Hy-Vee's weirdest business decision yet?

[Three4Cy]

Hy-Vee is trying to become a premium grocery store and that model doesn’t serve that area very well.

The two stores closing have never been more than basic stores. When I worked in CR for Hy-Vee, the store on 1st Avenue never carried anything above and beyond the basics. If there were random ad items they needed but didn't carry, they would get a few from one of the other stores in CR vs. ordering it themselves.

 

[CRcyclone6]

Sure will be strange driving 1st Ave now without that Hy Vee there. Hopefully something will replace it. Tough area though. Oakland Rd Hy Vee might see some increase in business.

 

[Messi]

Sure will be strange driving 1st Ave now without that Hy Vee there. Hopefully something will replace it. Tough area though. Oakland Rd Hy Vee might see some increase in business.

i could see a price chopper or something of the like buying that spot

or maybe Save A Lot moves from 17th?

 

[ClonesFTW]

A number of stores are also challenged by the "5-finger" discounts (shop lifting) they have been subjected to. Difficult.

Bingo. Retail theft is up nearly 30% at multiple grocery outlets - just crushing margins.

 

[mramseyISU]

i could see a price chopper or something of the like buying that spot

or maybe Save A Lot moves from 17th?

I know the owner of that store pretty well and he's trying to find a buyer for it because he wants to retire.

 

[CyPhallus]

Bingo. Retail theft is up nearly 30% at multiple grocery outlets - just crushing margins.

Is this due to self checkouts? Most grocery items are bulky I can't see someone shoving a pork loin down their pants.

 

[JP4CY]

Is this due to self checkouts? Most grocery items are bulky I can't see someone shoving a pork loin down their pants.

 

[Cyinthenorth]

Statement for the 2 stores says "not meeting financial expectations." So not making ENOUGH money, as opposed to losing money. Sucks for north end of Waterloo.

That is the one of the two stores I am familiar with. I worked at the Hy-Vee in Cedar Falls and would cover the Logan Ave Hy-Vee once a year for their Christmas parties. Probably worked there 3 times total during college. The store got a bad rap from the other 4 Hy-Vee's in the CF/Loo area (at the time). Very poor performing compared to the other 4, but not hard to see why given the neighborhood it's located in. Wasn't a bad store just a crummy location in my opinion. I just find it interesting that Hy-Vee is starting to shutter some stores. It will actually be the 2nd Hy-Vee to shut down in the Cedar Valley in the past 5 years or so, the other one being on University Ave.

 

[Gonzo]

Sure will be strange driving 1st Ave now without that Hy Vee there. Hopefully something will replace it. Tough area though. Oakland Rd Hy Vee might see some increase in business.

I worked at a Sunmart in CR way back in the day during my first year of college that made the 1st Ave. Hy Vee look like the Taj Mahal.

 

[BillBrasky4Cy]

Bingo. Retail theft is up nearly 30% at multiple grocery outlets - just crushing margins.

So Hy-Vee's rent a cop program isn't working?

 

[somecyguy]

I worked at a Sunmart in CR way back in the day during my first year of college that made the 1st Ave. Hy Vee look like the Taj Mahal.

Damn, I'd blocked out that memory. As a poor college kid I would sometimes shop there. Like a poor man's Aldi's. Weird brand names you'd never seen before and product availability was seemingly random. We felt like rich people when we shopped at the (then) new Econofood's on 52nd street.

 

[JEFF420]

not my fault i wasn't trained to checkout items. sorry if the bottom stuff doesnt get scanned

 

[CRcyclone6]

I worked at a Sunmart in CR way back in the day during my first year of college that made the 1st Ave. Hy Vee look like the Taj Mahal.

A friend of mine worked at Sunmart on J St when we were in HS ('87-'89)

 

[wxman1]

Sure will be strange driving 1st Ave now without that Hy Vee there. Hopefully something will replace it. Tough area though. Oakland Rd Hy Vee might see some increase in business.

My bet is a dollar store.

 

[bawbie]

Sure will be strange driving 1st Ave now without that Hy Vee there. Hopefully something will replace it. Tough area though. Oakland Rd Hy Vee might see some increase in business.

"tough area" how? Those Coe kids cause problems?

The fact is that HyVee never made that store competitive. It's technically the closest one to my house, but I never shop there, not because the neighborhood is "tough", but because it had a significantly limited selection of products and brands. Most HyVees are similar enough that you can expect to find the same things regardless of which one you go to - but that one seemed like an entirely different store.

 

[CRcyclone6]

"tough area" how? Those Coe kids cause problems?

The fact is that HyVee never made that store competitive. It's technically the closest one to my house, but I never shop there, not because the neighborhood is "tough", but because it had a significantly limited selection of products and brands. Most HyVees are similar enough that you can expect to find the same things regardless of which one you go to - but that one seemed like an entirely different store.

Feel free to go to that area, maybe. Not the greatest, especially toward the East which is one of the highest crime areas in town.

 

[Messi]

"tough area" how? Those Coe kids cause problems?

The fact is that HyVee never made that store competitive. It's technically the closest one to my house, but I never shop there, not because the neighborhood is "tough", but because it had a significantly limited selection of products and brands. Most HyVees are similar enough that you can expect to find the same things regardless of which one you go to - but that one seemed like an entirely different store.

i lived on Bever ave from 2015-2020 so im familiar with that area

 

[bawbie]

Feel free to go to that area, maybe. Not the greatest, especially toward the East.

As I said, I live near that area and I spend a lot of time there - walking, biking, going to the park. People in some parts of CR have an impression that is entirely false.

 

[Cyclone06]

My bet is a dollar store.

Aldi just licking their chops at Hyvee's departure. Already kicking hy-vee's ass everywhere, but watching hy-vee get completed eliminated from a market near their own headquarters has is pretty special to them... Aldi will $ave the day.

 

[KnappShack]

A disgrace!!!