http://www.wsj.com/articles/kroger-to-buy-roundys-for-178-million-1447250113









Kroger scarfs up another grocery chain. So much for shopping local. Kroger is a nice chain, but I liked shopping at Wisconsin based businesses.



 
 

It will be interesting to watch this merger play out.

 
They can call it a merger, but it's really a takeover. Kroger has bought up grocery chains all over the country. They usually leave them intact overall, so most people don't even know they are shopping at a Kroger store.

Kroger is a good brand.  Used to shop there when I lived in Michigan.  

Should make Roundy's even more competitive in this competitive market.  With Meijer moving in, they need to be as competitive as possible.  

That being said, I like to shop at Sendik's.  I prefer their meats and produce.

Roundys sucks. They stiffed me after I did an "emergency" service call at one of their stores (they were locked out of the cash office by a broken latch bolt on the Best lever handle lock, on a busy Saturday morning). I got the door open, repaired, gave the manager an invoice. 3 months later, after numerous requests for payment, they said they couldn't pay my invoice unless I became a "registered" vendor with their corporation. So they sent me a vendor packet to fill out. They wanted 10X the liability insurance I was carrying, they wanted to be a "named party" on my car insurance policy, they wanted me to have workman's comp insurance even though I'm a sole proprietor with no employees, and the real kicker was the "contract" they wanted me to sign. It stated I would be available 24/7/365 at any location in WI, and I would NOT carry any weapons on my person nor in my vehicle (their stores are not posted). I said "no thanks, just pay me what you owe me for the job I did, and we'll part ways". Nope, they refused, a real bitch in Milwaukee corp. office said I could sue them if I wanted to, that's the only way I'd ever get paid. That was in 2012, never got paid.

 
Take it up with Kroger, their problem now.  Seriously though, corporate or not, I would think you could bring pressure on the local store to pay up living in a rural area.

Kroger is good.  I have never been a huge fan of Roundys since moving to WI.  They also own the Copps chain which is the only store in the town nearest to us.  I don't expect it to affect us much but it will help Roundys.

Chairman Bob is a douchebag

Not worth the hassle. Decided to just wait for the next emergency and tell them to suck it. And that's just what happened. The 1st call was on snowmobile derby weekend, Eagle River's 2nd busiest weekend of the year. 2nd call came on the busiest - July 4th - when their safe would not open, again on Saturday morning. I laughed at the manager when he called, then gave him an ear full and told him to get bent.

The following Tuesday, I saw another locksmith's truck in the parking lot, he came all the way from Wausau. I hope they can get used to a 4 day wait on all "emergencies".

Kroger was in Wisconsin until the early 70s.  I don't know why they left then, though.

This story made my day. Figure out the total with interest. That is their up front cost for your consultation visit if you ever choose to show mercy on them. I worked for Roundy's through high school and part of college. The corporate level "idea" guys are the ones who lose money for the company. I've never seen more waste and inefficiency before or after my time there.

Our local pic n save is overpriced, by about 30% according some locals, compared to woodmans, where we go.

Not to mention that silly ass "uniform" of whit shirt, black pants, and black tie for everyone, including the ladies.

Wonder what they'll change up since we are also getting a superwalmart here soon.

Or just file a mechanics lien against the store.

I've been in business for 30 years, so I've been down this road a few times. You cannot file a mechanics lien against real property unless you obtain a small claims court judgment first. To file a small claims action requires paying court fees upfront... last time I checked (a few years ago) those fees were $89. They owe me less than that.

It's a slam dunk win, I have the invoice (signed by store manager) and they have no proof of payment (because there was none). But, all that $89 gets me is a legal document affirming they owe me money... only now, it's plus the $89 court fees I already paid for. There is NO court involvement in the enforcement of paying the debt. I can hire a collection company, who will get a good portion, if they can collect, or I can just file the lien now (more money outlaid by me) and wait until the property is sold, and that fucks with the title transfer. But they don't "own" the building, they lease it. That only messes with the owner, and it's not his fault nor his bill to pay. Add in all the hassle of going to court (if they dispute the bill) and it's throwing good money after bad is all it amounts to.

As it stands now, whomever occupies the building, be it Roundy's, Kroger,  whatever.. they will get NO local locksmith service as long as I'm the only one in the area, until I get paid, including 1.5% interest per month. After that, all further service will require payment in advance, in CASH.

LOL, the building and all it's occupants has gotten hit with my "ban hammer".

Sometimes firing a customer is priceless, especially if you can afford it.  Logic says you can't afford not to do it.  

Hey let's screw over a vendor.  Hey we need some help, call that guy who came last time.  You mean the guy we fucked over?

True horseshit because they could have cut a check or even used petty cash then told you no more work without a vendor agreement on file.  They chose to be dicks.

Exactly. If you don't get paid, you waste time that would be spent elsewhere, where you do get paid.

BTW... also getting my "ban hammer", most recently, is Cannon Safe Corp. I did a warranty job for them, on a gun safe in Rhinelander (bought at Dunham's) with a loose relocker. Luckily for the owner, the relocker fired when he was moving it with the door open, and the bolts extended. He couldn't retract the bolts to close the door. The job was done on Aug. 28th, 2015. I reset the relocker, $115, including my $70 service call / travel charge for the 52 mile round trip. When I accepted the job. I was promised payment in 7-10 days by the person from Cannon who contacted me with the work order. I'm still waiting to get paid. If you own a Cannon Safe in my service area, no warranty service for you, unless YOU pay for it up front, and seek reimbursement from Cannon. And I own a Cannon gun safe myself too.

Thought I heard about a year or two ago in the financial news that Roundy's wasn't doing well.  A buyout in that case wouldn't be too surprising.

Pick N Save's prices are ridiculous compared to Woodman's. Meijers is somewhere in between. Even if you don't have a Woodman's nearby, it's worth a trip once in a while, to stock up on the things that keep for a while. It's not a small difference, either. The same frozen pizza can be $2-$3 less. The same box of cereal can be $1-$2 less. Hopefully Kroger realizes that they need to be more competitive in their pricing, because it's obvious that Roundy's doesn't get it.

They aren't doing well because they are keeping their prices too high. They were spoiled by high profit margins when they had little competition, and they seem to be in denial about the new competitors that have moved in, and refuse to lower their prices. FWIW, I've heard that Woodman's pays their employees better than Roundy's, but they work their people pretty hard (no standing around, ever).  

Meh.

Pick N Save is stupid expensive.
We shop at Woodman's.

Yeah, I've found Copps and Pick N Save to be more expensive. The shopper cards are an excuse to overcharge those who aren't careful.  Festival Foods is my go to.

Festival and Woodman's are preferred. Still go to Pick-N-Save once in a while.

Have you ever been to the Save More in Minoqua? I always wondered who owns that, because it seems a lot like a Pick N Save inside, and they even accept the Pick N Save card.

Same here. When Roundy's bought P&S it went way downhill. Their management sucks and treats the minions like sheet. Filed a complaint with WI Consumer and Trade after I told them many times their pricing labels were wrong. They don't care and their produce looks old and raged

Nope. First, I don't grocery shop, my sammich-maker does that. 2nd, Minocqua is too far. 3rd, I believe in spending my money with those who support my business...and one of my best customers over the past 20 years has been Trigs. Yes, they cost a little more, but they give me a LOT of business... they own 2 locations in Eagle River, 4 in Rhinelander, 3 in Minocqua, one in Manitowish Waters (I'm counting their gas stations, car washes, the big smoke house & their warehouse in Rhinelander.) And they pay their bills.

Roundy's never tried to be the "low cost leader", they simply tried to be everywhere and in your face like Starbucks. It works until Woodmens makes a stop in town. Trigs is my go-to store when up north. Their cranberry brats and mushroom cheese brats come home with me every trip.

Small Claims court?

Not worth it. Small claims court is not all "Judge Judy"- like. They owe me $85 for the job (less interest) and it'd cost me $89 to file the papers, then take time off from work to go to court. No guarantee I'd collect either. I'd win in court, but collecting is another matter. These assholes know how the system works and know it's not worth their time for an attorney to show up on their behalf, I win by default when they're a no-show. But so what? They just say "fuck you", now we owe you $174 instead of $85. They lease the building, so I can't put a lien on it. "Throwing good money after bad"  is the appropriate expression. It's best to just chalk it up to experience, write it off as a "bad debt", and move on. And "fire them" as a customer. I've got a long list of deadbeats whom I've "fired", that's part of business I guess.

Sometimes the best policy is to buy a box of toothpicks and a tube of superglue, and "fix" a few of their locks.

Good. Maybe their prices won't suck so bad some time in the future. Woodman's or Piggly Wiggly have been getting my business.