I just got back from one of the Cincinnati area Kroger stores on Friday afternoon on July 19, 2019.....
On the outside of the store there's all kinds of circus flags/streamers decorating the parking lot and store roof. It was comparable to a small college homecoming football game. There's also a tracker trailer in the lot that I assumed carries all of the outdoor decorations around.
When I get into the store, everything is the same. I assumed something got remodeled. When I look around inside nothing got remodeled. So.......
What exactly is a grand opening for a store that's been around for years? I looked at my bill and it's the same. I didn't see any massive signs all over the place that had slashed prices out of the ordinary. So, it can't be a price thing, right?
Also, the managers were huddle around themselves in slacks and white collared dress shirts. How is that work attire for a job that involves stocking shelves and going outside in the heat to stack pallets -- leading by example -- if there's a s6horta5ge of employees?
To sum up, I see signs of a circus but when I get inside I don't see a circus. Lots of ballyhoo about nothing?
What the hell was this all about? Was a cheap trick to get people to visit the store and buy stuff and nothing else?
A few years ago the store I work at went through a remodel inside and out. When it was all done, instead of just calling it a remodel, the management decided to call it a grand reopening. We didn't have the decorations the OP described. However, managers from other stores in the district were there, our managment were all decked out in their Sunday best, employees were required to wear the black polos, every employee that could be available was there, and the mayor of the town and the local news was there. And we had to park our vehicles at the place next door in case the lot got full of people. And yet, despite this dog-and-pony show, people still came in, got what they needed, and left. It turned out to be a regular flow of customers, too.
... managers from other stores in the district were there, our managment were all decked out in their Sunday best, employees were required to wear the black polos, every employee that could be available was there,
So, ....money spent on decorating setups and takedowns. Extra employees in the store. Money was spent paying laborers in moving product from one aisle to another a month beforehand.
The store doesn't get enough extra customer revenue to cover the extra expenses let alone beyond?
We had something like that a few years back at my store. The "big unveiling" was...wait for it... Brand new FLOORING of the SAME pattern as our old flooring! And wait! Theres more... we got a (not so) "bigger addition" to our backroom. (Added 2 employee restrooms plus a janitors closet.) All t bgg at undue hype mainly for new flooring that had the same pattern as our old one. And that was our remodel.
