Auburn Ralphs

storewanderer · Post by **storewanderer** » 20 Feb 2006 23:37

I took some pictures. Nobody questioned me. Amazing. A little trickier in Roseville, so fewer photos of that one.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/85812748@N00/102428231/

Jeff · Post by **Jeff** » 22 Feb 2006 01:00

nice pics. The Albertsons in Temple City was still looking like that as of last year, havent been by since.

runchadrun · Post by **runchadrun** » 22 Feb 2006 09:28

I would have thought that a new chain entering an area would remodel the store so it didn't look like the store that it just was. And it wasn't like there were hundreds of stores (a la Albertsons-Lucky) that needed to be done. No wonder they weren't very successful. (I know this wasn't the only factor.)

Of course, here in LA there are countless old Hughes stores that still look like Hughes inside, 7 or 8 years after the merger. The only difference is the red Ralphs sign on the front of the building.

storewanderer · Post by **storewanderer** » 22 Feb 2006 15:57

They did remodel most of the stores. They also closed quite a few stores they had remodeled (2 in Sacramento, Rancho Cordova, Livermore, Granite Bay) prior to now.

The four stores left that were not remodeled (Capitola, Auburn, Santa Rosa, Orangevale) along with Grass Valley (remodeled, higher volume) were probably the only stores that made any money for Ralphs in NorCal. The other locations received remodels that were such a waste of money, I doubt the remodels ever even paid for themselves.

Some of the locations did better before the remodels than after. The remodels were such a disrpution to business, and the merchandise mix was altered, so customers were turned off.

The remodels were a mistake in NorCal. They should have kept the stores as they were, operated with reasonable pricing, and they probably could have squeezed by as ABS did for so many years in NorCal.

steps · Post by **steps** » 22 Feb 2006 16:07

so what was this store before ralphs...?? a lucky...?

Jeff · Post by **Jeff** » 22 Feb 2006 23:28

The one was Albertsons. the other looks like it could have been a Smiths.

hypernick1980 · Post by **hypernick1980** » 23 Feb 2006 02:14

I think the newer looking store was a Ralphs build, With both Ralphs and Smith's being owned by Kroger. Store designs naturally would have some shared traits. On the pictures it says that the Auburn store opened in 2002 some 5 or 6 years after Smith's exit from the California market.