The Lifestyles of the Prawns and Pistachios
Safeway is converting its supermarkets into "lifestyle" stores with muted lighting, more perishables and nut bars.
(Safeway)
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Safeway says it now has 1,000 "lifestyle" stores, a milestone in the chain's six-year plan to compete against niche grocers such as Whole Foods Market.
The chain's lifestyle stores have expanded departments with perishables such as seafood, deli food and flowers, and feature upgrades such as faux wood flooring, soft lighting and olive and nut bars. The Safeway on Kent Island, Md., is one of the company's newest lifestyle stores in the region and has a gelato station and hearth bakery oven. Safeway plans to finish converting its 1,738 stores to the lifestyle format by 2010.
"We looked at the market and we were being squeezed," Steve Burd, chief executive of Safeway, said in an interview. "For us, it was really just a way to differentiate from everybody else."
Safeway has slowly gained market share in the Washington region, though it remains second in both sales and number of stores to longtime leader Giant Food. But as Giant struggles with remote management, low employee morale and sluggish sales, Safeway has invested heavily in renovating its stores in the area.
Burd was in Washington this month to announce the company's donation of $6 million with the Prostate Cancer Foundation to the Special Team Amplification of Research Program. While in the area, he visited several stores, including the Safeway in Anacostia. He quickly attracted the attention of customers.
"How you doing? Welcome to my Safeway," District resident Marilyn Wyche told Burd. "It's a good Safeway."
He shook Wyche's hand as she talked about how the store compares to others in the chain. While touring the aisles, Burd picked up stray pieces of trash and moved a bag of marshmallows that had found its way into the dairy case. As he passed a display of Safeway's Signature Cafe soups, he noted that the Stompin' Steakhouse Chili is the preferred variety on Air Force One. He ended the tour with coffee from the in-store Starbucks.
Store employee Ramon Davis tried to catch Burd on his way out, to no avail. So he asked a reporter to deliver this message to his chief executive: a jingle for the company that he had written himself.
"Anticipate need, don't be nervous. Greet with a smile and focus on service," he sang.
-- Ylan Q. Mui
