WinCo Foods opens another in Ft. Worth

[SamSpade]

Running TV ads on local television on my last night here in the D-FW metroplex. They tagged the ad "Now with 7 Texas area locations." I couldn't find an updated article about Texas, but here's an article from February about the company's entry into the D-FW area. WinCo Foods - Texas
WinCo Foods' link to the new store, highlighted on their main page:
http://wincofoods.com/supermarket/fort- ... ng-center/

[submariner]

I'm wondering when they're going to change the name to ACowUnit, since they've well outgrown "WinCo".

[storewanderer]

The decor and atmosphere in their newest stores would be depressing even for a cow unit.

[pseudo3d]

The decor and atmosphere in their newest stores would be depressing even for a cow unit.

Yikes, the 2014 store on Crowley Road basically does everything wrong. The outside looks nice enough, but the inside is terrible. It's far too dark even with skylights, perishables "décor" is red letters on a white background, even the aisle signs look like they came out of another era.

[storewanderer]

WinCo's stores that are 3 or more years old follow an old early-mid 1990's Cub look. The stores are generally nice enough. Not fancy by any means but they do look "finished" and clean. They have white painted concrete floors, white walls, orange/green fixtures (foam or wood, not sure, but nothing is just painted onto the walls), aisle hangers look like Albertsons mid 90's aisle hangers but different colors. The stores have conventional format shelving but most items are put onto the shelves in boxes (some items are actually unpacked). To me WinCo's center store feels pretty much like any other store since it has conventional shelving and the aisles aren't too high.

These newer WinCos just look terrible. I was in one in Arizona last summer and was shocked. The gray floors, poor lighting, terrible looking white walls with super cheap red painted on letters... They look industrial, cold, and unfinished. The layout is very difficult to navigate. The stores have a really dismal feel. I don't remember if they had conventional shelving or pallet shelving but by the time I was looking at the aisles I already had such a negative impression of how the store looked and felt that it didn't really matter.

WinCo tends to run its stores on a schedule for remodels and upgrades and I am really hoping they do not "downgrade" either of the Reno Stores into their "new layout and decor."

Over the years I have watched WinCo do multiple repaints and multiple bakery/deli remodels to its stores here. The end product usually looks pretty similar to what was there before but they do a thorough clean up and install more efficient equipment. These stores get hit hard and do high volume and they maintain them quite well. I think they are doing upgrades/improvements on a prescribed basis. Probably some accounting reasons for what they are doing.

[veteran+]

WinCo's stores that are 3 or more years old follow an old early-mid 1990's Cub look. The stores are generally nice enough. Not fancy by any means but they do look "finished" and clean. They have white painted concrete floors, white walls, orange/green fixtures (foam or wood, not sure, but nothing is just painted onto the walls), aisle hangers look like Albertsons mid 90's aisle hangers but different colors. The stores have conventional format shelving but most items are put onto the shelves in boxes (some items are actually unpacked). To me WinCo's center store feels pretty much like any other store since it has conventional shelving and the aisles aren't too high.

These newer WinCos just look terrible. I was in one in Arizona last summer and was shocked. The gray floors, poor lighting, terrible looking white walls with super cheap red painted on letters... They look industrial, cold, and unfinished. The layout is very difficult to navigate. The stores have a really dismal feel. I don't remember if they had conventional shelving or pallet shelving but by the time I was looking at the aisles I already had such a negative impression of how the store looked and felt that it didn't really matter.

WinCo tends to run its stores on a schedule for remodels and upgrades and I am really hoping they do not "downgrade" either of the Reno Stores into their "new layout and decor."

Over the years I have watched WinCo do multiple repaints and multiple bakery/deli remodels to its stores here. The end product usually looks pretty similar to what was there before but they do a thorough clean up and install more efficient equipment. These stores get hit hard and do high volume and they maintain them quite well. I think they are doing upgrades/improvements on a prescribed basis. Probably some accounting reasons for what they are doing.

That was the impression I got when I walked into the WINCO in Indio Ca. (the only one I have ever been to).

To me, the store felt like a better version of a Food4less warehouse store (thad warehouse shelving).

I believe it might have been close to 100,000 square feet? I might be off on that.

[veteran+]

WinCo's stores that are 3 or more years old follow an old early-mid 1990's Cub look. The stores are generally nice enough. Not fancy by any means but they do look "finished" and clean. They have white painted concrete floors, white walls, orange/green fixtures (foam or wood, not sure, but nothing is just painted onto the walls), aisle hangers look like Albertsons mid 90's aisle hangers but different colors. The stores have conventional format shelving but most items are put onto the shelves in boxes (some items are actually unpacked). To me WinCo's center store feels pretty much like any other store since it has conventional shelving and the aisles aren't too high.

These newer WinCos just look terrible. I was in one in Arizona last summer and was shocked. The gray floors, poor lighting, terrible looking white walls with super cheap red painted on letters... They look industrial, cold, and unfinished. The layout is very difficult to navigate. The stores have a really dismal feel. I don't remember if they had conventional shelving or pallet shelving but by the time I was looking at the aisles I already had such a negative impression of how the store looked and felt that it didn't really matter.

WinCo tends to run its stores on a schedule for remodels and upgrades and I am really hoping they do not "downgrade" either of the Reno Stores into their "new layout and decor."

Over the years I have watched WinCo do multiple repaints and multiple bakery/deli remodels to its stores here. The end product usually looks pretty similar to what was there before but they do a thorough clean up and install more efficient equipment. These stores get hit hard and do high volume and they maintain them quite well. I think they are doing upgrades/improvements on a prescribed basis. Probably some accounting reasons for what they are doing.

That was the impression I got when I walked into the WINCO in Indio Ca. (the only one I have ever been to).

To me, the store felt like a better version of a Food4less warehouse store (thad warehouse shelving).

I believe it might have been close to 100,000 square feet? I might be off on that.

[wnetmacman]

Nice decor, high end perimeter departments, and polished floors do not keep prices down.

Spartan interiors, painted floors, no credit cards and basic deli/bakery areas do.

You're expecting too much here. WinCo makes money because they sell at true low prices. They don't have to keep up with Kroger and Albertsons. They don't want to.

This store is designed to do exactly what it does well: sell cheap groceries.

[pseudo3d]

Nice decor, high end perimeter departments, and polished floors do not keep prices down.

Spartan interiors, painted floors, no credit cards and basic deli/bakery areas do.

You're expecting too much here. WinCo makes money because they sell at true low prices. They don't have to keep up with Kroger and Albertsons. They don't want to.

This store is designed to do exactly what it does well: sell cheap groceries.

I think you're missing the point--stores have trained consumers to think "cheap buildings = cheap products", but it doesn't have to work that way. It relies more on bulk buying and limited SKUs. I'm absolutely sure that neon accents and/or bright paint aren't going to cut into profit margin like you seem to be implying.

[klkla]

I think you're missing the point--stores have trained consumers to think "cheap buildings = cheap products", but it doesn't have to work that way. It relies more on bulk buying and limited SKUs. I'm absolutely sure that neon accents and/or bright paint aren't going to cut into profit margin like you seem to be implying.

I don't think the stores have trained consumers, it's more likely the other way around. Customers get a perception the minute they walk in the door. And based on WinCo's success it's clear that shoppers who shop solely on the basis of price perception relate fancy stores with high prices and no-frills stores with low prices.