Something that even I wasn't expecting to see here is the large, decently well-stocked kitchenware alcove off the grand aisle. I'll admit that I haven't visited all that many Haggens, but this is the first time I've seen this, which makes me think it's a leftover from the Top Foods days. I imagine there's a single-digit number of stores with this setup, so I'm amazed Safeway is still willing to keep ordering all of these products that I'm sure don't even sell all that well. (Yes, I did say that Haggen seems to be operating semi-independently when it comes to merchandising, but I'm sure Safeway has at least some control over them still...)
This looks pretty nice! It almost has a department store look to it. That itself is pretty remarkable for something from the Albertsons umbrella even if it wasn't designed by them. I don't know how much business that alcove does, but at least Albertsons is still keeping it going. I suspect some of those products are sold at other Albertsons stores across the country in other oddball formats.
ReplyDeleteOne oddball Albertsons store is this United Supermarkets store in a small Northwest Texas town that also sells lumber, lawn mowers, fishing rods, and other odds and ends. This store is odd even by United Supermarkets standards. It has to be one of the strangest Albertsons properties around! Link: https://goo.gl/maps/tswNEjrBhJChYr1W9
Oh, and about those United photos, there are some Dollar General photos mixed in, but just ignore those. The strangest items in that photo feed are indeed from the United!
DeleteIt sure does! Perhaps a little bit of a Fred Meyer look.
DeleteThat's true, I'm sure there are other Albertsons-owned stores somewhere that sell stuff like that, just not very many in this area.
Wow, I've seen some weird stuff in rural Albertsons, but that takes the cake! United seems to be still run largely independently from Albertsons, similar to Haggen, so I'm not too surprised that they have rather strange stores! Of course, I've seen some rather weird summer seasonal merchandise at local Safeways too, from patio furniture to grills to (at least in Oregon) kayaks and inflatable boats!