tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-628100700550321985.post101257888241587732..comments2024-03-28T03:22:39.407-04:00Comments on Albertsons Florida Blog: Hello Internet! Welcome to the Albertsons Florida Blog - Where It means a great post!Albertsons Florida Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17350708223049245195noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-628100700550321985.post-33899655931434304812016-08-04T22:29:37.472-04:002016-08-04T22:29:37.472-04:00By the time you left the company, the great declin...By the time you left the company, the great decline was just about to begin. Albertsons probably bit off more than they could chew with the purchase of American Stores. Most people agree that if they never purchased American Stores, Albertsons would be in a much better place now. But back in 1999 when Albertsons made that purchase, they wanted a national grocery empire, and their desire for that did nothing but cause the chain to nearly collapse a few years later. Cutting hours like that is also a sign of weakness, and usually is not a good sign about the future of a company.<br /><br />I always liked the look of the early 2000's Albertsons stores, even back then. The Albertsons I always went to all the time opened in 2000 and had the interior with the walk in beer cooler, individually stylized departments and spinning props. It was like nothing else I've seen. When Albertsons was doing all of this, Publix was still using their 90's pastel interior. Most new Publix stores aren't anything too exciting design wise. From what I understand, the new Britton Plaza Publix is smaller than the old Albertsons building. I don't know why they came back to that site, considering there's another Publix not to far away going south on Dale Mabry.Albertsons Florida Bloghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17350708223049245195noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-628100700550321985.post-48629421117400629662016-06-12T20:44:14.931-04:002016-06-12T20:44:14.931-04:00This is a neat blog and I like all the work you pu...This is a neat blog and I like all the work you put into it. I worked for Albertsons from 1991 to 2004. I't sad what happened to this company. I have made many friends who worked there and even my wife. One thing that puzzles me though is why people felt in the early 2000's that the Albertson's looked dated. They did drag their feet on some of the old stores but they really went all out on new stores and remodels. I worked at 4374 in Britton for most of my time with Albertsons. Around 1998 I became part of a team that set up the pharmacies in the new stores and remodeled the pharmacies in older stores. I always thought their newer stores were beautiful. They went all out decorating them with different types of flooring where the butcher block was and even walk through wine/beer coolers. To me, the Publix stores looked dated compared to the new or remodeled Albertsons. The new Publix stores look terrible in my opinion. They are a very contemporary design. Some of the ones they are opening up in NC look like art museums from the outside. I don't think I'm alone, I heard the new one that was built in Britton Plaza (old Albertsons 4374) isn't doing well at all. I heard people hate the design. The old beachy Publix's are the best. But back to Albertsons, as an employee, I think Albertsons had 2 big problems. The first was Albertsons was terrible about cutting hours. When it would get slow instead of having cashiers do other things they would send people home. Eventually they tried more and more to get by with fewer and fewer hours. It wasn't uncommon to walk into an Albertsons during a busy time and see 3 or 4 registers open and the rest closed. At Publix, if it gets busy or even hints at being backed up they open every register. People would complain all the time and eventually I think that people got sick of waiting in long lines at Albertsons. The second thing that hurt Albertsons in Florida was something that I was told by people in corporate positions. To my understanding, Albertsons merged with American Stores (who had enormous debt) and this is what ultimately led to its demise. When this happened, pretty much all the corporate Albertsons people were pushed out and people from American stores took their place. They were horrible and had no idea what the heck they were doing. I quit not long after that but they plummeted after that. I heard the debt was more than they could absorb and handle. People who I know had been with the company for decades were given their walking papers.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09242221609518225064noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-628100700550321985.post-54264500318241763792014-03-09T19:01:33.087-04:002014-03-09T19:01:33.087-04:00I didn't even realize that I left off Jewel-Os...I didn't even realize that I left off Jewel-Osco from that list! (Thanks for pointing that out - I added them in). I guess I relate Jewel-Osco with Albertsons so much that they completely slipped my mind when I made that. You are correct that the remaining Albertsons in Largo was a Jewel-Osco, and I believe that store was one of the largest (if not the largest) Albertsons to have ever operated in Florida at nearly 70,000 square feet, which is my theory as to why that store made the final four along with those three older stores. That, and Largo Mall does draw quite the crowd.Albertsons Florida Bloghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17350708223049245195noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-628100700550321985.post-71451907238850649742014-03-08T21:48:21.827-05:002014-03-08T21:48:21.827-05:00Jewel-Osco has a brief stint in the Tampa Bay area...Jewel-Osco has a brief stint in the Tampa Bay area around 1989. About two years later they made a hasty exit selling all their new Florida stores to...Albertsons. I think that remaining store in Largo was one of the former Jewel stores.Jimmynoreply@blogger.com