A couple days ago, i was in a store quite a ways from where i live, and it got me thinking:
Why is there such a huge difference in Kroger stores, across the same division? I mean, the store i came from is a moderate size store, not a marketplace, but i can understand since i live in a smaller town. The store i work in now is teeny tiny, and while it's not a bad store at all (i've met some great people here) you can tell that corporate does not give a crap about it as the building itself is pretty ancient and while it has been remodeled you can just tell the huge difference between it and the stores that they pour a ton of money into. And we get no support from district management whatsoever of course.
It's not about being in a "ghetto" area either because there's another store in my district that's in a small town that is just as run down and tiny. And the people who live there have complained for a long time that they want a bigger store.
I think it may have to do with a couple of factors. The primary factor, I believe, is profitability. The more profitable the store is, the more attention/care it's going to get from corporate. Another factor is competition. If there is serious competition nearby, corporate is more likely to support that store more than if say there isn't any competition nearby and thus customers have fewer shopping options. A third factor I think may have to do with population density/whether or not the store is in a growing market, so Kroger stores in a big city in an area that's experiencing explosive/high population growth may be favored over Kroger stores in small cities that aren't seeing significant population spikes.
There's probably more to it than that, but I think that's part of it.
I think it may have to do with a couple of factors. The primary factor, I believe, is profitability. The more profitable the store is, the more attention/care it's going to get from corporate. Another factor is competition. If there is serious competition nearby, corporate is more likely to support that store more than if say there isn't any competition nearby and thus customers have fewer shopping options. A third factor I think may have to do with population density/whether or not the store is in a growing market, so Kroger stores in a big city in an area that's experiencing explosive/high population growth may be favored over Kroger stores in small cities that aren't seeing significant population spikes.
There's probably more to it than that, but I think that's part of it.
^ I think it is something like this. But albeit unofficially being disguised as "project management" and/or favoritism for particular stores. I mean, my old store did not in no way seem to have as much attention on it and all these walk thrus going on. And it's pretty moderately sized. Was even open for 78 years. But not given half as much attention. But once we are in the marketplace. We can't shake coordinators, corporate and anybody else ALWAYS coming through. Because we are allegedly number 1 or some such.
Truly makes no sense. And I would think they would want ALL their stores to be running better. Instead of having some flourishing, others middling, and others are being held together by toothpick and a prayer.
In this context "small town" and "ghetto" are synonyms if the overall income of a store's customer base is pretty low, as that will reflect not just how much money they spend, but their preferences in food and products.
Where I come from, there are no Kroger stores, but it was the same deal with "Shop Rite".
There was a smaller, simpler Shop Rite, with no frills, no variety, no extensive complex Deli.
But in the upper class, mildly snobby parts of town, Shop Rite was larger, had more variety and the Deli was practically a food court that was more multicultural than the customer base.
I guess every store has it's own "supply and demand" type of thing going on. If management ordered the same products as the store across town for the sake of uniformity, they'd have markdowns and shrink out the ass.
As for the mere physical size difference, sure those people are "complaining" but actions speak louder than words, and they all keep coming back.
