Dahl's in trouble?

alarson

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It would have been nice to see someone like Fareway make a big move and buy these stores but I can't see them ever making a big move.

Yeah, that would have been ideal. Maybe when this new entrant fails fareway can pick up these locations on the cheap.
 

kingcy

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I really don't know how anyone could come into Des Moines at this point and be successful.

Hy-Vee and Whole Foods have the high end market.

Fareways are usually dumps but they are low priced and have a good reputation

Wal-Mart and Aldi's has the low end market.


It would have been nice to see someone like Fareway make a big move and buy these stores but I can't see them ever making a big move.

Fareway's are dumps? I have never experienced that. Sure they are not Hyvee but there is nothing wrong with them. They are getting bigger, why buy Dahls when they have their own locations and following.

You are right on Hyvee. It has to be hard to compete with them. Every market they are in the do very well and people love them.
 

3GenClone

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I have heard that Cub Foods is looking to get in Iowa and this may be their opportunity. Cub is looking to compete with Hy-Vee as they are a Minneapolis-based grocery chain and Hy-Vee is targeting Minnesota for expansion of their brand.
 

alarson

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Fareway's are dumps? I have never experienced that. Sure they are not Hyvee but there is nothing wrong with them. They are getting bigger, why buy Dahls when they have their own locations and following.

You are right on Hyvee. It has to be hard to compete with them. Every market they are in the do very well and people love them.

Id say they could have bought dahls for some of its locations where fareway doesnt have stores. The store on 50th and ep true would make a great fareway.
 

MNCyGuy

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I have heard that Cub Foods is looking to get in Iowa and this may be their opportunity. Cub is looking to compete with Hy-Vee as they are a Minneapolis-based grocery chain and Hy-Vee is targeting Minnesota for expansion of their brand.

Oh god, Cub would be worse than Dahl's was.
 

CyArob

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I have heard that Cub Foods is looking to get in Iowa and this may be their opportunity. Cub is looking to compete with Hy-Vee as they are a Minneapolis-based grocery chain and Hy-Vee is targeting Minnesota for expansion of their brand.

Cub Foods sucks. Hy-Vee can't get to the Twin Cities fast enough.
 

Gonzo

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I participate in a pool league and I've gotten to know a couple of guys on the league that are night managers at Dahl's. Both have said they are actively trying to get new jobs before Dahl's closes down. So I am thinking this is going to happen soon.

Can they coach?
 

isufbcurt

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Fareway's are dumps? I have never experienced that. Sure they are not Hyvee but there is nothing wrong with them. They are getting bigger, why buy Dahls when they have their own locations and following.

You are right on Hyvee. It has to be hard to compete with them. Every market they are in the do very well and people love them.

Probably because they are open when people want to grocery shop, like on SUNDAYS. That's the number one reason I never go to Fareway.
 

ribsnwhiskey

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I have heard that Cub Foods is looking to get in Iowa and this may be their opportunity. Cub is looking to compete with Hy-Vee as they are a Minneapolis-based grocery chain and Hy-Vee is targeting Minnesota for expansion of their brand.

After they closed their only store in Iowa, in the same location as a failed Dahls? Seems iffy.
 

dmclone

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Fareway's are dumps? I have never experienced that. Sure they are not Hyvee but there is nothing wrong with them. They are getting bigger, why buy Dahls when they have their own locations and following.

I have to admit that I haven't been to a new one. The last one I went to looked like a grocery store from the 50's. The prices seemed to be good but it had short ceilings, small selection, outdated displays, dark, etc. It reminded me of a fancy Aldi's.


Are the new ones a lot different?


Speaking of Aldi's, I spent 8 days in Germany and didn't see one Aldi's? Seems a little weird.
 

CycloneJL

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I have to admit that I haven't been to a new one. The last one I went to looked like a grocery store from the 50's. The prices seemed to be good but it had short ceilings, small selection, outdated displays, dark, etc. It reminded me of a fancy Aldi's.


Are the new ones a lot different?


Speaking of Aldi's, I spent 8 days in Germany and didn't see one Aldi's? Seems a little weird.


One of the appeals I find of Fareway is the smaller, old fashioned stores. Quicker to get into and out of and better service.
 

CycloneJL

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I have heard that Cub Foods is looking to get in Iowa and this may be their opportunity. Cub is looking to compete with Hy-Vee as they are a Minneapolis-based grocery chain and Hy-Vee is targeting Minnesota for expansion of their brand.

I find that hard to believe as Cub Foods just left Iowa after closing their store in Ames and the store in Iowa City. I shopped at the Cub Foods in Ames quite a bit when I lived on the north side and liked it.
 

dmclone

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One of the appeals I find of Fareway is the smaller, old fashioned stores. Quicker to get into and out of and better service.

I would defiantly agree with this observation.

Although the only time I go to the store is with my wife and then I just stand the whole time over in the liquor department looking at craft beer.
 
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dmclone

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And the prices are about 60% of Hy-Vee. Not quite the selection, but . . .


As someone who use to work in the grocery business I can tell you that no one is 60% higher. If you buy the same products from different stores I'd be surprised you'd see a 5% difference. The profit margin on items in the aisles averages low single digits.

People seem to just look at their receipt and say "I always seem to pay more at ***" but rarely buy the same things at different stores. This was 15-20 years ago but we did price checks all the time on the most common 200 products in a store and once you added them all up there was very little difference. We never compared to a place like Aldi's though because they didn't carry a lot of the brand name items.
 

NickTheGreat

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As someone who use to work in the grocery business I can tell you that no one is 60% higher. If you buy the same products from different stores I'd be surprised you'd see a 5% difference. The profit margin on items in the aisles averages low single digits.

People seem to just look at their receipt and say "I always seem to pay more at ***" but rarely buy the same things at different stores. This was 15-20 years ago but we did price checks all the time on the most common 200 products in a store and once you added them all up there was very little difference. We never compared to a place like Aldi's though because they didn't carry a lot of the brand name items.

In my defense, I did say Fareway was 60% of the Hy-Vee prices. Not 60% higher.

And . . . hyperbole. :jimlad:
 

cycloneworld

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As someone who use to work in the grocery business I can tell you that no one is 60% higher. If you buy the same products from different stores I'd be surprised you'd see a 5% difference. The profit margin on items in the aisles averages low single digits.

People seem to just look at their receipt and say "I always seem to pay more at ***" but rarely buy the same things at different stores. This was 15-20 years ago but we did price checks all the time on the most common 200 products in a store and once you added them all up there was very little difference. We never compared to a place like Aldi's though because they didn't carry a lot of the brand name items.

There are some things at Hy-Vee that are cheaper than Wal-Mart but many, many items are 20-50% higher than Wal-Mart. I didn't mind the higher prices at Hy-Vee back when we lived in Iowa and we almost always shopped there (primarily because there was one 3 blocks from my house) because 1) convenience, 2) cleanliness, 3) checkout was quick. Compared to Walmart which is a nightmare to go to.

That said, Dahl's is/was a dumpy version of Fareway with much higher prices than Hy-Vee. That's why they failed.
 

khardbored

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As someone who use to work in the grocery business I can tell you that no one is 60% higher. If you buy the same products from different stores I'd be surprised you'd see a 5% difference. The profit margin on items in the aisles averages low single digits.

People seem to just look at their receipt and say "I always seem to pay more at ***" but rarely buy the same things at different stores. This was 15-20 years ago but we did price checks all the time on the most common 200 products in a store and once you added them all up there was very little difference. We never compared to a place like Aldi's though because they didn't carry a lot of the brand name items.

If you aren't in "need" of a brand name item, Aldi is often drastically cheaper than Hy-Vee. We shop at both ... Aldi for the planned trips, Hy-Vee because it's close to the house for the "one or two items" pick up.

For example, fresh fruit -- Aldi might be $1.20 per pound for a certain fruit where Hy-Vee is $3.00 per pound for the same item. An extreme example, yes, but an apt one.
 

dmclone

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Go to HyVee, Dahls, Fareway, Wal-Mart and buy all of these products(same brand) at once and I bet there isn't a 5% difference. I could be wrong but 15 years ago there was less than a 5% difference between Hy-Vee, Dahls, Fareway, and some other east side grocery store that I forget the name when we shopped for these items. This wasn't a public test it was just to see how our store compared to competitors. With that said, there is even price difference between Hy-Vee's but not that much.

This isn't the list but it was something like this but 8x as big

Milk
Eggs
Bread
Pasta
90% Ground Beef

Canned Beans(Chili,Light and dark Kidney)
Canned tomatoes
Oatmeal(Oats and Instant)
Apples
Bananas
Tomatoes
Potatoes
Celery
Carrots
Canned Veggies(Green Beans,Carrots,Corn)
Broccoli
Rice
Onions
Yogurt
Taco Shells
Shredded Cheese
Butter