Maybe I jumped on this a bit too early, but I still don't think my source had completely malicious intents. I'm not saying that anything has been confirmed or denied about the Safeway conversions, but I think it will be best if this post goes away until some news articles or pictures of these conversions are found, and I will also be doing some investigating of my own.
Please be understanding of this,
AFB
Looking forward to seeing the end result either way!
ReplyDeleteMy wife and I are visiting in the Largo area this week. We were in the Largo store on 11/24, and noticed the Safeway version of several items alongside the Signature Select items. (I do some work for Footprint in some Shaw's stores and was curious how Albertsons was coming along in their store brand conversions from the EE product.) Perimeter signage has all been stripped above the meat case and side walls. There is what looks to be a new frozen case going in just to the left of Produce. To me, it was obvious that something was up. I asked the cashier if they were doing a remodel . . . she just said yes. Meanwhile, the bag boy spilled his guts and said they were becoming a Safeway! Later. when I was looking for news articles on my computer, I discovered the AFB site! Nice work!
ReplyDeleteI had a full post on the topic that I posted the other day (which it sounds like you might have seen), but due to a high amount of skepticism, I pulled it until some harder evidence came to light since everyone thinks I'm just spreading rumors now. What you just described is what I saw at the Altamonte store back in October (minus the frozen foods case replacement). I visited back when the work was halted due to the pending name change. I think Albertsons is just waiting to make an official announcement on this, as it seems like they're trying to keep this under wraps right now. Thanks for telling us about that, and glad you like the site!
DeleteI was going to email you an update on the Largo Albertsons, but I see the previous comment beat me to it.
ReplyDeleteA couple months ago, they had new registers installed and I was beginning to wonder if that was the extent of the "remodel." Then I started seeing Safeway items on the shelves and like the previous commenter was wondering if they were converting to Safeway.
It was about a week ago I went in and found the remodel in progress. Like the previous commenter mentioned, most of the interior signage is down and a few shelves have been moved. I'll keep you updated on the developments.
The Safeway products on the shelf are just a part of the integration of Albertsons with Safeway. Even Albertsons stores that aren't converting to a Safeway banner will be getting some Safeway branded products until the new more generic Signature Select name is rolled out onto everything. However, these remodels to bring the stores to the Safeway look were supposed to have begun last week, like you pointed out. Albertsons did make some minimal changes to the stores before that when the stores were supposed to be remodeled and keep the Albertsons name, but those remodels were stopped fairly quickly, although some stores, like Altamonte, did already have the decor stripped from the walls before construction was halted. Please keep us updated, and alert us if you notice any signage with Safeway logos going up inside or outside the store. Thanks for the update!
DeleteFrom the sounds of it, it really sounds like the stores are remaining Albertsons and people are just getting confused. As of late October, the Albertsons in southern Louisiana have just begun to receive new Signature products, and a prior trip to Randalls reveals that despite the new Signature brand is being rolled out, many items with the Safeway name exist in the system. Becoming a Safeway isn't outside the realm the possibility, but right now, that's all rumors.
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ReplyDeleteI didn't know that the planned renovations had been stopped, or that renovations at the Altamonte store had been stopped when they were already underway. That's interesting info. I will keep you updated.. As of today, there's still an Albertsons sign on the building.
ReplyDeleteAny more progress either way?
ReplyDeleteNothing yet. I'm still planning on doing my own investigation on this sometime next week, and will hopefully find an answer.
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