Publix to buy 49 Florida Albertsons stores

[HARTride 2012]

Oh no doubt. Like I said somewhere else on this forum, where Publix stands right now is where Starbucks was only a couple years ago; growing way too fast in a short period of time. It seems like many grocers, including Albertsons were doing just the same thinking that they would continue to grow. This is simply not the case. Just about every company that has been in existance has a start-up, growth, peak, and decline period. Some companies have been through the troughs and rose again, while others step aside and whither away.

Right now, we're seeing Winn Dixie and Albertsons continuing their damage control. Management is continuing to sort out how they can become better companies and eventually triumph over their competitors again. WalMart and Starbucks are not repid decliners, but they have sent the message, "Hold on, we're on a rollercoaster to disaster and if we keep going, we'll be gone in no time". It will only be a matter of time before Publix gets that same message, that they are simply growing too fast, too soon. They may not fall flat like Winn Dixie and Albertsons, but I'm sure in a few years they'll say "Okay, its time to scale back a little" and probably will delay some store openings and reasess faultering locations. After all, with a Publix store here and a Publix store there. They will have to make sacrefices sooner or later.

Let's not forget that many of these acquired stores were BUILT AND OWNED by Albertsons, and not rented, like so many other grocers. For instance, HART decided to do away with rented space in DT Tampa in favor of creating executive offices in the Ybor streetcar garage. The Ybor garage, if some of you may recall, was supposed to have been a transfer point for buses and streetcars. That plan never materialized. So when HART hit bunches of budgeting issues, they decided that it would be cheeper to ditch the rental spaces and fully utilize the facilities that they own, saving that entity much needed dollars. Now applying this example to Publix, the company at some point should reconsider consolodating some of thier existing stores into locations once owned by Albertsons. If there is a converson on one street and two other Publix stores within close proximity of the conversion, they could choose to close down the two "rented" spaces and just utilize the one they own. Do you get my explanation?

That move alone, could save Publix millions of dollars. Also remember that some of the conversions are larger than some existing Publix stores (ie: Boot Ranch).

I also see that territory north of Florida has been a problem for Publix due to the presence of strong names like Kroger, and other well-off stores like Food Lion. Kroger alone, poses heated competition for Publix because Kroger follows a unique way of doing things, which keeps their loyal customers coming back. Publix right now doesn't seem to have that touch against Kroger, which could prove to be disastorous later.

[HARTride 2012]

Publix to close in Seminole Mall, open in former Albertsons across street

By Anne Lindberg, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Wednesday, April 1, 2009


Publix has submitted plans for the grocery, which will be 50,951 square feet, with 216 parking spaces.

SEMINOLE — The Publix in Seminole Mall will close, probably later this year, and reopen across the street in a former Albertsons.

Publix submitted plans Friday to the county for a building permit to refurbish the former Albertsons on 113th Street N.

"That store is going through what we call a full remodel," said Shannon Patten, a Publix spokeswoman. "Yes, we are closing the (Publix) across the street."

The new Publix is tentatively scheduled to open in December. But shoppers will not be deprived of their Publix. When moving day comes, the Seminole Mall Publix will close at the normal time. The next morning, the new Publix will open at its regular time.

The plan submitted to the county shows both a grocery and liquor store. The grocery will be 50,951 square feet, about 12,000 square feet larger than the mall store. The liquor store, on the south side of the building, will be 2,832 square feet. It will have 216 parking spaces, two more than the Albertsons.

Although Pinellas County officials received the plans Friday, they already have some questions about the proposal. One concerns the liquor store. The property abuts a residential area on the west and south and is within 750 feet of Bay Pines Evangelical Lutheran Church. That would normally require asking for a variance.

But Albertsons had a liquor store there and as long as it can be transferred to the Publix, then there is likely no problem, said Al Navaroli, the county's building and development review services manager.

Navaroli said the county also needs to take a look at the drainage on the property. The building was constructed in the late 1970s. Those plans show a drainage system consisting of gravel pits with a catch basin. County officials want to make sure those are still adequate, Navaroli said.

The third issue is landscaping. Most, if not all, has disappeared and will have to be replaced, he said.

The former Albertsons is one of 49 in Central and North Florida that Publix bought for $500 million last September. Seventeen of the stores are in the Tampa Bay area.

Since the sale was announced, Seminole residents have been focused on the Publix in Seminole Mall wondering what would happen. From the beginning, Publix said it would eventually close the store, but in February, a spokeswoman said the chain had no time frame for the changeover.

Anne Lindberg can be reached at (727) 893-8450 or alindberg@sptimes.com.


[Last modified: Mar 31, 2009 02:01 PM]

http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/article988524.ece

[HARTride 2012]

Originally Posted by HARTride 2012

The third issue is landscaping. Most, if not all, has disappeared and will have to be replaced, he said.

What a coincidence. Same thing happened at Britton Plaza. Much of the landscaping there has deteriorated over the years. I love the trees, but there aren't enough of them. Additionally, many of the planters had been covered over with cement during the last time the plaza was remodeled.

[HARTride 2012]

I dropped by the Carrollwood Albertsons the other day, THE last Albertsons to stand in Hillsborough County. The place was remodeled in 2002/2003 and mimics Britton Plaza & Seville Square when they were Albertsons stores. Its so sad for people to step into that store now, knowing that its the only one left in the county.

The funny thing was, there's a banner near the entrance that read, "We're still your neighborhood Albertsons.......and we aren't going anywhere!" Seriously, how much would anyone like to bet that this space will be bought out by another grocer within six years?

[HARTride 2012]

I decided to take a short drive to Safety Harbor (see the rest of the pics in the St Pete/Clwtr Photo Thread) and came across this Publix conversion, which I believe I-275 mentioned. And dang, that must have been one crappy Albertsons at one time cause the layout is totally different than any other store I've ever seen, not to mention that the ambiance is well below average for even an Albertsons. I sure hope future remodels will spruce this store up real good.

[I-275westcoastfl]

Yea for being the biggest publix it is certainly disappointing, but yes that is my craptastic place of employment.

[HARTride 2012]

Even for an Albertsons, that store is crap, just total crap.

I mean, what grocery store out there has three entrances out on the front, and I mean ON THE FRONT?

And excuse me? The frozen foods are in aisle what? That is aisle what? I'm surprised they didn't start aisle "1" at that "blank" aisle. I mean, really?

And never have I seen a deli department right near the middle of the store, on its own footing.


Even the Publix just down the street has a rather odd layout too.

[John F]

Finally there's been some work at 400 East Lake Road (Boot Ranch). The Deli serving area and bakery serving area have both been ripped out, there's new dry wall up from where Deli chiller displays used to be.

Track lighting that was part fo the produce section has been taken out along with some display racks that were visible under that lighting, more drywall work to patch up holes took place.

The butcher has also been completely pulled out and more drywall work has taken place.

So much more to do still - the floors need replacing, the front doors need a substantive cleaning... But finally progress.

[HARTride 2012]

That's good to hear. Hopefully that location will be opened by the end of the year.

I'm haven't heard too much in the way of other conversions in Hills. Co. recently. At the Britton location, there have been small aesthetic improvements since the January opening but not much else. Early on, I did hear that the store will undergo another remodel in the fall to expand the restrooms, among other things.

The Seville Sq. location also looks nice, but a lot of wasted space in the deli/bakery areas. The Sunset Pt. store is definitely the worst put together conversion so far. Nothing seems to be right in that store, even the aisle numbering is all wrong.


In other news...

Friday, May 1, 2009, 1:01pm EDT
Sales up, profit drops at Publix
Tampa Bay Business Journal

Despite the down economy, people still need to eat and some are still choosing Publix Super Markets Inc.

The Lakeland grocery store chain picked up a 2.2 percent increase in sales during the first quarter of 2009 from $6.2 billion to $6.4 billion. However, comparable-store sales were down nearly 3 percent.

That allowed Publix to earn $321.5 million, or 41 cents per share, although that was down more than 6 percent from the $343.2 million, or 41 cents per share, tallied the year before, according to a release.

Publix remains a private company, but offers stock to its employees and members of its board of directors. Beginning Friday, Publix stock price will drop from $16.10 to $15.55.

“The economy continues to affect our results and stock price,” said Ed Crenshaw, Publix’s chief executive officer in the release. “We look forward to an improving economy.”

The stock is available to Publix’s 140,000 employees in 1,005 stores in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama and Tennessee.

http://tampabay.bizjournals.com/tamp...7/daily75.html

I think it will be this way for a while due to the economy.

[I-275westcoastfl]

The reason why they have had increased sales is they have more stores, it's no surprise the profits are down. I wonder when Boot Ranch will open, I might transfer there.

[HARTride 2012]

From John's post, it seems that they have just begun remodeling. I assume this may have an opening of fall/winter 09'

Also, reflecting this quote:

Originally Posted by I-275westcoastfl

I should note that the US19/Sunset one will close in two years regardless if not sooner. So again with being tactical, our store will get a nice remodel in January. As for that East Lake store I'd be surprised if they did much to the Deli and Bakery, I hope they replace those floors, because even a good cleaning like they did at our store doesn't look like it would help.

Whatever happened to this "January" remodel? When I went into the store, it seemed that there was not anything else of signifcance that had happened since the opening. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Also, the US19/Sunset location; is this the Publix in the shopping center that is right adjacent to 19? I think it would make sense for that location to close sometime down the road since it is so close to the other location. This store also seems to have a very odd layout in respects to where the departments are situated. It also would seem that the flooring is much older, perhaps a holdover of when Publix still had the "blue/coral" livery. I know that the Gandy/South Tampa store has blue and white tile, reminiscent of the old livery though the store went through a remodel back in 2006

[John F]

Originally Posted by I-275westcoastfl

The reason why they have had increased sales is they have more stores, it's no surprise the profits are down. I wonder when Boot Ranch will open, I might transfer there.

Earliest date I would think would be July 4th weekend. But I also caution you on that, I-275: Like I said in the past on this thread, Belcher-Sunset Point and Boot Ranch are both former Jewel Osco stores and both laid out exactly the same. If anything, you can hope Boot Ranch is set up better than Belcher/Sunset Point (learning from their mistakes).

[John F]

Originally Posted by HARTride 2012

From John's post, it seems that they have just begun remodeling. I assume this may have an opening of fall/winter 09'

Also, reflecting this quote:


Whatever happened to this "January" remodel? When I went into the store, it seemed that there was not anything else of signifcance that had happened since the opening. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Also, the US19/Sunset location; is this the Publix in the shopping center that is right adjacent to 19? I think it would make sense for that location to close sometime down the road since it is so close to the other location. This store also seems to have a very odd layout in respects to where the departments are situated. It also would seem that the flooring is much older, perhaps a holdover of when Publix still had the "blue/coral" livery. I know that the Gandy/South Tampa store has blue and white tile, reminiscent of the old livery though the store went through a remodel back in 2006

US 19/Sunset Point is one of the original stores. That entire plaza may look rather new but it's ancient underneath. While Barnes and Noble and CompUSA are new buildings (both buildings are newer construction - generally speaking - and used to be a large pharmacy and Circuit city in the past) everything else in that plaza is ancient. Before the exterior renovations, it was quite clear that the plaza hadn't seen substantial renovations ever and seemed fresh out of the 50's and 60's.

It's part of the reason why parking is available directly in front of the store and not in the lot -- it's a hold over from the past.

That location will be closed and either a new supermarket or major retailer will take over -- but it'll be after Publix lease expires at the location, methinks.

[I-275westcoastfl]

Originally Posted by HARTride 2012

From John's post, it seems that they have just begun remodeling. I assume this may have an opening of fall/winter 09'

Also, reflecting this quote:


Whatever happened to this "January" remodel? When I went into the store, it seemed that there was not anything else of signifcance that had happened since the opening. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Also, the US19/Sunset location; is this the Publix in the shopping center that is right adjacent to 19? I think it would make sense for that location to close sometime down the road since it is so close to the other location. This store also seems to have a very odd layout in respects to where the departments are situated. It also would seem that the flooring is much older, perhaps a holdover of when Publix still had the "blue/coral" livery. I know that the Gandy/South Tampa store has blue and white tile, reminiscent of the old livery though the store went through a remodel back in 2006

I have no clue what happened to the January remodel, Publix is a cheap company and there is a lot they need to change when they remodel so maybe they put it off. I agree with closing the other store, it's so pointless having the stores so close together.

Originally Posted by John F

Earliest date I would think would be July 4th weekend. But I also caution you on that, I-275: Like I said in the past on this thread, Belcher-Sunset Point and Boot Ranch are both former Jewel Osco stores and both laid out exactly the same. If anything, you can hope Boot Ranch is set up better than Belcher/Sunset Point (learning from their mistakes).

The poor layouts don't really bother me as much as since finding another store to go to since I can't find another job and I want to be in produce but can't since my store has too many people. Also my department managers are idiots and get on my nerves and being a cashier is just too boring for me. So I would go there or countryside if I could go to produce.

Originally Posted by John F

US 19/Sunset Point is one of the original stores. That entire plaza may look rather new but it's ancient underneath. While Barnes and Noble and CompUSA are new buildings (both buildings are newer construction - generally speaking - and used to be a large pharmacy and Circuit city in the past) everything else in that plaza is ancient. Before the exterior renovations, it was quite clear that the plaza hadn't seen substantial renovations ever and seemed fresh out of the 50's and 60's.

It's part of the reason why parking is available directly in front of the store and not in the lot -- it's a hold over from the past.

That location will be closed and either a new supermarket or major retailer will take over -- but it'll be after Publix lease expires at the location, methinks.

You are right, supposedly when the lease is gone another store will probably step in.

[HARTride 2012]

Originally Posted by John F

US 19/Sunset Point is one of the original stores. That entire plaza may look rather new but it's ancient underneath. While Barnes and Noble and CompUSA are new buildings (both buildings are newer construction - generally speaking - and used to be a large pharmacy and Circuit city in the past) everything else in that plaza is ancient. Before the exterior renovations, it was quite clear that the plaza hadn't seen substantial renovations ever and seemed fresh out of the 50's and 60's.

It's part of the reason why parking is available directly in front of the store and not in the lot -- it's a hold over from the past.

That location will be closed and either a new supermarket or major retailer will take over -- but it'll be after Publix lease expires at the location, methinks.

Interesting. At least that plaza's remodel looks more modern that Britton Plaza's craptastic look. But yeah, I noticed the bricks between the two entryways to the Publix store, so that also tolde me something that maybe the plaza is older than it actually is. I wouldn't be surprised if that Publix closed at the end of their lease. Like I mentioned earlier on, it will be better for Publix to hold onto the stores they own, rather than continue leases at some locations that are so close to another store. In South Tampa, practically all the Publix stores were built from the ground up and were free-standing at one point or another. The only exception is Britton Plaza, where that Publix was the original anchor of the plaza but then moved out during the 1980s, allowing Albertsons to move in and expand the space. This is likely why the plaza was remodled to today's appearance, cause Albertsons is just too damn bland. Practically all of Albertsons' stores follow the same bland format with just a few variations. We see this with the existing Gulf-To-Bay and Carrollwood stores.

The Gandy Blvd and Neptune/DM Publix stores were also original facilities that were later demolished and rebuilt. Shopping centers were then expanded out of them but nonetheless, these are properties that Publix still likely owns, not lease. The Bayshore Publix was also built from the ground up and remains free-standing. Then of course, you have the GreenWise Market in Hyde Park.

Let's not forget the Nebraska Ave Publix, another original, which was completely gutted out at one time recently and now practically mimics the Broadway Promenade Publix in Sarasota.

[John F]

Oh what a ridiculous day... I stand accused of "subtle accusations" against Publix over the Boot Ranch location, for posting blog entries on my personal web site that talk about the location and what hasn't happened with the building. Let alone anything of substance .

The woman who made the accusations that I was setting them (publix) up sent off links to my posts to Corporate... Complaining about it.

Can anyone tell me where I've come off malicious in any of my discussion points about Publix? Or about this entire transaction? Or how I am anti-Boot Ranch? Because, as a development nerd, I can't see where I've done that in this discussion (and taking part in it to begin with) as well as personal ramblings (that mirror what we've talked about in this thread)...

[I-275westcoastfl]

Wtf, what kind of idiot sends your blog about a store to corporate, thats funny if anything.

[John F]

Figure it's someone who works for Publix at a local store and feels motherly loyalty to the brand as well as being someone with too much time on their hands. Gotta protect Publix from those evil bloggers out there! Speaking of too much time on their hands, I could be accused of THAT for taking an interest in a supermarket renovation.

But I digress, I shouldn't get worked up over this.

[I-275westcoastfl]

Originally Posted by John F

Figure it's someone who works for Publix at a local store and feels motherly loyalty to the brand as well as being someone with too much time on their hands. Gotta protect Publix from those evil bloggers out there! Speaking of too much time on their hands, I could be accused of THAT for taking an interest in a supermarket renovation.

But I digress, I shouldn't get worked up over this.

You shouldn't, it's not like they can do anything about it. I find it strange that someone who works for Publix would be that loyal, it's definitely a case of having too much time.

[HARTride 2012]

Originally Posted by I-275westcoastfl

Wtf, what kind of idiot sends your blog about a store to corporate, thats funny if anything.

They're probably taking my posts an "examining" them as well. But I'm not worried either, and neither should you John. I only complain about the fact that Albertsons really screwed themselves over by not giving a crap about thier stores and employees and driving their reputation down the drain cause of it.

Not to mention that I hate how the owner(s) of Britton Plaza have done nothing but neglected the premises for what seems like years now. Leaky roofs, a deteriorating parking lot, and broken elevators shouldn't be this bad of an issue, but yet it is.