Crest Food

[soonerliberal]

I agree with the questioning of the location choice of this Crest. I feel like it would be a better choice for Crest to nab up some land in southeast Norman, a severely underserved grocery area, rather than north-northwest Norman, which has a wider variety.

[catch22]

I guess we are all experts on the grocery industry here. Crest would not spend the money to build a new store from the ground up if there wasn't a reasonable business case for it. Obviously the grocery industry has some competition in that immediate area, but Crest sees potential in either of the scenarios...or maybe both. A) they feel they can pull a yield premium off the market, with Homeland and Walmart taking the value shoppers....they might be able to attract some of the people looking for higher quality and will pay for it. B) they feel that the demand is so strong in that area, that going head to head with the competition they will still be able to pull in a profit without undercutting to keep the lights on.

It's more than what area doesn't have a grocery store, it's about where the market spends their money and what they spend it on!

[gamecock]

I don't claim to be an expert in the grocery industry and, yes, maybe they can do better than the Homeland, Target, Walmart, and Walmart Neighborhood Grocer stores that will all be within a 1-2 mile radius from their store. Someone's business, though, is going to suffer, and that is not likely to be a good thing for Norman. But the larger point is that what we will still lack in Norman is a nice, upscale grocery store or a specialty grocer like Whole Foods.

[ShiroiHikari]

If you need specialty items in Norman, there are already places like Dodson's and Forward Foods, which recently moved to a more convenient location. Heck, even Homeland carries a lot of "specialty" items (well, the former Albertson's locations, at least; can't speak for the others).

[gamecock]

It's not the specialty items per se; it's the shopping experience. Whole Foods is just completely different than anything else that exists in Norman. In my opinion, Crest is just more of the same, and we don't really need that.

[mcca7596]

It's not the specialty items per se; it's the shopping experience. Whole Foods is just completely different than anything else that exists in Norman. In my opinion, Crest is just more of the same, and we don't really need that.

This.

The idea of introducing Oklahomans to the fact that grocery shopping can be enjoyable is what excites me.

[ShiroiHikari]

That's a good point.

[MonkeesFan]

I do not know, it does seem it is a terrible location....

[rcjunkie]

I do not know, it does seem it is a terrible location....

It's the perfect location and will be the busiest store in Norman.

[venture]

It's the perfect location and will be the busiest store in Norman.

For the first month after opening and then it will tail off and compare equally to the others.

[rjstone208]

Not a good location for Eastsiders. Best thing we have going for us right now is the eastside Homeland which isn't saying much. They have upgraded some but still not comparable to Sunflower or Whole Foods. We nor any of our neighbors that I've spoken to will bother with Crest. The few times my wife and I have been to the one on S. May we weren't impressed. We still make a weekly trek to Whole Foods and Sunflower and will bypass Crest entirely. Can't wait for the new Sunflower on Main. Too bad it's still a year away.

[venture]

Not a good location for Eastsiders. Best thing we have going for us right now is the eastside Homeland which isn't saying much. They have upgraded some but still not comparable to Sunflower or Whole Foods. We nor any of our neighbors that I've spoken to will bother with Crest. The few times my wife and I have been to the one on S. May we weren't impressed. We still make a weekly trek to Whole Foods and Sunflower and will bypass Crest entirely. Can't wait for the new Sunflower on Main. Too bad it's still a year away.

Agree. I've been to the Crest on South May and the prices were pretty high - especially for a place that pushes low prices. Homeland is pretty comparable on cost and even better with their superior coupon policy.

[rcjunkie]

Agree. I've been to the Crest on South May and the prices were pretty high - especially for a place that pushes low prices. Homeland is pretty comparable on cost and even better with their superior coupon policy.

Your'e kidding, right. Homeland, Walmart, Target, Wrights, Food for Less, can't even begin to compete with the prices at Crest.

[rjstone208]

Your'e kidding, right. Homeland, Walmart, Target, Wrights, Food for Less, can't even begin to compete with the prices at Crest.

Nope. As crappy as it is, Wal-mart has the best prices on staples such as paper products, cleaning supplies and most canned goods even beating the Commissary at Tinker for these items. My wife, who's an expert on these things and can tell you off the top of her head the price of a can of beans in any store, says that Crest is on the high end and comparable to Homeland.

[t3hwookiee]

The eastside of town would have been nice. When I lived there we didn't have a lot of choice, pretty much Homeland (Albertson's still then) and Wal-Mart, plus the Valu-Mart or whatever it was called.

We shop at the 104th and May Crest a good bit, but are going to go check out Sunflower up north this weekend. I'm tired of walking into Crest and smelling rotten meat all the time, makes me sick to my stomach. I've had bad luck with things going bad by the next day too. We need to start going back to Artisan's Pride in Norman, love them!

[SoonerDave]

The eastside of town would have been nice. When I lived there we didn't have a lot of choice, pretty much Homeland (Albertson's still then) and Wal-Mart, plus the Valu-Mart or whatever it was called.

We shop at the 104th and May Crest a good bit, but are going to go check out Sunflower up north this weekend. I'm tired of walking into Crest and smelling rotten meat all the time, makes me sick to my stomach. I've had bad luck with things going bad by the next day too. We need to start going back to Artisan's Pride in Norman, love them!

Could you relay more information on this? We shop at that Crest regularly and have not experienced what you describe here, and have had *excellent* experience with their meats, so what you've posted here is really curious...

[SoonerDave]

Nope. As crappy as it is, Wal-mart has the best prices on staples such as paper products, cleaning supplies and most canned goods even beating the Commissary at Tinker for these items. My wife, who's an expert on these things and can tell you off the top of her head the price of a can of beans in any store, says that Crest is on the high end and comparable to Homeland.

Things just aren't that uniform nor consistent. The Crest at SW 104th and May tends to run higher than the other Crest stores, but to say its on a par with Homeland is an overstatement. What few times we've gone to Homeland has made me think I'd made a wrong turn into 7-11 and was paying a rich premium for the convenience, only to realize...

Homeland has been off our radar for some time. I think we've been in there two or three times in the last year, and that's being generous.

[venture]

Your'e kidding, right. Homeland, Walmart, Target, Wrights, Food for Less, can't even begin to compete with the prices at Crest.

Not at all. I'm very aggressive when it comes to pricing for groceries. The trunk is always full when I go and I don't spend more than $50. I've tried Crest and their prices are not low at all. They advertise it is and people start thinking they are because they buy into the advertising. Yes there are some items that are lower there than Homeland, but you add in Homelands superior coupon policy (double all $1 or less coupons) and it is no contest.

[venture]

Things just aren't that uniform nor consistent. The Crest at SW 104th and May tends to run higher than the other Crest stores, but to say its on a par with Homeland is an overstatement. What few times we've gone to Homeland has made me think I'd made a wrong turn into 7-11 and was paying a rich premium for the convenience, only to realize...

Homeland has been off our radar for some time. I think we've been in there two or three times in the last year, and that's being generous.

Homeland can be up there on a few items, but you have to get down their sale rotation and also cut out those sunday coupons and you can save a ton. I normally walk out with $200-300 of groceries (all typical "more expensive" named brands) and struggle to spend $50 at the checkout.

[Dekoung]

Homeland can be up there on a few items, but you have to get down their sale rotation and also cut out those sunday coupons and you can save a ton. I normally walk out with $200-300 of groceries (all typical "more expensive" named brands) and struggle to spend $50 at the checkout.

Describe the "sale rotation" please.

[rcjunkie]

Describe the "sale rotation" please.

Sale Rotation = Crap no one else wants

[SoonerDave]

Describe the "sale rotation" please.

Sale rotation just refers to the patterns and frequency with which certain slates of items are put on sale at a grocery. Most of the larger chains have a set policy that may vary slightly within regions, while smaller chains (like Crest) have a highly tailored pattern that's more tailored for the market they serve.

Most patterns include "loss leaders" that are heavily promoted and get people in the store in an effort to lead you toward more expensive, regular-priced items. The key is knowing what you want, knowing when it goes on sale at the various outlets, and planning accordingly.

Sounds like Venture's done the homework on most of the sale patterns and coupons, but finding the time to get that good at it may be more problematic for some folks than others. We've tried to adopt a two-week menu and shop accordingly, and that often leads us right back to Sam's for bulk purchases of items no local chain can match on their best day - especially canned goods in bulk, bulk chicken breasts, things of that nature. For a family of four, it helps a great deal!

We used to plan Sam's trips much more carefully when the kids were younger and my wife was a stay-at-home mom, but in latter days that's a hit-and-miss proposition. We made a big bulk trip to Sam's a few weeks ago and were reminded how much the regular stores "getcha" on common items.

[venture]

Describe the "sale rotation" please.

Dave hit most of it on the head. If you watch their ads you will see when various brands or products are pushed. One week you'll see breakfast items pushed, the next you will see a meat sale, then frozen food, etc. Then you have bigger things like their 10 for $10 sale or BOGO Free sales. With Homeland you don't need to buy the the full quantity, items are all markets down. Like this week I'll end up stocking up with their 10/10 sale they are having as well as their other deals. So like my main buy this week will be bread, Hormel meat entrees, Lloyds BBQ, Country Crock sides, Old Spice deodorant, Dawn soap, Kraft dressing, etc. They are also running two side promotions. All their snacks (breakfast and regular) are on sale at 50% off and then Kraft is running a deal where you buy 5 items and get a $5.00 credit.

So lets say you need and will use a lot of Philadelphia cooking creme cheese for lasagna or something similar. Normal price is $2.99 each. I'll get 5 (since I'll use it in the next couple of weeks) and that would be $14.95. Take the $5 off and i'm down to $9.95. Then I have 3 coupons I'll use...one is a $1.50 off 1 and then two $1.50 off 2 coupons. So that takes off another $4.50. So I'm down to $5.45 for the 5 of them or $1.09 each...or ~ 64% off. Not the best example, but it is the easiest to understand.

It does take some work and organization. However, I use to pay $100-200 for groceries every couple of weeks and only have like 4-6 bags to show for it. Now I leave with an overflowing cart and spend only $25-50. The whole key to it is plan appropriately and get into a rythym of when to buy stuff. I love my cereal, but i'll never pay more than $0.50 a box...for you typical General Mills/Kelloggs brands (and not the itty bitty boxes either). I'm currently sitting on around 50 boxes...and keep it refreshed.

A side point...I've also been able to use this method of buying groceries to allow me to donate a good amount of food to a local food bank. Sure I could have just donated the cash, but they likely got much more bang for their buck with me using the coupons to help stretch it out more.

Sale rotation just refers to the patterns and frequency with which certain slates of items are put on sale at a grocery. Most of the larger chains have a set policy that may vary slightly within regions, while smaller chains (like Crest) have a highly tailored pattern that's more tailored for the market they serve.

Most patterns include "loss leaders" that are heavily promoted and get people in the store in an effort to lead you toward more expensive, regular-priced items. The key is knowing what you want, knowing when it goes on sale at the various outlets, and planning accordingly.

Sounds like Venture's done the homework on most of the sale patterns and coupons, but finding the time to get that good at it may be more problematic for some folks than others. We've tried to adopt a two-week menu and shop accordingly, and that often leads us right back to Sam's for bulk purchases of items no local chain can match on their best day - especially canned goods in bulk, bulk chicken breasts, things of that nature. For a family of four, it helps a great deal!

We used to plan Sam's trips much more carefully when the kids were younger and my wife was a stay-at-home mom, but in latter days that's a hit-and-miss proposition. We made a big bulk trip to Sam's a few weeks ago and were reminded how much the regular stores "getcha" on common items.

Exactly. It took some time to get everything flowing, but I've been doing this for a few years now and it is fairly low maintenance now. It does feel really good at the end of the day when you check out and hear the big savings amounts. :-)

Side note, a couple good sites to look at for those that might be interested in this (and they also cover the other stores like Crest): http://www.simplesavingsavvy.net/ and http://www.consumerqueen.com/

[ljbab728]

venture, I also do most of my shopping at Homeland for the exact logic you have listed. Of course you have to go with a preplanned shopping list and avoid expensive impulse buys. I also watch for sales at other places for a few things like milk, soda, and orange juice and pick those up at places like Buy4Less or even CVS occasionally. Milk and orange juice freeze quite nicely if you want to stock up.

[ShiroiHikari]

When I go to Homeland, I don't buy stuff like chips or crackers or any kind of boxed snacks unless they're on sale. That's where they get ya. (Nearly $4 for a bag of Lay's? F that.) I mostly just buy staple-type things from them like meat, dairy, and veggies, or sometimes specialty stuff that I can't get at Walmart.

I go to Walmart for my coffee, a certain brand of ground turkey, chips and snacks, cleaning products (if I need them), and paper products.

Occasionally I run up to Target and do a grocery trip there because I have their debit card that gets you 5% off your whole purchase. I figure 5% is better than 0%. But I'm not doing this as often now, because I live off 12th and Alameda and gas is like $3.65 a gallon. :\