Location: 4100 Park Avenue, Weehawken, NJ
I knew this day was coming sooner or later and so far I'm hating every minute of it. Acme is really switching this store up compared to other resets they've done in the area. Household products are all getting moved from the first few aisles to the opposite end of the store. Hard to tell yet where everything else is getting moved to at this point. The store is a mess. No signs of a décor swap and I suspect on won't be coming anytime soon. If Acme isn't bothering to fix up the dingy Jersey City store (more on that tomorrow), why would they put any money into this place, which is one of the most consistently clean grocery stores I have ever shopped in. Then again, a décor swap would be super easy here since the store doesn't need any other upgrades. A&P renovated every inch of this store, from floor to ceiling, back in 2012. Both Pathmark and Acme have managed to keep the place in pristine condition ever since.
Update: I'll be posting an update on the Jersey City store on Friday. The post didn't get finished for today. Also... a Bonus Store is coming on Monday!
Another update: I'll be posting an update on the Jersey City store on Saturday. Life just keeps throwing other things at me! Sorry to be such a messy blogger these days.
The seasonal aisle is getting some more shelving. All the half-high aisles on this side of the store have been built up a foot or two higher. The rear second half of this aisle is becoming a double wide. It looks like their putting in a designated health food department here but still hard to tell for sure. Black shelving is going in to the next aisle over from this one. One thing is for sure so far... the Weehawken Acme is getting TONS of new products on the shelves. Today I was shocked to see the new selection of organic powdered protein mix. Even bought some that was on sale!
Acme's standard issue black end caps are being installed throughout the store.
Loving the new Polar display! These seltzers are a regular item on my shopping list and guess what... Acme has them CHEAPER than ShopRite on a regular basis!!!
I'm probably in the minority here, but here goes anyway:
ReplyDeleteThe full store resets, where everything in the store is re-arranged, should never happen. Simply put, it causes too much chaos, especially when the store is open for business.
Grocery stores should try their hardest to get the resets done before opening, or possibly consider closing during the renovation/reset.
As always, just my opinion.
I guess you never worked in the industry. Ever year a couple thousanditems are introduced to the industry, some actually create totally new segments.Other items leave the market.Sections shrink or are expanded. Supermarkets need to turn the grocery department which has millions of dollars tied up in product quickly.Shelf allocations must be set up with this goal in line,so you do not run out of product and at the same time tie up cash and labor in your backrooms. That's why total store sets are done
ReplyDeleteThe reset in Weehawken is proving to be worth all of the chaos! The sections that are done look fantastic. TONS of new products are being brought in. The layout is making much more sense than it did in the Pathmark days... and I used to be able to shop here with a blind fold on!
ReplyDeleteI hear what you're both saying, I just don't understand why these types of things are done WHILE THE STORE IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS.
ReplyDeleteMy local ACME (King of Prussia, PA) had a major reset in Spring 2007 that dragged on for months. It got to the point that I started shopping elsewhere because I was sick of never being able to find anything.
Another major reset happened a couple years ago, resulting in the elimination of the middle aisle running across the store. On both of these occasions, the inconvenience of the reset made me reduce how often I shopped at this location.
As always, just my opinion.
Yes, a reset and the bare minimum investment was what was handed to KOP. Now the seasonal aisle has a huge 75% off section of product that didn't sell.
ReplyDeleteI was working in the Suburban Plaza store in Newark, Delaware as a vendor when they did a front to back top to bottom remodel while staying open. They tore out the bank and then systematically retiled the floor and moved things around a few times before some of them found their new home. They would have rolling stacks of bread trays with stuff in them. What a mess.
ReplyDeleteThe stores usually do look a lot better once they do a full reset but it is a pain in the ass for customers who shop at the store normally and everything gets moved around. The Weis I now service just went through this, and the amount of griping was crazy. And I only heard what I did while I was there.
But Gerry is right, sections grow or shrink and new categories come while others dry up and leave. K-Cups in coffee is a big one. And the switch from frozen concentrated juice to not from concentrate refrigerated juice. Enhanced water drops. Swiffer. Liquid detergent from powder. The growth/creation of ready to eat shelf stable foods. The explosion of the bottled water category.
Bottled water used to be gallons and high-end stuff. Now everybody and their brother has cases for $3.99. Or lower. Weis purified water is a 32 pack for $2.97.
Especially with smaller locations they have to figure out how to squeeze all the sections in while trying to maintain some adjancencies.
I always liked it when Acme had the center aisles. You could cut through without having to go down a whole aisle (which is probably what they want you to do). The center aisle also creates more endcaps which leads to an increase in display opportunities.
The Polar end is nice, but it looks like the same generic pressed wood endcap that both Pepsi and Canada Dry are using.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if the Polar is warehouse or DSD. I know Haddon House does it, and they sell a lot through Wegmans. I am surprised how far south Polar has gone. But Vintage needed some competition.
Back in the old days Vintage was owned by Concordville Beverages which was a subsidiary of Honickman (who also owns Pepsi and Canada Dry franchises). But they sold the Concordville plant and I believe the Elizabeth plant plus the Vintage brand. Concordville does a lot of generics. I remember them delivering directly from their warehouse to Acme for the 10 cent sales.