about something - "THOSE are the RULES!!!" she yelled so the whole store could hear. You can bet I walked out of that store (the Shepherd one) and vowed never to return to Randall's again. And I haven't.

Where I live, I can conveniently choose between a giant Kroger, Rice Epicurean, Whole Foods and Central Market. I do not miss the two Randall's locations I could have gone to one bit.

(My biggest complaint about the Midtown location is that, unlike other Randall's, it is not Wells Fargo-affiliated.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A source that services the grocery industry tells me that Randall's is suffering and may be re-evaluating the midtown location.

I understood that point. My point was that I thought he was suggesting that Randall's was in trouble overall, not just the Midtown location. As you can see, Subdude had information on the Shepherd location being possibly re-evaluated. So there may be several (if not all) Randall's that are being "re-evaluated". I think that Midtown is just one of them.

So I think that the store itself (especially its location) is viable, "Randall's" as an entity may not be, though.

Edited by GovernorAggie
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Randall's (and to some degree Krogers) suffer from being somewhat generic in their product offerings - that is to say, they don't have their fingers on the pulse of what people in this market want. HEB does. Also, it seems that Randall's (ie. Safeway) feels that price gouging is perfectly acceptable.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's evident just by going in their stores that something is wrong at Randall's. The one at Weslayan and Bissonet stinks to high heaven every time you walk in. And others have mentioned their lack of selection, which is true, but there are two reasons why I will never set foot in a Randall's again. One is their pricing on milk. That doesn't sound like a big deal, but when they put gallons on sale 2 for $5, they neglect to mention that you have to buy two to get the sale price. I am single and cannot buy two whole gallons at once. So I had to pay the regular $3.49 for one gallon. And when I asked (well, complained) the cashier about it, reason #2 came into play - I received perhaps the single rudest response I've ever gotten about something - "THOSE are the RULES!!!" she yelled so the whole store could hear. You can bet I walked out of that store (the Shepherd one) and vowed never to return to Randall's again. And I haven't.

Where I live, I can conveniently choose between a giant Kroger, Rice Epicurean, Whole Foods and Central Market. I do not miss the two Randall's locations I could have gone to one bit.

(My biggest complaint about the Midtown location is that, unlike other Randall's, it is not Wells Fargo-affiliated.)

I wonder if you could buy the 2 gallons for $5 and then immediately take one to the customer service counter for a $2.50 refund.

Part of the problem with supermarkets in Houston (and many other cities) is that they're not really trying hard to compete against one another. What Houston needs is for one of the megamarket chains to move in. When I lived in Cincinnati (Kroger headquarters) there were two or three megamarket chains and there was fierce competition. By the time I left, every store in town from the megamarkets like Meijer to the regular supermakets like Kroger were selling milk for 99 cents a gallon just to get people in. THAT's competition, and THAT's good for the customers.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's evident just by going in their stores that something is wrong at Randall's. The one at Weslayan and Bissonet stinks to high heaven every time you walk in. And others have mentioned their lack of selection, which is true, but there are two reasons why I will never set foot in a Randall's again. One is their pricing on milk. That doesn't sound like a big deal, but when they put gallons on sale 2 for $5, they neglect to mention that you have to buy two to get the sale price. I am single and cannot buy two whole gallons at once. So I had to pay the regular $3.49 for one gallon. And when I asked (well, complained) the cashier about it, reason #2 came into play - I received perhaps the single rudest response I've ever gotten about something - "THOSE are the RULES!!!" she yelled so the whole store could hear. You can bet I walked out of that store (the Shepherd one) and vowed never to return to Randall's again. And I haven't.

You should have just walked out completely empty handed, and let the rude jackass put the Milk up, thems the rules !

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was recently in a Randall's at Westheimer and Gessner, at 8:30 on a Friday evening. There was almost nobody in the store, and it was kind of dark also . Not good. Add that to way-high prices on beer, anyway, and I can see they are hurting. And that's a Flagship Randall's, I believe.

I like Randall's in general, though. I've shopped there plenty, especially when I lived in Katy. But the competition is just brutal: Kroger and WalMart aren't going anywhere, and HEB is an absolute powerhouse.

We'll see. Fiesta seems to be hanging in there. They've had problems.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wonder if you could buy the 2 gallons for $5 and then immediately take one to the customer service counter for a $2.50 refund.

Part of the problem with supermarkets in Houston (and many other cities) is that they're not really trying hard to compete against one another. What Houston needs is for one of the megamarket chains to move in. When I lived in Cincinnati (Kroger headquarters) there were two or three megamarket chains and there was fierce competition. By the time I left, every store in town from the megamarkets like Meijer to the regular supermakets like Kroger were selling milk for 99 cents a gallon just to get people in. THAT's competition, and THAT's good for the customers.

What "megamarket chains" are you talking about? Houston is widely considered to be one of the most competitive grocery markets in the country. I'm not sure what makes you say they are "not really trying hard to compete against one another." Note that there are ways in which to compete other than loss leaders and, for that matter, price.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I know from working with the Midtown Management District a few years ago that the Randall's has never been very healthy. It's not the brand -- although that has declined with the Safeway buyout and is a contributing factor -- it's the location. There just aren't enough sales at that store to offset operating costs. It's pretty well known among chains operating locally, too, so I'd think they'd avoid moving in if Randall's closed.

Whole Foods or Central Market might be viable in Midtown, but not in that location. They'd need to build a really big one -- a "destination" grocery store that could draw customers from several miles away. The Randall's vision in Midtown was to draw people from about 2 miles away, along with a bit of MetroRail traffic. It has never worked to their projections.

Essentially, Midtown/Downtown is a small town of about 10,000-11,000 people. "Upscale" grocery stores just don't work in small towns...at least I've never really seen one work.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...