15 ms·

I despise Kroger. I moved from Texas with fantastic HEB, and virginia with Publix to Colorado and we already had absolutely trash grocery stores, but now Kroger

by swozey 3y ago

I despise Kroger. I moved from Texas with fantastic HEB, and virginia with Publix to Colorado and we already had absolutely trash grocery stores, but now Kroger owns all of the major ones here. King soopers, etc. Absolutely trash stores. Cannot believe they keep letting them take over grocers. Maybe build a new Kroger in all of our food deserts instead of turning a halfway decent store into a dumpster? I live downtown and my nearest real grocery store is a 20 minute DRIVE away. I shop at 711 more than a grocery store outside of instacart.

mjevans 3y ago
It's tough for a business to operate in lower volume areas. The fact that you have a real grocery store a drive away probably indicates that there's enough volume at that location to keep prices low. While the added at the sticker overhead of keeping a smaller branch stocked near you might be enough to poison the well of customers by sending some on that drive to save money overall. A solution to the density problem is different from the lack of competition in dense areas, which is part of what blocking chain mergers is about. A stranger to your situation, I can only speculate generally. Proper city / urban planning is unpopular with voters. No one likes restrictions. No one likes being told that some little town they live in isn't economically viable and should be wound down and closed up. Or that maybe a local food co-op or other more socialist method such as the government running a wholesale outlet for essentials might be a solution to the market not working for an area. In any event, a government of the people and for the people should ensure fair markets exist, and that where markets don't make sense (usually natural monopolies and also things that are required but don't work economically) a public utility ensures everyone has access to services.
- swozey 3y ago
  > The fact that you have a real grocery store a drive away probably indicates that there's enough volume at that location to keep prices low. I'm not sure if I'd consider this the same situation. I'm not in a low volume area, I'm in one of the the densest neighborhoods in the city and unfortunately as nice as a 20 minute drive sounds to some that's absolutely abhorrent when you live downtown in an area like this. Most of my neighbors and friends don't own cars so that's an hour one way bus ride. I only drive my car to go to the pharmacy once a month and that's a 30 minute 4 mile one -way drive. Gotta sign my name for my adhd meds every month for 30 years straight no matter how difficult to get them it is. Kroger is buying all of these ancient derelict looking grocery stores that have been here for ages. I don't know the last time I saw a grocery store get built in my entire life, and especially not the 4 years I've been in Denver where the (metro) populations gone from (according to google) 2,656,000 to 2,963,000 since 2016. Of course like you've said well, I really have no idea what goes into the logistics of where or why to put a grocery store so maybe it really just is that low volume to them. I'm in the "Harlem of the West" neighborhood which is a food desert more by design by 1950s anti-civil rights planners than corporate profits unfortunately, although it may not be that reason any longer. Not saying that you don't know any of this it's just a topic I'm pretty passionate about and that a lot of people are less familiar with, so maybe some HN'ers will be interested. I wasn't aware of food deserts and how difficult they make peoples lives until I experienced living in one. There are really great coops that build therapy/education centers with farms that always need donations of time or farm work if anyone is looking for something to volunteer on. https://www.arcgis.com/apps/Viewer/index.html?appid=96ae7380fed14e47a6fb7ddd24f432bd&extent=-105.0160,39.7551,-104.9061,39.7961 https://www.arcgis.com/apps/Viewer/index.html?appid=96ae7380... https://www.cpr.org/show-episode/food-deserts-what-are-they-where-are-they-and-what-is-colorado-doing-to-prevent-them/ https://www.cpr.org/show-episode/food-deserts-what-are-they-... And THIS! From our wonderful Kyle Clark, Supermarket merger could cause damage in food deserts -- There's a huge potential that these mergers will just cause them to close stores. https://www.9news.com/article/news/local/next/next-with-kyle-clark/denvers-food-deserts-could-feel-impact-of-kroger-albertsons-king-soopers-safeway-merger/73-83c26c84-d7a4-4199-a543-1a7a1c9b40a9 https://www.9news.com/article/news/local/next/next-with-kyle...
  - mjevans 3y ago
    In the case you described I'm inclined to blame BOTH rent-seeking land lords AND a city unwilling to do that politically inconvenient thing. Fail to urban plan rather than allow a an unchecked market that fails consumers by reaching a maximum profit rather than maximum community benefit balance.

by swozey 3y ago

mjevans 3y ago

It's tough for a business to operate in lower volume areas. The fact that you have a real grocery store a drive away probably indicates that there's enough volume at that location to keep prices low. While the added at the sticker overhead of keeping a smaller branch stocked near you might be enough to poison the well of customers by sending some on that drive to save money overall. A solution to the density problem is different from the lack of competition in dense areas, which is part of what blocking chain mergers is about. A stranger to your situation, I can only speculate generally. Proper city / urban planning is unpopular with voters. No one likes restrictions. No one likes being told that some little town they live in isn't economically viable and should be wound down and closed up. Or that maybe a local food co-op or other more socialist method such as the government running a wholesale outlet for essentials might be a solution to the market not working for an area. In any event, a government of the people and for the people should ensure fair markets exist, and that where markets don't make sense (usually natural monopolies and also things that are required but don't work economically) a public utility ensures everyone has access to services.

swozey 3y ago
> The fact that you have a real grocery store a drive away probably indicates that there's enough volume at that location to keep prices low. I'm not sure if I'd consider this the same situation. I'm not in a low volume area, I'm in one of the the densest neighborhoods in the city and unfortunately as nice as a 20 minute drive sounds to some that's absolutely abhorrent when you live downtown in an area like this. Most of my neighbors and friends don't own cars so that's an hour one way bus ride. I only drive my car to go to the pharmacy once a month and that's a 30 minute 4 mile one -way drive. Gotta sign my name for my adhd meds every month for 30 years straight no matter how difficult to get them it is. Kroger is buying all of these ancient derelict looking grocery stores that have been here for ages. I don't know the last time I saw a grocery store get built in my entire life, and especially not the 4 years I've been in Denver where the (metro) populations gone from (according to google) 2,656,000 to 2,963,000 since 2016. Of course like you've said well, I really have no idea what goes into the logistics of where or why to put a grocery store so maybe it really just is that low volume to them. I'm in the "Harlem of the West" neighborhood which is a food desert more by design by 1950s anti-civil rights planners than corporate profits unfortunately, although it may not be that reason any longer. Not saying that you don't know any of this it's just a topic I'm pretty passionate about and that a lot of people are less familiar with, so maybe some HN'ers will be interested. I wasn't aware of food deserts and how difficult they make peoples lives until I experienced living in one. There are really great coops that build therapy/education centers with farms that always need donations of time or farm work if anyone is looking for something to volunteer on. https://www.arcgis.com/apps/Viewer/index.html?appid=96ae7380fed14e47a6fb7ddd24f432bd&extent=-105.0160,39.7551,-104.9061,39.7961 https://www.arcgis.com/apps/Viewer/index.html?appid=96ae7380... https://www.cpr.org/show-episode/food-deserts-what-are-they-where-are-they-and-what-is-colorado-doing-to-prevent-them/ https://www.cpr.org/show-episode/food-deserts-what-are-they-... And THIS! From our wonderful Kyle Clark, Supermarket merger could cause damage in food deserts -- There's a huge potential that these mergers will just cause them to close stores. https://www.9news.com/article/news/local/next/next-with-kyle-clark/denvers-food-deserts-could-feel-impact-of-kroger-albertsons-king-soopers-safeway-merger/73-83c26c84-d7a4-4199-a543-1a7a1c9b40a9 https://www.9news.com/article/news/local/next/next-with-kyle...
- mjevans 3y ago
  In the case you described I'm inclined to blame BOTH rent-seeking land lords AND a city unwilling to do that politically inconvenient thing. Fail to urban plan rather than allow a an unchecked market that fails consumers by reaching a maximum profit rather than maximum community benefit balance.