I am very curious how Homeland has not gone out of business due to how high their prices are compared to other stores. For example at Walmart a pack of bar-s hot dogs is only $1.18 at Target it's only $1.39. and Target is known for being upscale. At Homeland the same pack of hot dogs is almost about $1.87 I am shocked that they stay in business given all the high prices to where people could go to Walmart or Target and get it for cheaper

I am very curious how Homeland has not gone out of business due to how high their prices are compared to other stores. For example at Walmart a pack of bar-s hot dogs is only $1.18 at Target it's only $1.39. and Target is known for being upscale. At Homeland the same pack of hot dogs is almost about $1.87 I am shocked that they stay in business given all the high prices to where people could go to Walmart or Target and get it for cheaper

It's the same way in Stillwater. Some people just won't shop at Walmart, because of its corporate policies.

It's the same way in Stillwater. Some people just won't shop at Walmart, because of its corporate policies.

Which is one reason I chose Homeland in Ardmore. I avoid Walmart.

With that said... It seemed like I could never get out of Homeland for under $100.... So I switched to Aldi and very rarely do I even come close to $100.

I pretty much only go to Homeland now to look for meat they are about to throw out to make homemade dog food with. Catch it on the last day and it can be marked down as much as 90%.

It's the same way in Stillwater. Some people just won't shop at Walmart, because of its corporate policies.

I pretty much only shop at Wal-Mart (and Sam's) because of the value. Cheaper prices for the same thing wins for me just about every time.

I've never understood how Homeland is still open. Sort of like Carl's Jr.

The stores are never large enough to compete with other local big boys like Crest. They just can't put enough variety on the shelf to hit that economy of scale to get that discount that we expect. Much like Albertson's, you come out spending a ton more than you would anywhere else but it may be closer for the quick run things.

Aldi + Crest + Sams/Costco for me. On the rare occassion i can't get what i need from those, the Wally World Neighborhood market often has it and its just as close. Homeland....nope. Not gonna go there.

Two reasons: I think Homeland has a store loyalty with many of their customers. Some people have shopped there for decades and just aren't going to change their ways. Which is fine for them for now, but obviously won't be sustainable 10-20 years down the road. The other reason would be in many parts of the city (the one on Lincoln for example), there aren't any other close competitors, so unless you want to drive a few extra miles, Homeland is all you've got. And the money you'd save at Crest or Winco would be negated by the gas you were spending to get there.

I've never understood how Homeland is still open. Sort of like Carl's Jr.

The stores are never large enough to compete with other local big boys like Crest. They just can't put enough variety on the shelf to hit that economy of scale to get that discount that we expect. Much like Albertson's, you come out spending a ton more than you would anywhere else but it may be closer for the quick run things.

Aldi + Crest + Sams/Costco for me. On the rare occassion i can't get what i need from those, the Wally World Neighborhood market often has it and its just as close. Homeland....nope. Not gonna go there.

Ive never found Crest to be cheaper. Guess it depends on what products you buy. Consistently Aldi is the cheapest for us.

BTW, economy of scale isn't the same as having lots of different brands of the same thing on the shelf. Aldi is a good example, as is TJ. Megastores can have a lot of slower moving items and fewer locations. Bigger in on place isn't necessarily better.

Personally, I like the newer Homelands and their size. They are attractive, clean, and have a good variety. But they are not conveniently located to where I live. And Crest sure isn’t convenient for a lot of the city.

Blue Bell ice cream on sale for 5 to 6 bucks about once a month. That brings me in.

There is also an almost extreme variance in how updated and maintained the stores are kept. While it is tragic that the homeland in Marietta was destroyed, it had only every been barely cleaned since it was a winn-dixie in the 1980s. The closest grocery store to me is Homeland and I hardly ever go because of the prices. I was excited about the rumor of Kroger buying them but that never materialized.

As I said in another thread a few days ago. I rotate between the closest Crest, Walmart Neighborhood Market and Homeland. I spend $80 give or take no matter which one I go to. Selection wise WMNM doesn't have lots of things but that's their philosophy. Small, just whats needed. HL has things Crest doesn't have and Crest has things HL doesn't have. In general Crest does have more and every 2 or 3 months we make a special trip there to stock up on some things.
Homeland has its niche. And I have a stake so I personally appreciate everyone that does shop there. Can they exist another 10 to 20 years. Who knows. But 10 to 20 years ago it was predicted that they'd be gone by now and they're doing pretty well.

We go to Homeland maybe twice - three per year only to get an item or two that are in their weekly sales flyer. We will go to either the one in Yukon or on N May. There's never more than a hand full of cars in the parking lot and when I see what their prices are on some of the things we regularly get at WM or Crest I don't understand why anyone shops there. Sometimes we will see someone shopping there with a cart full of items and I can't imaging how much more they are spending than shopping somewhere else. We've also been treated a bit rudely at their self checkouts a few times and I always thought that was not good for a store that is supposed to be employee owned.

We go to Homeland maybe twice - three per year only to get an item or two that are in their weekly sales flyer. We will go to either the one in Yukon or on N May. There's never more than a hand full of cars in the parking lot and when I see what their prices are on some of the things we regularly get at WM or Crest I don't understand why anyone shops there. Sometimes we will see someone shopping there with a cart full of items and I can't imaging how much more they are spending than shopping somewhere else. We've also been treated a bit rudely at their self checkouts a few times and I always thought that was not good for a store that is supposed to be employee owned.
I do have to agree about the employees. But then my wife and I have joked for years that part of the hiring process at Walmart must be a positive attitude test. And if you pass the test you don't get hired.

Here in Tulsa Homeland DID go out of business. Long ago.

Is this whining for the sake of whining? Seems like trying to create a problem or bring light to a problem that, if it were a problem, would rectify itself pretty quickly, especially in the inflationary period we've had.

Just me though. Seems like movement for the sake of motion.

Twice in just the last month I've asked a random WM employee in an aisle to help me find an item that was on their web site and shown to be in stock. Both times the employees went out of their way to assist me in finding the item. Both times they were doing other things and stopped what they were doing to assist me. Now Home Depot is taking it to an extreme. I went to a home Depot about a week ago to get one item that I knew exactly where it was in the store. On my way to get ti and check out I had no less than 10 HD employees pass me and ask me how I was doing. By the time the last one did it I was about to say enough already.

Is this whining for the sake of whining? Seems like trying to create a problem or bring light to a problem that, if it were a problem, would rectify itself pretty quickly, especially in the inflationary period we've had.

Just me though. Seems like movement for the sake of motion.
Yes. It is.

....On my way to get ti and check out I had no less than 10 HD employees pass me and ask me how I was doing. By the time the last one did it I was about to say enough already.

I have noticed this phenomenon at both HD and Lowe's.... However if you need help. Every employee in the store disappears. ;)

I have noticed this phenomenon at both HD and Lowe's.... However if you need help. Every employee in the store disappears. ;)

And if you do spot one, they actively avoid eye contact.

I have noticed this phenomenon at both HD and Lowe's.... However if you need help. Every employee in the store disappears. ;)

A lot of this is more about loss prevention than customer service. They want you to know that you are being watched.

I'm not surprised about Walmart being able to help their customers effectively. The grocery order pickers know where everything is, they are not segmented anymore to specific departments.

I have noticed this phenomenon at both HD and Lowe's.... However if you need help. Every employee in the store disappears. ;)
Absolutely. If I know what I'm after and know where it is I have employees constantly asking if I'm ok. As soon as I need one. Like needing something cut. None to be found. I've even gotten to the point where I cut chain, wire, tubing, etc. myself and fill out the tag. Occasionally I get chewed out by an employee that has to point out "You're not supposed to do that". Oh well. It gets done.

Twice in just the last month I've asked a random WM employee in an aisle to help me find an item that was on their web site and shown to be in stock. Both times the employees went out of their way to assist me in finding the item. Both times they were doing other things and stopped what they were doing to assist me. Now Home Depot is taking it to an extreme. I went to a home Depot about a week ago to get one item that I knew exactly where it was in the store. On my way to get ti and check out I had no less than 10 HD employees pass me and ask me how I was doing. By the time the last one did it I was about to say enough already.
To be honest I don't think I've ever interacted with a WM employee on the floor. It's the cashiers we joke about. They almost never smile and often don't even speak.

I love the cashiers: "Did you find everything you need?"

Yes, after walking up and down every aisle for hours with no one around. But thanks for asking as I'm walking out the door.

To be honest I don't think I've ever interacted with a WM employee on the floor. It's the cashiers we joke about. They almost never smile and often don't even speak.

At WM, you ARE the cashier... though they have started using another actual cashier or two here and there.

At WM, you ARE the cashier... though they have started using another actual cashier or two here and there.

I actually like self checkout. But often if we have a lot or have things or have things that ID is required we go through regular checkout. I've never been at WM that there weren't at least a couple regular checkouts open.

A few months ago Homeland would give away free or price an item for ridiculously cheap like 20 cents. They did that for 4-5 weeks in a row then it abruptly stopped. You had to use their app to get the deal. It got us going there every week when they were doing that. And both me and my wile had the app in each of our names so we would get 2 of whatever item it was. Sometimes we would get 1 or 2 additional items but most times we would go in for just that item. Some of the things we got were a 24 pack of their store brand water bottles, 1 lb pkg hamburger meat, 3 roll pkg of paper towels, variety box of snack chips. We take the printed newspaper and it would be in their sales flyer in the Wednesday paper. Homeland does have a weekly flyer and if you only get those items in their sales flyer they are probably comparably priced like a Crest I'm thinking those free or really cheap deals might have been a way to get people to put their app on their phone.

I think a lot of it is convenience and service. The service at Walmart is God awful. Also I can get in and out of Homeland so much easier. Time is worth money sometimes. I'd rather pay more and not have to deal with some of the crazies at Walmart.

I don't shop at Walmart much. Going to the Super Center can be super stressful. You have to check out and bag your own groceries there. The parking lot is always packed. Their stores aren't always the cleanest.

I do shop at Crest a lot mainly for the same reasons I shop at Homeland.

I think a lot of the smaller chains and local stores are going to be out of business in the next few years. Maybe a little longer for Oklahoma, since the population here adopts technology slower than other places. My opinion on Walmart has completely changed the last few years... it's clear that they have stopped competing with Target and are now trying to go head-on with Amazon. Don't know where something is at in the store... pull out your phone, launch the app, do a quick search, and you'll see what isle the product is on and even a map of the store. Want to get in and out quickly and not interact with anyone else... Pay as You Go... scan from your phone and checkout in one quick action at the front. Do you get the same things over and over usually... set up a favorites list in your app... maybe a weekly usuals list, a monthlies list, and a few special lists, and just tap each list and add all to cart, and select a drive up time... you are in and out in five minutes without ever setting foot in the store... does your local store not have what you need... well what do you know, W+ now has both free shipping as well as same day delivery items (this one is free and is not the same as grocery delivery... while they do that too, what I am talking about here is akin to Amazon Prime Get it Fast delivery). The app interface is good enough. As soon as they start beefing that up, maybe adding some AI to it, and I don't see how others compete any longer. They already have all the pricing power.

There's been some very very light and early rumors circulating in the grocery industry the last few months that Homeland is actively considering selling off their more rural stores to refocus on the urban stores. But apparently the union is causing lots of problems as no potential bidder wants to mess with union contracts.

There's been some very very light and early rumors circulating in the grocery industry the last few months that Homeland is actively considering selling off their more rural stores to refocus on the urban stores. But apparently the union is causing lots of problems as no potential bidder wants to mess with union contracts.

I would also think that the rural grocery stores are flat profit stores, in that no matter what you do, you have a very defined population set of customers. Also these stores will only see decreases in foot traffic as town populations age out and the younger generations that remain in the town can adapt to grocery needs either delivered through an app, or make a trip to the closest Walmart if the town doesn't have one.

Also, not unique to Homeland, but many of the rural grocery stores need a lot of "TLC" most of them look as they did when Reagan was president.

If Homeland were to focus on just the urban stores, they can define their place in the OKC market, potentially have growth, and renovate older metro stores to differentiate themselves from discount grocers like Winco, Crest, and Walmart.

I think Homeland's future in OKC looks a lot like Reasor's in Tulsa, when they shifted the target of their stores a few years back to be more upscale and offer a lot more fresh foods from the deli, bakery, seafood, and meat counters.

I use Magic Sizing when I iron my shirts. I used to be able to purchase it from Wal-Mart but since the pandemic and everyone working from home I cannot find it for sale. Thankfully, Homeland stocks Magic Sizing although at a much higher price.

Interesting background and history of Homeland: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeland_(supermarket)

Interesting background and history of Homeland: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeland_(supermarket)

I went to work at Safeway in April of 1988 and remember when the big wigs came in and announced that we would be changing to "Homeland". He did a real song and dance about the name and we were pretty skeptical, but I guess the name worked out. I stayed until July, 1995, when I was finally able to leave. I was always a part-time employee/college student and the salary ($9.50/hour in the early 90's) was too good to give up. Even though I really disliked working retail, I have a lot of great memories from those days.

I still have dreams where I realize I haven't been to work at Homeland for a long time and I get worried that I've been fired, for not showing up for so long. I had that dream within the last week, in fact.