Yesterday I went on a huge Acme road trip and discovered some interesting things along the way...
• It's Acme's 120 birthday! Stores were celebrating with cake and soda at the front end. Store signage was limited regarding the celebration. The image above is a picture of a sign outside one of the stores (hence the slightly odd angle of the logo.) I did see a chip display that had this logo printed all over it and the logo is also on the front of this week's circular. Looks like yesterday was the official kick-off of the celebration.
• 10 for $10 promotion finally over? Acme unveiled this promotion years ago. It was catchy at first but soon every other stores on the planet offered the same kind of deals. As it ran it's course elsewhere, Acme stuck with it. Never really made sense to me... you didn't need to buy 10 items to get them for $10. And there were always more items on special than just 10. Oh well... looks like they've taken a simpler approach and now just have the "$1" sale. The 10 for $10 departments appear to have been rebranded as "Great Deals!".
• Less is more? One of the most interesting things I noticed in store after store, was the mass reduction in random displays up and down the aisles and along the front ends. Was this just a coincidence or is Acme reducing the clutter? Stores seem to be more streamlined and organized. Particularly along the front end. I was in several smaller stores which are normally packed to the rafters with merchandise. That wasn't the case yesterday. Gone too was all the general merchandise that is normally stacked on top of the aisles and on top of the cases around the perimeter of the stores. I was only in about 8 stores so it's hard to declare a chain-wide trend but as Acmes go I was surprised... and impressed... to see so much open space and a seemingly new level of organization.
hope ya'll are prepared for the next round of closings...it's only going to get uglier. they can celebrate the 120 years all they want, isn't many more left. supervalus refusal to be competitive is acmes demise. rumors down the grapvine there is going to be more store closings this year...some where left off this round to not shake shareholders more...
ReplyDeletealso...acme plays subliminal music on their intercoms before closing stores, songs like "i'm out of work and need a job" (meaning the store is closing) "don't fear the reaper" (to be interpreted) "take the money and run" (referring to the buyout) "i miss you" "those where the good old days" (to be inerpreted) ...instead of the usual upbeat songs.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I really don't see how Acme will survive another 120 years unless someone buys them who knows how to make the store compete. Wasn't there a rumor not that long ago that Kroger was interested in buying Acme? Honestly, Supervalu is just being a dead horse.
ReplyDeleteSupermarkets annoy the hell out of me with clutter in their aisles. Acme was one of the worst, if not THE worst, in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteOn all the posts raised above:
ReplyDelete--There's going to be advertising for the 120 years thing. They're even running announcements by Dan Sanders, company president, touting this in the store. It's a little more than they did for the 115th, though well behind the 100th celebration back in 1991.
--Yes, 10 for $10 and some other pricing nomenclatures (like "2 for $5" and stuff like that) are being phased out. The reason is obvious - I think any employee was familiar with the whole "Do I have to buy ten?!" refrain from the customers. Making things worse were certain sales, like on cereal or soda, where you HAD to buy a certain amount.
--The elimination of wings in the aisles is at least a decision made on district level, if not a directive from Malvern. It's an improvement because it opens up the aisles significantly.
Malvern is doing what they can to do the stores, and these little touches are helping. They aren't the problem with Acme. Supervalu is the problem with Acme.
Well, I may as well join in with all this negative fan fare...I really can't see Acme making their 125th anniversary, as a matter of fact asking for 121 would be a lot.
ReplyDeleteAs for closing stores, I think stores in Chester County and Delaware County will be picked before this summer.
I read online somewhere a remark by Wendell Young III that SuperValu does not know how to run retail operations, well look at Save-A-Lot...Adme's own sister company is killing Acme just as well as ShopRite, maybe even faster.
^ I highly doubt that they will go belly-up in a year. HIGHLY unlikey. Could it happen in five years? Possible. Honestly, I don't want the only supermarket in my area to be Shop-Rite. Shop-Rite's a good store, don't get me wrong but I want to see Shop-Rite continue to compete. Without any competition, their low prices will be no more.
ReplyDeleteHi, In case any one hasn!t noticed. SuperValu only closes stores once a year and this is across the country, So, the next go around will not be to next year.
ReplyDeleteThe problem is Super Valu and their huge debt load, which is sucking up the life out of Acme.
Fun things like Acme being and indirect account like Redners and being charged a 6 percent upcharge on groceries and then having to pay the Acme Drivers( those all working in A Warehouse that Acme no longer opperates0 on top of the 6 percent fee is killing them.
What would be best for all if these idiots were forced to to spin off all of the east coast retail groups and Jewel sign a ten year distribution contract with them and allow the retail company to go its own way. Hope fully it would be headed by a Grocer not a former Walmart Halfwit like the one who runs Super Valu
Hoping we can all celebrate an Acme 125th anniversary five years from now along with an A&P 155th anniversary down the road and a Super Fresh 30th anniversary next year.
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