Hy-Vee's weirdest business decision yet?

[Tailg8er]

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.

 

[SolarGarlic]

Hy-Vee is in a tough space because the big boys (Walmart and to a lesser extent Target) are getting better at groceries and will thrash HV at prices. So they want to try to build a brand that reinforces their customer base. HV is going for a cool, young brand that has a streaming service and a dating show.

I’m convinced a big reason that Target exists is to cater to people who wanna feel superior to Walmart shoppers. Same idea here with what Hy-Vee is trying to build on.

I don't want to feel superior. I want a superior product. The Walmart in my area is dirty and never stocked. Target is clean and organized. It's an easy choice.

 

[Die4Cy]

Vegetables are sensual. People are sensuous.

I'm known to ask people, "Sensuous up, mind grabbing me a beer?"

 

[CYdTracked]

Well, it will end in the meat department with the man asking, “you want some sausage?”

Maybe something like this?

 

[Carlisle Clone]

Always thought the jingle should have been... "where there's a vertical smile in every aisle"

"helpful smirk on every clerk"

 

[CascadeClone]

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.

Yeah I am in the "neutral on hyvee" segment. it's not as expensive as people say, and if you shop the ads it is competitive with Fareway. They do have really good selection generally, produce usually very good.

I am NOT a fan of the "upscale" hyvee layouts they are going to (e.g. Edgewood road in CR) with the short aisles and large open areas with their food court stations around it. Its designed to make you stay longer, and they hope you spend more. Plus that stuff is all higher margin I would guess. It's sort of like gas stations - they really want you to come inside and impulse buy a bunch of high margin pop, donuts, chips, etc; that's where the money is.

 

[cysmiley]

Fear factor now is actually shopping at a HyVee and trying to avoid getting hit with their industrial shopping carts whipping up and down the aisles. "Move out of the way peasant! I've got online orders to fill!"

Yeah that plus the flatbeds with bins on them. Not to mention double-wides where four kids can fit, two standing and two sitting, plus future shopper carts that can hide and suddenly appear out of nowhere to bite the ankles. Its a combat zone, plus they keep moving product around so you have to advance thru no mans land to find what you need. And then there's the extra displays in the aisles, lurking like land mines to offer you the opportunity to prove trained avoidance technique and quick reaction time!

 

[Cyched]

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.

Despite what you want to believe, most of us don't *hate* HyVee. A lot of us grew up shopping there and worked there at some point. More dismayed at some of their recent decisions.

I don't fault them for being innovative. They've done it successfully in the past with things that fit in their stores and mission - pharmacy, floral, dry cleaning, postal service. Their more recent ideas seem to be more clumsy and are resulting in them passing those costs on to the customer, and coming at the expense of some things that made them great in the first place (customer service, clean stores, ease of shopping and navigating the store).

I've tried shopping at several different places over the past couple years, and in my experience the price thing isn't imaginary. I will say that Fareway's prices have usually been at or near HyVee's, so that specific comparison is definitely overblown.

 

[FerShizzle]

Only in Iowa do you get awesome pizza from a gas station and Chinese food from a grocery store.

Caseys hasnt made awesome pizza for a while now. its not the same product it was a decade ago. there is literally no reason to go to that trash store. i will die on this hill

 

[Cydkar]

Caseys hasnt made awesome pizza for a while now. its not the same product it was a decade ago. there is literally no reason to go to that trash store. i will die on this hill

Casey's has gone way down hill.

 

[KidSilverhair]

The talk about Target being a better, more upscale experience than WalMart (which I agree with) reminds me of growing up. In the late 70s-early 80s there was a Target in Ottumwa, the only one I was aware of at the time … and that store was basically what WalMart is like today. It’s quite something to realize what a good job Target did of making themselves appear better, cleaner, and a bit more upscale considering where they were 45 years ago!

Another vote for the Red Card from me, that does bring Target prices more in line with other grocery chains. Although I also agree the selection isn’t always the best, particularly with margarine/dairy products.

 

[GMackey32]

Retail stores want you to spend as much time in them as possible. The longer you stay, the more likely you will spend more money. I personally don't think its a great business model because it involves a lot of overhead.

 

[IASTATE07]

Caseys hasnt made awesome pizza for a while now. its not the same product it was a decade ago. there is literally no reason to go to that trash store. i will die on this hill

What's different about it?

 

[NickTheGreat]

This seems weird, but I guess I don't see the outrage in it. :shrug:

 

[CyCloned]

The recently closed their store on Collins in CR. Not sure what that was about, as that store was always busy when I went there.

 

[JP4CY]

The talk about Target being a better, more upscale experience than WalMart (which I agree with) reminds me of growing up. In the late 70s-early 80s there was a Target in Ottumwa, the only one I was aware of at the time … and that store was basically what WalMart is like today. It’s quite something to realize what a good job Target did of making themselves appear better, cleaner, and a bit more upscale considering where they were 45 years ago!

Another vote for the Red Card from me, that does bring Target prices more in line with other grocery chains. Although I also agree the selection isn’t always the best, particularly with margarine/dairy products.

I'm old enough to remember whe Target was on Lincoln Way before selling it to Hastings (kind of a best buy meets Barnes and Noble).

 

[1UNI2ISU]

Casey's has gone way down hill.

Gobbling up smaller, less well run chains and not really making any changes to their stores other than throwing in a small kitchen was a bad way to go about expansion. It was probably cheaper short term, but long term they'd have been better off investing in new stores in those markets and running the smaller chains out of business.

 

[Tailg8er]

Another vote for the Red Card from me, that does bring Target prices more in line with other grocery chains.

Sure, but then you're also losing out on the 2-5% cash/miles back from your normal credit card, so the savings aren't quite that much (at least for those who take advantage of cash back/travel credit cards).

 

[theshadow]

I'm old enough to remember whe Target was on Lincoln Way before selling it to Hastings (kind of a best buy meets Barnes and Noble).

And when the Kmart was on west Lincoln Way, where Hy-Vee is now.

 

[Trice]

This thread is a good reminder that another Costco is coming to the area soon-ish. No drama, no flailing around trying to find a gimmick that sticks. Just good prices and good quality.