Ralphs Fresh Fare..................lol

[storewanderer]

The remodel was barely noticed (scant changes). Even the employees were confused.

Did not notice "the fresh fare" anywhere. I will check again.

Idk if all implementations of their latest new "fresh fare" decor have signs that say "the fresh fare." I have seen some stores that have that phrase and some that don't.

On another note, I was browsing Google Maps and saw that the Anaheim Hills Fresh Fare that was also recently remodeled to the "higher end" decor (and was a remodel that I know a lot of people had things to say about, which is how I found out it had a remodel) but I noticed on street view that the Fresh Fare exterior signs have been removed. Looks like another one has bitten the dust, and is a plain Ralphs now.

I thought I saw another fresh fare store somewhere that was de-branded to a regular Ralphs somewhere in the Glendale/Pasadena area, but I can't quite pinpoint which store that might be, but maybe someone else can... That one was more of a shock to me since that specific one I did find to be a higher end store in a higher end area.

Now from what I have seen on this forum and in other spots, that's now five stores I have seen with this change. They gotta make room for those fruit cart logos somewhere on the signage I guess

The fact that Anaheim Hills has changed is notable, because that was always the test store for a different version of Fresh Fare. That store had the expanded perimeter and more premium products, but it did not ever have Fresh Fare decor until the "Reclaimed" look showed up. It always had regular Ralphs decor and was remodeled a couple of times to the latest regular decor despite the Fresh Fare signage.

Ralphs has been replacing signs with terrible new LED ones that are awful. They remove the older dimensional plastic signs and replace with what is a glorified canvas disc with the logo printed on it, and remove the guts of the sign then install a grid of LED blocks. At night the LED blocks glow so brightly inside that they look like about 32 lit up squares that actually make it impossible to see the name Ralphs. They are doing this for energy savings so it makes sense to swap out the individual lit letters on FF formats for the standard oval Ralphs sign simply because it's cheaper. I'm assuming nobody in Kroger corporate works at night so nobody is showing up and seeing these defective signs.

I have not noticed this issue with any new signage that Kroger is installing elsewhere. In the areas with Kroger branding they are, slowly, putting new logo signs up. Sometimes the fruit cart is there and sometimes it isn't (I don't get that either). But they don't have any glow issue on the new signs.

I don't understand what they are doing with Ralphs.

I really think Kroger should just exit California entirely. Maybe Apollo would like to buy Ralphs/F4L. They could perhaps throw in Stater, Raleys, and/or Save Mart too. Could be an extremely profitable chain.

[veteran+]

It seems that Fresh Fare has been replaced with Fresh for Everyone on the inside.

BTW.................the outside pylon is still the Hughes shape and not the Ralphs oval.

Cheap and no class in a high end neighborhood, right across the street from a large fab Bristol Farms.

[ClownLoach]

Idk if all implementations of their latest new "fresh fare" decor have signs that say "the fresh fare." I have seen some stores that have that phrase and some that don't.

On another note, I was browsing Google Maps and saw that the Anaheim Hills Fresh Fare that was also recently remodeled to the "higher end" decor (and was a remodel that I know a lot of people had things to say about, which is how I found out it had a remodel) but I noticed on street view that the Fresh Fare exterior signs have been removed. Looks like another one has bitten the dust, and is a plain Ralphs now.

I thought I saw another fresh fare store somewhere that was de-branded to a regular Ralphs somewhere in the Glendale/Pasadena area, but I can't quite pinpoint which store that might be, but maybe someone else can... That one was more of a shock to me since that specific one I did find to be a higher end store in a higher end area.

Now from what I have seen on this forum and in other spots, that's now five stores I have seen with this change. They gotta make room for those fruit cart logos somewhere on the signage I guess

The fact that Anaheim Hills has changed is notable, because that was always the test store for a different version of Fresh Fare. That store had the expanded perimeter and more premium products, but it did not ever have Fresh Fare decor until the "Reclaimed" look showed up. It always had regular Ralphs decor and was remodeled a couple of times to the latest regular decor despite the Fresh Fare signage.

Ralphs has been replacing signs with terrible new LED ones that are awful. They remove the older dimensional plastic signs and replace with what is a glorified canvas disc with the logo printed on it, and remove the guts of the sign then install a grid of LED blocks. At night the LED blocks glow so brightly inside that they look like about 32 lit up squares that actually make it impossible to see the name Ralphs. They are doing this for energy savings so it makes sense to swap out the individual lit letters on FF formats for the standard oval Ralphs sign simply because it's cheaper. I'm assuming nobody in Kroger corporate works at night so nobody is showing up and seeing these defective signs.

I have not noticed this issue with any new signage that Kroger is installing elsewhere. In the areas with Kroger branding they are, slowly, putting new logo signs up. Sometimes the fruit cart is there and sometimes it isn't (I don't get that either). But they don't have any glow issue on the new signs.

I don't understand what they are doing with Ralphs.

I really think Kroger should just exit California entirely. Maybe Apollo would like to buy Ralphs/F4L. They could perhaps throw in Stater, Raleys, and/or Save Mart too. Could be an extremely profitable chain.

Sign vendors are very localized and regional at best. They obviously hired the cheapest low bidder for SoCal. The quality vendors design these with the LED cells in an array similar to the lettering inside the housing to prevent this problem. Incompetent vendors just fill it up with a plain array of lights. Stater has a few bad pylon signs with the same issue. Ralphs also has some signs with a mutated, bizarre version of the Ralphs logo where there is a huge space between the "P" and the "HS" (Menifee). Looks like they tried to create a new chain called "Ralp hs." How could you get that wrong in this day and age?

[brendenmoney]

Idk if all implementations of their latest new "fresh fare" decor have signs that say "the fresh fare." I have seen some stores that have that phrase and some that don't.

On another note, I was browsing Google Maps and saw that the Anaheim Hills Fresh Fare that was also recently remodeled to the "higher end" decor (and was a remodel that I know a lot of people had things to say about, which is how I found out it had a remodel) but I noticed on street view that the Fresh Fare exterior signs have been removed. Looks like another one has bitten the dust, and is a plain Ralphs now.

I thought I saw another fresh fare store somewhere that was de-branded to a regular Ralphs somewhere in the Glendale/Pasadena area, but I can't quite pinpoint which store that might be, but maybe someone else can... That one was more of a shock to me since that specific one I did find to be a higher end store in a higher end area.

Now from what I have seen on this forum and in other spots, that's now five stores I have seen with this change. They gotta make room for those fruit cart logos somewhere on the signage I guess

The fact that Anaheim Hills has changed is notable, because that was always the test store for a different version of Fresh Fare. That store had the expanded perimeter and more premium products, but it did not ever have Fresh Fare decor until the "Reclaimed" look showed up. It always had regular Ralphs decor and was remodeled a couple of times to the latest regular decor despite the Fresh Fare signage.

Ralphs has been replacing signs with terrible new LED ones that are awful. They remove the older dimensional plastic signs and replace with what is a glorified canvas disc with the logo printed on it, and remove the guts of the sign then install a grid of LED blocks. At night the LED blocks glow so brightly inside that they look like about 32 lit up squares that actually make it impossible to see the name Ralphs. They are doing this for energy savings so it makes sense to swap out the individual lit letters on FF formats for the standard oval Ralphs sign simply because it's cheaper. I'm assuming nobody in Kroger corporate works at night so nobody is showing up and seeing these defective signs.

I have not noticed this issue with any new signage that Kroger is installing elsewhere. In the areas with Kroger branding they are, slowly, putting new logo signs up. Sometimes the fruit cart is there and sometimes it isn't (I don't get that either). But they don't have any glow issue on the new signs.

I don't understand what they are doing with Ralphs.

I really think Kroger should just exit California entirely. Maybe Apollo would like to buy Ralphs/F4L. They could perhaps throw in Stater, Raleys, and/or Save Mart too. Could be an extremely profitable chain.

I think it would take a lot for Stater to give themselves up. If they gave themselves up, it would likely be to a company that holds similar values to theirs and the closest company I can think of would be Publix, but there is also no way I see Publix being interested within the next couple decades expanding into the west coast. (As much as I wish that would happen) I think Stater would have to be in a dire financial situation to consider giving themselves up to a company like Apollo, Kroger, Albertsons, etc. And they simply are not in that scenario at this point in time.

In that same way, I don't think Kroger is completely ready to give up on CA. There certainly are chains Kroger is much more interested in investing in, but I also think Ralphs would have to be unprofitable as a whole for them to exit the entire state. With pricier costs to build stores and renovate existing one is the reasoning behind Kroger's decision to invest in other markets more, but it doesn't mean this will be the decision forever. For the most part, CA is still profitable for Kroger. Maybe I could see Kroger giving up some CA districts to Albertsons and/or Stater, such as the Inland Empire, Coachella Valley, Central Coast, Temecula/Murrietta, etc, but Kroger likely isn't giving up on CA anytime soon.

Raleys and Save Mart could be a different story though.

[SoCalShopper1023]

I mentioned in a previous post that the La Cañada Ralphs also recently lost its Fresh Fare branding.

Interesting enough, my local Ralphs Fresh Fare in Pasadena on W. Colorado Blvd (former El Rancho/Hughes) just recently got a remodel which included an exterior remodel, and it still kept the Fresh Fare branding outside.

The average shopper doesn’t really associate the Fresh Fare branding to an “upscale Ralphs” they mostly assume it’s some sort of slogan. That’s why you don’t hear about people (the average shopper) protesting against the removal of the Fresh Fare branding in stores like La Cañada, Studio City , etc.

Unlike Pavilions, where many people know and associate the banner to an “upscale Vons”, and you will definitely hear the uproar if all of a sudden Albertsons decided to rebrand all Pavilions to Vons, even if it was just the signage outside and the inside remained the same. Especially from people living in one the wealthier communities in OC.

[ClownLoach]

I mentioned in a previous post that the La Cañada Ralphs also recently lost its Fresh Fare branding.

Interesting enough, my local Ralphs Fresh Fare in Pasadena on W. Colorado Blvd (former El Rancho/Hughes) just recently got a remodel which included an exterior remodel, and it still kept the Fresh Fare branding outside.

The average shopper doesn’t really associate the Fresh Fare branding to an “upscale Ralphs” they mostly assume it’s some sort of slogan. That’s why you don’t hear about people (the average shopper) protesting against the removal of the Fresh Fare branding in stores like La Cañada, Studio City , etc.

Unlike Pavilions, where many people know and associate the banner to an “upscale Vons”, and you will definitely hear the uproar if all of a sudden Albertsons decided to rebrand all Pavilions to Vons, even if it was just the signage outside and the inside remained the same. Especially from people living in one the wealthier communities in OC.

Look at reviews of Fresh Fare and Pavilions stores. There definitely is a perception of Fresh Fare in the marketplace. I just don't think it is as dominant as the Pavilions brand. If the merger were to occur I do wonder if the intent is to create a Ralphs Pavilions banner where needed.

[storewanderer]

I think it would take a lot for Stater to give themselves up. If they gave themselves up, it would likely be to a company that holds similar values to theirs and the closest company I can think of would be Publix, but there is also no way I see Publix being interested within the next couple decades expanding into the west coast. (As much as I wish that would happen) I think Stater would have to be in a dire financial situation to consider giving themselves up to a company like Apollo, Kroger, Albertsons, etc. And they simply are not in that scenario at this point in time.

In that same way, I don't think Kroger is completely ready to give up on CA. There certainly are chains Kroger is much more interested in investing in, but I also think Ralphs would have to be unprofitable as a whole for them to exit the entire state. With pricier costs to build stores and renovate existing one is the reasoning behind Kroger's decision to invest in other markets more, but it doesn't mean this will be the decision forever. For the most part, CA is still profitable for Kroger. Maybe I could see Kroger giving up some CA districts to Albertsons and/or Stater, such as the Inland Empire, Coachella Valley, Central Coast, Temecula/Murrietta, etc, but Kroger likely isn't giving up on CA anytime soon.

Raleys and Save Mart could be a different story though.

Given they want to acquire 500+ Stores in CA from Albertsons they obviously don't want to give up on the state...

Publix would never take Stater over due to the union. Publix is staunchly non-union. In general Publix is limited where it can expand and how it can expand due to its non-union model.

I hope Stater continues on its course for decades to come. I think they'll eventually be the final major conventional in SoCal. I do not have confidence in a merged Kroger/Albertsons future in SoCal- I think it will just be more of what we've seen out of Albertsons/Vons/Ralphs in SoCal since 1998-1999- store closures galore and ongoing growth of the gourmet and ethnic chains.

[HCal]

I don't see why Kroger would exit California. Ralphs is one of their largest divisions. Even without ongoing investment, they still get decent traffic and are probably making good money. Foods Co is usually quite busy, and I think Food4Less as well, although I haven't been in one of those recently.

Not every division has to be the same. Marketplace stores and large, spacious stores with fuel centers and pharmacies and whatnot might work well in lower cost markets in Kroger-branded areas, but these things aren't necessary to be profitable in California.

I agree that Stater is killing it right now, and I hope they keep it up. Such is the benefit of being family owned and not having to answer to either Wall Street or some private equity firm. They can play the long game, and make investments into the future rather than worrying about this quarter's results.

[storewanderer]

I don't see why Kroger would exit California. Ralphs is one of their largest divisions. Even without ongoing investment, they still get decent traffic and are probably making good money. Foods Co is usually quite busy, and I think Food4Less as well, although I haven't been in one of those recently.

Not every division has to be the same. Marketplace stores and large, spacious stores with fuel centers and pharmacies and whatnot might work well in lower cost markets in Kroger-branded areas, but these things aren't necessary to be profitable in California.

I agree that Stater is killing it right now, and I hope they keep it up. Such is the benefit of being family owned and not having to answer to either Wall Street or some private equity firm. They can play the long game, and make investments into the future rather than worrying about this quarter's results.

Is Stater "Family owned?" I am not sure of that? I think it is owned by its management is my understanding.

The problem I have with Kroger in California is they are running an operation that is not getting the investment and effort I see being made in other markets. Lack of remodels, lack of new stores, higher prices than surrounding states. Why are Wal Mart's grocery prices in CA largely the same as every other state throughout center store (Wal Mart in CA is higher on DSD items like soda/bread, milk, eggs, meats... but center store grocery at Wal Mart in CA is the same as it is in Iowa...).

[HCal]

Is Stater "Family owned?" I am not sure of that? I think it is owned by its management is my understanding.

Interesting, I can't find any details on it. It is owned by La Cadena Investments, which was owned entirely by Jack Brown, but I can't seem to find who inherited it after his death. Do you have any info on that?

The problem I have with Kroger in California is they are running an operation that is not getting the investment and effort I see being made in other markets. Lack of remodels, lack of new stores, higher prices than surrounding states. Why are Wal Mart's grocery prices in CA largely the same as every other state throughout center store (Wal Mart in CA is higher on DSD items like soda/bread, milk, eggs, meats... but center store grocery at Wal Mart in CA is the same as it is in Iowa...).

Yes, it would definitely be nice if they put in more effort. But on the flip side, if customer counts are high enough and they are satisfied with the performance of the stores, why bother? Maybe they figure it's better to invest in other states where there is more room for improvement.