Hy-Vee's weirdest business decision yet?

[usedcarguy]

Seems weird on the surface, but in reality it's image advertising. The company seems like it's one big test market with all the crap they fling against the wall, but based on my observations there may be a method to the madness.

What it appears they are trying to do with all this stuff is to create a premium brand that's a trendy pick where they can get consumers to pay a premium price for their goods....much in the same way Target has positioned itself against Walmart. It's definitely turning into a grocery store for women, and with the way women will spend on themselves, a few bucks more for groceries isn't squat. And they've been chewing up most everyone that isn't Walmart/Target along the way.

I'm trying to figure out if they're really that astute or if management is that much of a cluster****. The Market Grilles cost a ton of money and were a colossal failure. But on the other hand, it wouldn't surprise me if they were a national brand in 20 more years.

 

[GMackey32]

Seems weird on the surface, but in reality it's image advertising. The company seems like it's one big test market with all the crap they fling against the wall, but based on my observations there may be a method to the madness.

What it appears they are trying to do with all this stuff is to create a premium brand that's a trendy pick where they can get consumers to pay a premium price for their goods....much in the same way Target has positioned itself against Walmart. It's definitely turning into a grocery store for women, and with the way women will spend on themselves, a few bucks more for groceries isn't squat. And they've been chewing up most everyone that isn't Walmart/Target along the way.

I'm trying to figure out if they're really that astute or if management is that much of a cluster****. The Market Grilles cost a ton of money and were a colossal failure. But on the other hand, it wouldn't surprise me if they were a national brand in 20 more years.

It's the bolded portion. They were struggling after a series of bad financial decisions until the pandemic hit and that saved their ****. They build stores on credit so they have a lot of overhead (Fareway builds stores on stashed funds therefore its never paying off debt).

 

[ScottyP]

I understand them wanting to try different things, but their success rate seems really low lately. I would think that many misses would hurt the company eventually.

 

[BillBrasky4Cy]

I don't know about wine and spririts but beer selection varies greatly amongst stores so I assume that the managers have a big say in that. On a side note, the new Hy-Vee Wall to Wall is pretty nice. I'd like to see something like a Total Wine to compete against them but until then.....

They can decide what they want to bring in but the corporate office has really tightened in how much they can bring in. They don't buy near the quantity deals that they used to.

 

[ScottyP]

Seems weird on the surface, but in reality it's image advertising. The company seems like it's one big test market with all the crap they fling against the wall, but based on my observations there may be a method to the madness.

What it appears they are trying to do with all this stuff is to create a premium brand that's a trendy pick where they can get consumers to pay a premium price for their goods....much in the same way Target has positioned itself against Walmart. It's definitely turning into a grocery store for women, and with the way women will spend on themselves, a few bucks more for groceries isn't squat. And they've been chewing up most everyone that isn't Walmart/Target along the way.

I'm trying to figure out if they're really that astute or if management is that much of a cluster****. The Market Grilles cost a ton of money and were a colossal failure. But on the other hand, it wouldn't surprise me if they were a national brand in 20 more years.

Becoming a premium grocery store seems like a bad idea. They have too many stores per area and not enough consumers willing to pay premium prices. Plus, those premium consumers would rather go to a whole foods or natural grocers type of place.

 

[RezClone]

Eggplant sales are going to go through the roof

 

[CycloneWarrior]

I understand them wanting to try different things, but their success rate seems really low lately. I would think that many misses would hurt the company eventually.

Maybe, but doesn't look like their sales are affected negatively.

https://www.desmoinesregister.com/s...see-indiana-alabama-kentucky-2023/8910253002/

 

[BillBrasky4Cy]

Maybe, but doesn't look like their sales are affected negatively.

https://www.desmoinesregister.com/s...see-indiana-alabama-kentucky-2023/8910253002/

Prior to covid HyVee was not doing very well... Alos just becuase they are expanding into new markets doesn't mean they are rocking it either. Hy-Vee is hedging their bets with more debt.

 

[CycloneWarrior]

Prior to covid HyVee was not doing very well... Alos just becuase they are expanding into new markets doesn't mean they are rocking it either. Hy-Vee is hedging their bets with more debt.

Do you have a source for that?

 

[urb1]

I got an email from "Hy-Vee Financial Services" today. Powered by Midwest Heritage, they are getting into mortgages, auto loans, home and auto insurance, per insurance, and Medicare advising. Talk about expanding beyond the core business!

 

[Three4Cy]

I got an email from "Hy-Vee Financial Services" today. Powered by Midwest Heritage, they are getting into mortgages, auto loans, home and auto insurance, per insurance, and Medicare advising. Talk about expanding beyond the core business!

They have owned Midwest Heritage bank for years, this is not anything new just rebranding.

 

[ISUTex]

No, a place that sells things in an amount that single people would buy (ie, 6-pack cartons of eggs, 1/2 pound tubes of hamburger, 1/2 loaves of bread).

Don't they already do stuff like this at Hy-Vee? I swore at one time you could buy 6 packs of eggs. You can also buy fresh hamburger over the counter. Couldn't you just ask them for a half a pound?

 

[dirtyninety]

Maybe, but doesn't look like their sales are affected negatively.

https://www.desmoinesregister.com/s...see-indiana-alabama-kentucky-2023/8910253002/

SEC! SEC! SEC!!!!!

 

[dirtyninety]

It's the bolded portion. They were struggling after a series of bad financial decisions until the pandemic hit and that saved their ****. They build stores on credit so they have a lot of overhead (Fareway builds stores on stashed funds therefore its never paying off debt).

SNAP. That is all that matters. SNAP SNAP SNAP.

 

[cycloneworld]

It wouldn't be CF without the weekly bash Hy-Vee thread! Seems for each of you who hate the place, there are 5 other people that love it, so I guess they're doing OK.

I'm not a fanatic of the place by any means, but their selection (in food AND beer/liquor) alone keeps me coming back. If you pay attention to sales you can get most things at or below Fareway/Target prices, so I think the price thing is overblown. And no I don't need shoes or bath bombs from my grocery store, but it also doesn't hurt me. Even with that 'wasted space', they have 3x the selection of Fareway on everything not meat - good luck if you're wanting more than 1-2 flavors/brands of yogurt/chips/cheese/applesauce/etc from Fareway.

A grocery store hiring its own SWAT team and producing a grocery store dating show doesn’t seem weird to you?

I still go to Hy-Vee for the reasons you said but these corporate decisions deserve all of the ridicule they are getting.

 

[Bipolarcy]

Doesn't Hy-Vee have an affiliation with Wahlburgers? How many Hy-Vee locations in Iowa have a Wahlburgers too?

Edit: I just answered my own question. There are 18 Wahlburgers in Hy-Vees across Iowa, including one in Ames.

 

[Tailg8er]

A grocery store hiring its own SWAT team and producing a grocery store dating show doesn’t seem weird to you?

I still go to Hy-Vee for the reasons you said but these corporate decisions deserve all of the ridicule they are getting.

Comparing a couple security officers to a ******* swat team seems a lot more weird to me than anything Hy-Vee has done lol. Target has security too, wonder if they got ridiculed when they hired them? As has been mentioned a thousand times in this thread, Hy-Vee has a lot more than groceries these days..

And yeah, a grocery store producing any show other than cooking is weird - apparently someone thinks it will make money. It certainly won't have any affect on my life so guess it doesn't move the needle on my opinion of the company.

 

[ISU22CY]

It's funny that in Clear Lake they are building a new store right across from the Kwik Star location that took over where the old DQ was. Personally if I'm getting eggs, bread, pizza I'm going into Kwik Star if that's my choices.

 

[carvers4math]

When they fired a bunch of the long time store employees in 2020, they also moved some dieticians to corporate and fired some of the others. If they have to do TV shows, cooking and nutrition would seem more useful and appropriate.

They used to blow a bunch of money mailing out these booklets, not sure if they were monthly or quarterly. They had healthy eating tips, recipes especially centered on upcoming holidays on events, and of course, promoting their products. Not sure if they still do those, we haven’t gotten one in ages.

Fareway’s cart to kitchen videos with food preparation tips seem more helpful than Hy-Vee’s alternative meat market show.

 

[throwittoblythe]

It's funny that in Clear Lake they are building a new store right across from the Kwik Star location that took over where the old DQ was. Personally if I'm getting eggs, bread, pizza I'm going into Kwik Star if that's my choices.

Was traveling for work this week and in a town with few healthy food options. Fast food everywhere. Stopped at the Kwik Trip for gas on my way back to the hotel in search of dinner. Left with a rotisserie chicken, carrots, and grapes. I have to admit, that will enter my dining rotation when I’m on the road and in a pinch.