Aldi to buy Winn-Dixie and Harveys

[Scott5114]

Too cheap to hire a cart runner.

too american to pick up after yourself?

I'm a paying customer, I want a store that provides the services I like if I'm going to spend my money there. I expect good service. If it is American to expect good service then so be it, though I think many other countries would also expect good service.

Having to have someone collect the carts isn't the store providing a service, it's an expense the business incurs because of asshole customers leaving their carts in places they don't belong. Like in the middle of aisles, or rolling off into the paint job of other customers' cars.

Aldi has simply figured out a way to keep their customers from being assholes, and if they still can't help themselves, the store gets a small fee for their trouble. (Or, more likely, another customer gets paid a small fee to clean up after the asshole.)

[roadman65]

Too cheap to hire a cart runner.

too american to pick up after yourself?

I'm a paying customer, I want a store that provides the services I like if I'm going to spend my money there. I expect good service. If it is American to expect good service then so be it, though I think many other countries would also expect good service.

Having to have someone collect the carts isn't the store providing a service, it's an expense the business incurs because of asshole customers leaving their carts in places they don't belong. Like in the middle of aisles, or rolling off into the paint job of other customers' cars.

Aldi has simply figured out a way to keep their customers from being assholes, and if they still can't help themselves, the store gets a small fee for their trouble. (Or, more likely, another customer gets paid a small fee to clean up after the asshole.)

Not to mention how the shopping carts left around the lot get grabbed by the homeless or middle aged derelicts to push their personal belongings around town. 

In Orlando on US 17/92/441 you'll see tons of stolen carts being pushed around, including  a few of them pretending their cart was their personal automobile and push the cart down the middle of the street with traffic.

[Rothman]

Too cheap to hire a cart runner.

too american to pick up after yourself?

I'm a paying customer, I want a store that provides the services I like if I'm going to spend my money there. I expect good service. If it is American to expect good service then so be it, though I think many other countries would also expect good service.

Having to have someone collect the carts isn't the store providing a service, it's an expense the business incurs because of asshole customers leaving their carts in places they don't belong. Like in the middle of aisles, or rolling off into the paint job of other customers' cars.

Aldi has simply figured out a way to keep their customers from being assholes, and if they still can't help themselves, the store gets a small fee for their trouble. (Or, more likely, another customer gets paid a small fee to clean up after the asshole.)

Not to mention how the shopping carts left around the lot get grabbed by the homeless or middle aged derelicts to push their personal belongings around town. 

The horror.

[HighwayStar]

Having to have someone collect the carts isn't the store providing a service, it's an expense the business incurs because of asshole customers leaving their carts in places they don't belong. Like in the middle of aisles, or rolling off into the paint job of other customers' cars.

Aldi has simply figured out a way to keep their customers from being assholes, and if they still can't help themselves, the store gets a small fee for their trouble. (Or, more likely, another customer gets paid a small fee to clean up after the asshole.)

I very much call that a service, to be able to not run a cart back into the store. Yes it is also an expense, although a very small one. I guarantee it does not cost 25 cents to retrieve a cart.
What Aldi has done is found a way to nickel and dime the customer for services that we used to just get. Its shrinkflation in another form.

[RobbieL2415]

Whole Foods?  I don't know their breadth, but their prices suggest luxury.

Whole Foods...ugh...

There's a Whole Foods, Trader Joe's and an Aldi, all on this same street (https://www.google.com/maps/@41.8114886,-72.5526613,1272m/data=!3m1!1e3?entry=ttu) about a quarter mile apart from each other.

[Jim]

No one is forced to like Aldi or its quarter "deposit" on carts, but it's just that, a deposit, not a rental fee.  I get my quarter back when I put the cart back.

Fairly often, someone in the lot finishing up unloading their cart will give me a cart, and I'll do the same.  Very rarely does anyone giving me their cart want my quarter and I don't ask for their quarter if giving it to someone.

[kalvado]

No one is forced to like Aldi or its quarter "deposit" on carts, but it's just that, a deposit, not a rental fee.  I get my quarter back when I put the cart back.

Fairly often, someone in the lot finishing up unloading their cart will give me a cart, and I'll do the same.  Very rarely does anyone giving me their cart want my quarter and I don't ask for their quarter if giving it to someone.

Given that last time I walked out of grocery store I had $25 worth of food in a smallish bag, 25 cents seems trivial.
I remember depositing a tooney in Canada, though.

[Takumi]

When I worked at Aldi we were allowed to lend customers cart quarters if they asked. In the two months I worked there I can count on my hands the number of times it happened, and I always got the quarter back after the customer was done.

[Rothman]

When I worked at Aldi we were allowed to lend customers cart quarters if they asked. In the two months I worked there I can count on my hands the number of times it happened, and I always got the quarter back after the customer was done.

Faith in humanity restored.

[tchafe1978]

I love shopping at ALDI, and I work at Walmart. The store is much smaller, I can get in and out and find what I need much quicker without having to cover 10 acres. The selection is limited, but that is by design. 90% (just speaking figuratively) of the products are private label ALDI exclusive brands. There is no need to have 5 different brands of the same kind of canned tomatoes to choose from when ALDI's brand works just fine. Less time needed to browse the selection, I can just grab and go. The cart thing is actually genius. It's not hard to get amd put back your own cart. The lot is smaller so I probably walk less distance returning my cart than I would returning it to a cart corrall at Walmart anyways. I have about 10 reusable bags I take with me every trip, bought from ALDI for a couple bucks each, and they last a long time. All these things are meant to save the store money, which keeps prices low. When I shop at Walmart I'm using self check so I bag my own stuff anyway, the way I want to bag it. The only thing that might annoy me about ALDI is the way the cashiers throw your items in the cart pretty carlessly, thoughn they'll at least put the bread and eggs in the seat of the cart to keep from crushing them. ALDI's selection and quality has greatly improved from when I first started shopping there 20 years ago. Their "chips ahoy" cookies are half the price of real Chips Ahoy and I can't tell the difference in taste. I will gladly take that over higher service. Then only other downside is no fresh deli counter or bakery, but I can get those few items at another store.

[In_Correct]

https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2023/08/25/not-just-aldi-cvs-and-walgreens-also-to-get-piece-of-winn-dixie/

I Hate Sign In With Google.

Not just Aldi, CVS and Walgreens also to get piece of Winn-Dixie




The parent company of the Florida grocer is getting rid of its pharmacy assets. They'll go to two major drugstore chains.

Birds are perched above the Winn Dixie sign at the Palm Harbor store. Pharmacies at the Jacksonville-based chain stores will be moved to CVS and Walgreens locations as part of the Aldi takeover. (Chris Urso/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
Birds are perched above the Winn Dixie sign at the Palm Harbor store. Pharmacies at the Jacksonville-based chain stores will be moved to CVS and Walgreens locations as part of the Aldi takeover. (Chris Urso/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
By BERNADETTE BERDYCHOWSKI | Tampa Bay Times
PUBLISHED: August 25, 2023 at 1:49 p.m. | UPDATED: August 25, 2023 at 1:50 p.m.

Last week, Southeastern Grocers announced it was shedding businesses and selling off Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarkets to Aldi, and Fresco y Más to an investment company.

But the Jacksonville-based grocery conglomerate didn't name two other major retailers it also made deals with: CVS and Walgreens.

Southeastern Grocers told its pharmacists that it will sell all of its Winn-Dixie and Harveys pharmacy assets to both CVS and Walgreens by the end of the year, according to internal emails obtained by the Tampa Bay Times.

"Prior to the closing of the proposed merger agreements recently announced, Southeastern Grocers has entered into agreements to transfer prescription files to certain CVS Pharmacies and Walgreens,"  confirmed Southeastern Grocers communication director Meredith Hurley in an email.

The pharmacies will "confidentially"  transfer prescriptions and client files by the end of the year and customers will get advance notice, Hurley said.

"While we do not have a definitive date at this time, we can assure you that nothing changes today,"  Hurley said.

Aldi is set to acquire 400 Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarket stores, of which 75% are concentrated in Florida, greatly expanding its presence in the southeast. The Germany-based grocer will evaluate which locations will be converted into Aldi and which will remain under the original name of one of Florida's top grocers, with nearly a century of history. The sale is expected to close in the first half of 2024.

Southeastern Grocers is also selling its Hispanic and Caribbean brand Fresco y Más, with 28 stores and four pharmacies, to investment firm Fresco Retail Group LLC – which plans to operate them as they are.

But Aldi is not in the pharmacy business.

And with this deal, Winn-Dixie will be rid of its pharmacies before Aldi takes over. Aldi did not respond to comment.

"Walgreens is pleased to have reached an agreement with Southeastern Grocers to acquire pharmacy customer prescription files from and related pharmacy inventory for select Winn-Dixie and Harveys pharmacy locations in five states,"  Walgreens spokesperson Fraser Engerman said in an email to the Times.

CVS Health spokesperson Amy Thibault also confirmed the deal in an email statement.

"Upon the expected completion of the transactions later this year, the acquired prescription records will be transferred to nearby CVS Pharmacy locations,"  Thibault said.

The deal could mean that some Winn-Dixie pharmacists may need to find another job with the closure of pharmacies in the next few months.

Walgreens and CVS representatives both said they would interview and offer positions to Winn-Dixie and Harveys pharmacy employees. But they didn't mention how many they would hire.

"We believe that there is great opportunity for our associates,"  Southeastern Grocers told pharmacists in an internal email. "But we also understand you may still have questions about next steps for you should you not move forward with CVS."

Author
Bernadette Berdychowski
2023>
August>
25

I did not like Winn Dixie and I also did not like that silly dog that named Winn Dixie also. Winn Dixie also has very silly off brands. And be cause of Winn Dixie, the other pharmacies get to have that part of Winn Dixie. The Beef People is also going to be at Aldi now.

Aldi is a much better company. However, they are annoying with their coin operated carts. And no shopping bags either.

There are not any alternatives for me about Walmart. ... unless it is Meijer.

And if you wished to have a very small store that seems easier to buy Essensials, that can be Braum's who are very renowned for their knowledge of grocery bags. Walmart uses Plastic yet not Paper. Braum's uses Paper yet not Plastic. Both sell the reuse able bags. Regular, and Insulated. ... As far as Braum's Insulated Bags are concerned ... they do not reuse very often. After very gentle use they have been falling apart.

And that is why Aldi is silly.

However, if you must let dogs run amok in your stores, it is ludicrous to name them after your stores.

[bwana39]

I used to live in a place where there were five Winn-Dixies (only one remains). I could see Aldis moving into the former Winn-Dixie locations while keeping the current store open.

The Aldi in Mount Pleasant TX is in a long closed Winn Dixie Building they use about 1/3 and the rest is leased out to different tenants. Perhaps partition a large part of the building

[-- US 175 --]

I used to live in a place where there were five Winn-Dixies (only one remains). I could see Aldis moving into the former Winn-Dixie locations while keeping the current store open.

The Aldi in Mount Pleasant TX is in a long closed Winn Dixie Building they use about 1/3 and the rest is leased out to different tenants. Perhaps partition a large part of the building

There is an Aldi in far north Dallas that is in about 1/3 of a former Winn Dixie.  I've forgotten what the other 2 parts are.

[bwana39]

Aldi has a seeming cult following. Save-a-lot does the same basic thing. They are not the sole occupant of this niche.