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Going To MarketBy Cathy Cassinos-Carr |
From July 2007
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Nicole Baxter of Elk Grove mostly shops at her favorite store, Bel Air. But she goes to Wal-Mart for the kids' cereal, to Target for their energy bars and to Costco for fresh sliced deli turkey, which she buys in bulk and freezes. Remember the old days, when our mothers shopped at only one store? Things have changed. For better or for worse, today's shoppers have a dizzying array of choices when they go out for groceries&emdash;which, experts say, is why traditional supermarkets are scrambling to be all things to all people. Call it, if you will, an identity crisis. The traditional supermarkets are trying to compete with Costco's prices and with Whole Foods' produce, which is why you see stores like Safeway with their ‘lifestyle stores' bringing in more prepared foods, organic produce and an olive bar, says Peter Sealey, a Bay Area retail consultant. You see the same kinds of changes under way at Raley's and Bel Air, whose newer stores are glamorized versions of their former selves, with snazzy dcor, an expanded selection of take-home meals and natural products, artisanal cheeses and other niceties that today's demanding shoppers have come to expect. Phil Lempert, a Southern California industry consultant known as the supermarket guru, expects traditional supermarkets to continue moving in that direction. I think we're going to see a lot of traditional stores changing their product mix, shifting to more freshly prepared foods and creating more of an exciting shopping experience, says Lempert, who has written several books, including Being the Shopper and Phil Lempert's Shopping & Value Guide. To succeed in today's highly competitive market, he notes, traditional markets will have to provide a shopping experience that is a lot stronger and a lot smarter. They also will need to develop a relationship with shoppers, Lempert says, pointing to Trader Joe's, Whole Foods Market and Costco as examples of stores that have already mastered the art. Those stores also celebrate food, he adds. I think that's why they're doing so well. Traditional and specialty markets alike would be well-advised to keep pushing the ready-to-eat solutions, says Sealey, noting that today's consumer spends an average of 17 minutes a day preparing food. In the mid-'60s, people spent an average of 2 hours and 11 minutes cooking a day, he says. But it's a different world. We don't prepare food anymore, and supermarkets have to adapt to that reality. So just how well have local markets adapted to that reality&emdash;and how do they stack up as places to shop? In the pages that follow, I take a look at our region's seven major players&emdash;Bel Air, Raley's, Safeway, Whole Foods Market, Nugget Markets, Trader Joe's and Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op&emdash;and compare prices there and at some of the big-box discount stores. RATING THE SUPERMARKETSWhen Sacramento magazine set out to look at the seven major supermarket players in the Sacramento region, the magazine's editors enlisted me to act as a secret shopper, visiting one store from each of the chains (Bel Air, Nugget Markets, Raley's, Trader Joe's and Safeway) as well as the only Whole Foods Market in town and the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op. Shopping undercover, I evaluated each store in terms of service, pricing and ambiance. Here's my report. >> RALEY'S, 25025 Blue Ravine Road, FolsomFeeling a little like Dorothy at the gates of Oz&emdash;small and meek&emdash;I enter this mammoth new Raley's and am immediately approached by a perky clerk who chirps, Do you have your shopping list ready? As I wander along the wide, rambling aisles, more smiling clerks wait around every corner, at the deli, in the wine department, over in produce and at the seafood counter. The store is so quiet (it's 2 p.m. on a Wednesday) that I end up playing the starring role of customer of the day, though it's the last thing I want: I'm trying to look inconspicuous, after all, and take a few notes.Ambiance: A little bit country, a little bit rock 'n' roll: a mix of down-home friendliness and shiny, modern glossiness. (Check out those new floors.) Amenities: Java City Cafe, supervised Play Care (for kids ages 2–8), pharmacy, self-checkout lanes, Tri Counties Bank branch, wine tastings Also noted: The self-serve Sizzling Wok (when was the last time you spotted a Chinese buffet in a grocery store?); salad bar; big pottery display near checkout stand; fun new potpourri of panini and wrap sandwiches; lavish selection of organic chocolate bars, including my favorite, Terra Nostra Raisins & Pecans. Pricing: Everyday low pricing; e-coupons and e-mail updates about specials available Service (deli, produce, meat/seafood, wine, checkout): If you want to play Queen for a Day, just visit this Raley's and let them roll out the red carpet. I get the star treatment at every turn, from the deli area (where a clerk chases me down just to hand me a sample of artichoke-Parmesan spread on a little square of sourdough) to the wine department, where a manager profusely apologizes for being out of Rombauer Chardonnay, then spends about 15 minutes reciting a list of other wines I might consider. And I'm blown away at the checkout counter, where a young bagger offers careful, handwritten directions when I announce I don't know my way back to the freeway. The verdict: Without losing an ounce of its eager-beaver friendliness, a mainstream market maintains its competitive edge by going a little upscale. >> NUGGET MARKETS, 771 Pleasant Grove Blvd., RosevilleThe new Roseville Nugget is so take-your-breath-away grand that it almost makes me swoon. Between the sheer size and scope of the place and those towering statues of women hoisting baskets over their heads, it all seems a bit formidable at first. But when I walk in and practically bump smack dab into the gelato bar, all is right with the world. That's the thing about Nugget: No matter what you want, you'll likely find it here, where conventional and specialty products dance cheek to cheek. And even if you get lost wandering down those long, looooong aisles, you always can gravitate to the perimeter and pamper yourself with a pick-me-up at the bakery.Ambiance: Stylish, upscale and as bountiful as bountiful gets Amenities: Indoor/outdoor eating areas, healthy living resource center Also noted: Spectacular coffee and juice bar; artisanal pizza by the slice; picture-perfect produce displays; sense of humor in the wine department (one sign reads Renegade Reds); elaborate Asian foods counter; a profusion of prepared foods Pricing: STOP signs posted to indicate price cuts Service (deli, produce, meat/seafood, wine, checkout): There's an art to good service, and Nugget's got it nailed; employees never hover but are on the spot when needed. In the produce section, I'm impressed that such a young employee actually knows a thing or two about pears. (He recommends the red D'Anjou for baking because it's firmer and can probably take the heat without turning to mush.) And the cherry on top: Nugget is the only store on my hit list that carries the elusive Rombauer Chardonnay (only in half-bottles, but so what?). This is big. The verdict: With its triple threat of service, selection and style, a star is born. >> BEL AIR, 3250 Arena Blvd., SacramentoA friend tells me Bel Air is the upscale version of Raley's, and I guess I see what she means: The exterior is sleeker, and there's distinctive drop lighting throughout the store. Otherwise, though, it seems a lot like the next-generation Raley's stores that recently have rolled out, with similar amenities (Play Care stations, Java City cafes, etc.), similarly expanded selections (such as a cheese counter with every imaginable variety, from manchego to mascarpone) and the company's trademark emphasis on service. My experience here is almost a carbon copy of my visit to Raley's in Folsom: Shiny, happy clerks in a shiny, new store.Ambiance: Quasi-elegant and a bit impenetrable: At 68,487 square feet, getting to know this store could take a while. Amenities: Java City Cafe, supervised Play Care (for kids ages 2–8), pharmacy, self-checkout lanes, postal center, Tri Counties Bank branch, wine tastings Also noted: Meticulous signage in each department, subdividing the Merlots from the Cabs and the brie from the cheddar; dandelion greens, mustard greens and other unusual finds in the produce department; antipasto bar; cool sushi station Pricing: Everyday low pricing; e-coupons and e-mail updates about specials available Service (deli, produce, meat/seafood, wine, checkout): Superior all around. In produce, I get a mini-lesson on the melon drop, which sounds like a martini but is actually a small, seedless watermelon; in the meat department, I get a tip on an upcoming tri-tip special. But it's the clerk who searches for the Rombauer Chardonnay who really impresses me, checking and rechecking the shelves before going to the back of the store on a search mission, returning empty-handed. The kicker: After he apologizes umpteen times, I find out he's not even the official wine guy. The verdict: Like its sister store, Raley's, Bel Air keeps a stronghold in the supermarket sweepstakes by mixing down-home friendliness with a sophisticated sheen.
Part Jimmy Buffett, part Neil Young, Trader Joe's has a tropical motif and the renegade spirit of an old hippie rock 'n' roller. It's the nongrocery shopper's grocery store, with unconventional products in an unconventional setting, and this particular store is even more far-out than most, with so many fragrant flowers and palm trees that for a minute I think I'm on Fantasy Island. And the food. Ah, the food: pineapple salsa and chipotle chicken skewers and triple-berry muffins and&emdash;let's not forget&emdash;Two-Buck Chuck (Charles Shaw wine for $1.99). In brief: Trader Joe's makes shopping fun even for those who hate shopping. |
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