Albertsons/Safeway in Tucson, AZ

[arizonaguy]

I had a chance to visit Tucson today and I wanted to check out the status of the 2 stores that were re-acquired from Haggen as well as the status of 2 other "small" or "unique" stores.

Unlike Phoenix, where Fry's is #1 in store count and market share (of traditional chains); Albertsons/Safeway is #1 in Tucson. In fact, in many areas Albertsons/Safeway has several stiles within a 2 - 3 mile radius. This is especially true along Silverbell Rd. in the West side of Tucson where, once the store at Silverbell/Speedway re-opens, Albertsons/Safeway will have 3 stores within a 2 mile stretch of Silverbell:2 Safeways (Silverbell/Grant and Silverbell/St. Mary's) and 1 Albertsons (Silverbell/Speedway).

On the east side of Tucson, once the store at Broadway/Houghton re-opens, Albertsons/Safeway will have 2 stores within 1 mile of one another (1 Albertsons at Broadway/Harrison and 1 Safeway at Broadway/Houghton). The Safeway divested to Haggen at Broadway/Camino Seco that wasn't re-acquired would've made the 3rd in a 2 mile stretch of Broadway. In addition, they currently have 3 stores within 3.5 miles of one another (Grant/Craycroft (Safeway), Grant/Tanque Verde (Albertsons), and Sabino Canyon/Tanque Verde (Safeway).

The reason for this was that in 2001 Safeway acquired 8 Tucson stores from other operators: 7 from Fleming's ABCO Desert Market division and 1 former Smith's location. In addition, Albertsons never closed any of its 7 Tucson area stores since Albertsons LLC took over the stores from the former Albertsons Inc.

Anyways, the 1st stop on the photo tour is the former Albertsons turned Haggen turned future Albertsons at Silverbell / Speedway. This store was built around 2000/2001 and was built with a garden center (unfortunately not pictured). There were a lot of employees / construction workers working on this store and the sign on the door states that it will re-open as Albetsons on March 2. This store is being remodeled into the Albertsons LLC decor (as faintly visible in the 3rd and 4th photos).









The next photo stop is the Safeway (the only original Safeway in this 2.5 mile stretch of Silverbell) at Silverbell / St. Mary's Rd. This Safeway was built in the 1970s and has the lifestyle decor, a Pharmacy, and a Starbucks but is on the smaller side (and smaller than anything that Safeway operates in Phoenix). There are no signs that this store will be closing upon the re-opening of the nearby Albertsons. This store did not seem to get the lighting "upgrade" that other Safeway stores got (as it still has the lifestyle lighting over produce). The Pharmacy sign appears to have been taken from the shuttered Haggen as it is advising Haggen pharmacy customers to use the Pharmacy that is located at the Safeway store that the sign is placed inside).













Next up is the former Smith's (which closed in 1999) that Safeway acquired in 2001 and then became a Haggen at Broadway / Houghton. This store is being renovated into the Supervalu Star Market (post-lifestyle) decor package and while there is also a decent amount of construction / activity going on (although no opening date has been posted). It appears that this store will not open as quickly as the Silverbell / Speedway store.







Now, I wanted to treat you all to my personal favorite Safeway (Grant / Craycroft) aka. the Safeway that time forgot. This store doesn't have a pharmacy and it shocks me that it has been allowed to be open in this condition for as long as it has. Believe it or not, it seems to do decent volume and isn't in a bad neighborhood by any means.

[storewanderer]

Between the tacky monitor in meat and the manager who was paying enough attention to notice photos were being taken I wonder if this store has some theft issues. It seems like it is certainly large enough to do a decent lifestyle remodel on.

[arizonaguy]

Between the tacky monitor in meat and the manager who was paying enough attention to notice photos were being taken I wonder if this store has some theft issues. It seems like it is certainly large enough to do a decent lifestyle remodel on.

According to tax records, the store is approximately 35,750 square feet and was built in 1984. It's not huge, but it appears larger than the Tom Thumb I visited in Dallas that had a decent lifestyle decor.

I believe that Safeway got away with not doing anything to this store because they could afford to. The company invested a lot of capex in Tucson during the early 2000s (and were really the only chain to do so from 2001 - 2005ish). In 2001 they purchased 7 ABCO Desert Markets from Fleming as well as 1 Smith's that Kroger closed during the Fry's / Smith's integration. This grew their store count from 11 to 19.

Over the course of the 2000s they spent a significant amount of money expanding and renovating the former ABCOs, opened a few new stores, and replaced/rebuilt several of their other stores. It seems that the St. Mary's / Silverbell store (the lifestyle store pictured above) and the Grant / Craycroft store (which is the non-lifestyle store) were probably the 2 last stores on the list when the capex dried up. St. Mary's / Silverbell got renovated and Grant / Craycroft didn't.

This store isn't in a bad neighborhood. The intersection 1 mile west has a Trader Joe's / Barnes and Noble and the intersection 1 mile east has a Costco/Target/Albertsons among other retailers. In addition, the largest hospital in Tucson is diagonally NW of this store across the intersection of Grant / Kolb. I just can't imagine the store being very high theft especially with the register layout close to the entrance / exit.

[architect]

Wow, the wall/ceiling relationship at the Silverbell/St. Mary's store makes for really awkward Lifestyle decor. The white sloped ceiling around the perimeter departments looks especially strange. In Houston, there is a Randalls at 4800 W. Bellfort, Houston, TX 77035 which is in a similar situation. The ceiling of the produce area is so low that department signs, "Fresh from the Fields", etc. were omitted completely (Yelp/Foursquare photos show this). In addition, the paint in this portion of the store is an off-white rater than the typical Lifestyle tan/brown/red. There are also quite a few small Tom Thumb/Randalls locations (especially in Austin) in which the department signage was downscaled or the "arch" above was removed due to low ceilings.

It will be interesting to see the Broadway/Houghton completed renovation, as this could give us an idea of what to expect in the other Safeway stores moving forward. The earlier version of the Lifestyle decor is looking especially dated by now, and Albertsons really needs to look at giving these locations a refresh.

Lastly, at the Grant/Craycroft store, could a lack of investment/renovation be explained by plans to tear down and rebuild prior to the Safeway/Albertsons merger? If so, it will be interesting to see what Albertsons does with this store moving forward.

[pseudo3d]

Lastly, at the Grant/Craycroft store, could a lack of investment/renovation be explained by plans to tear down and rebuild prior to the Safeway/Albertsons merger? If so, it will be interesting to see what Albertsons does with this store moving forward.

Generally, a store in prep for a rebuild doesn't completely fall apart. Safeway's San Francisco stores had some stores with décor like this but they were kept up much nicer (I think one store still does have this one, though it's up for replacement).

[arizonaguy]

Wow, the wall/ceiling relationship at the Silverbell/St. Mary's store makes for really awkward Lifestyle decor. The white sloped ceiling around the perimeter departments looks especially strange. In Houston, there is a Randalls at 4800 W. Bellfort, Houston, TX 77035 which is in a similar situation. The ceiling of the produce area is so low that department signs, "Fresh from the Fields", etc. were omitted completely (Yelp/Foursquare photos show this). In addition, the paint in this portion of the store is an off-white rater than the typical Lifestyle tan/brown/red. There are also quite a few small Tom Thumb/Randalls locations (especially in Austin) in which the department signage was downscaled or the "arch" above was removed due to low ceilings.

It will be interesting to see the Broadway/Houghton completed renovation, as this could give us an idea of what to expect in the other Safeway stores moving forward. The earlier version of the Lifestyle decor is looking especially dated by now, and Albertsons really needs to look at giving these locations a refresh.

Lastly, at the Grant/Craycroft store, could a lack of investment/renovation be explained by plans to tear down and rebuild prior to the Safeway/Albertsons merger? If so, it will be interesting to see what Albertsons does with this store moving forward.

I haven't seen the wall/ceiling relationship at the Silverbell / St. Mary's store in any other Safeway store. According to county records, the store was built in 1980 and I assume it was built by Safeway. It's approximately the same size as the Grant / Craycroft store built in 1984 and appears to share common design elements with other early 1980s Safeways. I really like the high ceiling over the center store area and, while the ceiling looks a bit dated, it doesn't look bad by any stretch of the imagination.

As far as Broadway/Houghton, it's getting the same interior that the Safeway in Maryland got:

http://www.mymcmedia.org/countys-larges ... os-photos/

Safeway also used this interior at its Gig Harbor, WA location where it replaced the Haggen there. It was posted, by pseudo3d that this is actually a design first implemented at a Star Market under Supervalu ownership:

http://retaildesignblog.net/2012/01/03/ ... achusetts/

This appears to be the design that will eventually replace the lifestyle design in new stores and remodels.

As far as Grant / Craycroft, I believe Safeway may have intended to expand the store at some point. The store sits on a lot of land (there's a huge parking lot) and it wouldn't have been too difficult to enlarge it. I just believe that due to the demographics of the area it wasn't a high priority.

I don't understand what Albertsons / Safeway's game plan is for Tucson.

The two ex-Haggens are both 1 mile or less from existing stores. There are also 3 times as many Safeway stores versus Albertsons stores in Tucson so it's surprising to me that:

1.) The Silverbell / Speedway store will re-open as an Albertsons with a different decor package than the Broadway / Houghton.
2.) They're not using this as an opportunity to consolidate to one banner in the market.

Tucson has been very hostile to Walmart expansion in the past (similar to California). There really aren't places to put Supercenters in the developed part of town (Walmart is renovating their discount store at Kolb / Speedway into a supercenter). Therefore, the only mode for expansion is with Neighborhood Markets. Albertsons/Safeway may be stockpiling stores that can be marginally profitable in order to prevent Walmart expansion. Also, Fry's isn't nearly as strong in the areas that Albertsons/Safeway have added stores (no stores at all in West Tucson) and only 1 store 2 miles away from the Broadway / Houghton store (although they are building a new Marketplace store 1 mile south to replace their existing, "Dillon's designed" store at 22nd St. / Harrison).

Speaking of which, Fry's is facing resistance to its new store: http://tucson.com/news/local/govt-and-p ... c6697.html

As I've said before, Tucson hates "big box" retailers.

[arizonaguy]

Lastly, at the Grant/Craycroft store, could a lack of investment/renovation be explained by plans to tear down and rebuild prior to the Safeway/Albertsons merger? If so, it will be interesting to see what Albertsons does with this store moving forward.

Generally, a store in prep for a rebuild doesn't completely fall apart. Safeway's San Francisco stores had some stores with décor like this but they were kept up much nicer (I think one store still does have this one, though it's up for replacement).

The last store Safeway rebuilt in Tucson was its Broadway / Kino Pkwy. store which was a very sad looking store at the end.

[pseudo3d]

Wow, the wall/ceiling relationship at the Silverbell/St. Mary's store makes for really awkward Lifestyle decor. The white sloped ceiling around the perimeter departments looks especially strange. In Houston, there is a Randalls at 4800 W. Bellfort, Houston, TX 77035 which is in a similar situation. The ceiling of the produce area is so low that department signs, "Fresh from the Fields", etc. were omitted completely (Yelp/Foursquare photos show this). In addition, the paint in this portion of the store is an off-white rater than the typical Lifestyle tan/brown/red. There are also quite a few small Tom Thumb/Randalls locations (especially in Austin) in which the department signage was downscaled or the "arch" above was removed due to low ceilings.

It will be interesting to see the Broadway/Houghton completed renovation, as this could give us an idea of what to expect in the other Safeway stores moving forward. The earlier version of the Lifestyle decor is looking especially dated by now, and Albertsons really needs to look at giving these locations a refresh.

Lastly, at the Grant/Craycroft store, could a lack of investment/renovation be explained by plans to tear down and rebuild prior to the Safeway/Albertsons merger? If so, it will be interesting to see what Albertsons does with this store moving forward.

I haven't seen the wall/ceiling relationship at the Silverbell / St. Mary's store in any other Safeway store. According to county records, the store was built in 1980 and I assume it was built by Safeway. It's approximately the same size as the Grant / Craycroft store built in 1984 and appears to share common design elements with other early 1980s Safeways. I really like the high ceiling over the center store area and, while the ceiling looks a bit dated, it doesn't look bad by any stretch of the imagination.

As far as Broadway/Houghton, it's getting the same interior that the Safeway in Maryland got:

http://www.mymcmedia.org/countys-larges ... os-photos/

Safeway also used this interior at its Gig Harbor, WA location where it replaced the Haggen there. It was posted, by pseudo3d that this is actually a design first implemented at a Star Market under Supervalu ownership:

http://retaildesignblog.net/2012/01/03/ ... achusetts/

This appears to be the design that will eventually replace the lifestyle design in new stores and remodels.

As far as Grant / Craycroft, I believe Safeway may have intended to expand the store at some point. The store sits on a lot of land (there's a huge parking lot) and it wouldn't have been too difficult to enlarge it. I just believe that due to the demographics of the area it wasn't a high priority.

I don't understand what Albertsons / Safeway's game plan is for Tucson.

The two ex-Haggens are both 1 mile or less from existing stores. There are also 3 times as many Safeway stores versus Albertsons stores in Tucson so it's surprising to me that:

1.) The Silverbell / Speedway store will re-open as an Albertsons with a different decor package than the Broadway / Houghton.
2.) They're not using this as an opportunity to consolidate to one banner in the market.

Tucson has been very hostile to Walmart expansion in the past (similar to California). There really aren't places to put Supercenters in the developed part of town (Walmart is renovating their discount store at Kolb / Speedway into a supercenter). Therefore, the only mode for expansion is with Neighborhood Markets. Albertsons/Safeway may be stockpiling stores that can be marginally profitable in order to prevent Walmart expansion. Also, Fry's isn't nearly as strong in the areas that Albertsons/Safeway have added stores (no stores at all in West Tucson) and only 1 store 2 miles away from the Broadway / Houghton store (although they are building a new Marketplace store 1 mile south to replace their existing, "Dillon's designed" store at 22nd St. / Harrison).

Speaking of which, Fry's is facing resistance to its new store: http://tucson.com/news/local/govt-and-p ... c6697.html

As I've said before, Tucson hates "big box" retailers.

Although there are a few exceptions (IIRC, an Albertsons-turned-Haggen is turning to Vons in SoCal, while there's a Vons-turned-Haggen is going Albertsons in Las Vegas), Albertsons seems to want to keep Safeway and Albertsons segregated right now, including different décor packages, and converting Haggen stores back to their original names. That's not entirely a bad idea, as right now, there are still some significant differences between Albertsons and Safeway in overlapping markets, such as the shopper's card in Safeway. As things continue to homogenize, then probably the Albertsons name will disappear in Tucson.

[Super S]

I haven't seen the wall/ceiling relationship at the Silverbell / St. Mary's store in any other Safeway store. According to county records, the store was built in 1980 and I assume it was built by Safeway. It's approximately the same size as the Grant / Craycroft store built in 1984 and appears to share common design elements with other early 1980s Safeways. I really like the high ceiling over the center store area and, while the ceiling looks a bit dated, it doesn't look bad by any stretch of the imagination.

The former Safeway in Kelso, Washington's Riverway Plaza had a similar appearance. As I recall, that setup originally had fluorescent strip lights just inside the angled part of the ceiling panels which lit up the wall signs. The former Kelso store I believe is a late 1970s build, as there used to be a photo on display that showed the store with the ash cloud from the 1980 Mt. St. Helens eruption behind it. The location is now a Wilco farm store and the interior was completely gutted.

[arizonaguy]

I've been checking sources and they haven't announced the closing of the Grant / Craycroft store. I'm shocked as it seems to fall in line with the other stores they're closing in their other divisions.