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| Photo Courtesy of Adam R. |
Thanks to Pseudo3D for sending in the link to this article. The Tampa Bay Times published an article yesterday about the Largo Albertsons. The article, which you can read here, talks about the economic mystery of why Albertsons has chosen to keep the three Florida stores, and remodel them even though they are not a major player in Florida's supermarket industry anymore. While that is mentioned, the main focus of the article is on the loyal shoppers who continue to patronize the last Albertsons in Tampa Bay, even after the majority of Albertsons' stores in Florida closed over the last decade. From the article, it seems as if there are still plenty of Albertsons fans out there. I like this one shopper's reasoning for why he prefers to shop at Albertsons over the other grocery stores in the area: "I come here because I don't like Publix taking over everything. And I love their cookies." (Those Albertsons chocolate chip cookies he was referring to from the bakery are pretty good). Even if the remaining Albertsons stores only do half the sales that a typical Publix would, those sales are enough to keep Albertsons alive in Florida, for the time being anyway. It's a pretty interesting article, and I recommend reading it if you have a chance. Also, one last thing to mention is the last line in the article: "Neither Proffitt [Albertsons's Houston Division spokeswoman] nor the company president would elaborate on why they are retaining the Florida stores." Hmmm...I don't know if it's just the way that's phrased, but it makes it seem like Albertsons does have some kind of secret motive for keeping the three Florida stores alive. I just wish I knew what it was.
And before finishing this off, just another reminder there will be a new store post on the 20th.
So Until Next Time,
The Albertsons Florida Blogger
Interesting article! I agree about the grocery store bond - but I will qualify that that's probably to be found more in an uncrowded store like Albertsons than busy Publix. For example, before the Hernando Walmart was built, we shopped at the Southaven store, what was once considered the country's busiest Walmart - needless to say I didn't feel like I was breaking a bond when we stopped shopping there!!
ReplyDeletePeople are very loyal to their grocery stores. I've witnessed it personally. I do know some very loyal Publix shoppers, some of which won't go anywhere else for their grocery shopping. I'm the type that does prefer shopping at places where there aren't lots of crowds to deal with. I don't think I've ever seen a Publix that isn't crowded, but their stores are nothing compared to the craziness I usually see at Walmart. I don't blame you for making the switch!
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