Celebrating One Year of The Mid-South Retail Blog!

I had this set to post at 3:17 today... and of course it didn't work out. Better late than never though :P

Last year on March 17th I began this journey, and today we meet again to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, also known as the one-year anniversary of the Mid-South Retail Blog! As I mentioned in my first-ever post, I was encouraged to start this journey by Albertsons Florida Blog (on flickr), as a means to host my comprehensive list of Memphis metro Kroger stores and their respective décor packages. Well, I took that one step further, as I'm sure you all know today! I feel like I've accomplished a great deal more than I expected, and it's been tons of fun. I want to thank each and every one of you who have checked out the blog before, and doubly thank those of you who have returned time and time again. It's humbling to know that you've enjoyed this as well!

Since that Metro Listing post is essentially where it all started, I thought today would be as good a day as any to note that it has been updated to reflect many changes that have occurred since its original posting. Additionally, thanks to an anonymous commenter, the table has been reorganized by store number, and should hopefully be easier to read based on store address and/or community. Feel free to take a peek at the post here!

Speaking of anonymous comments: firstly, I'd like to thank all of you who have commented for doing so - I truly appreciate the conversation and interest you take in our content. However, it's gotten somewhat confusing at times to know if an anonymous commenter is a returning commenter or someone completely different - a good problem to have on the grand scale of things, but something I'd like to clear up. I ask that from now on you post comments with a username via the Name/URL option. The great Acme Style blog has a post detailing how this can be done here: please check it out! The Name/URL option does not actually require a URL, thereby allowing you to remain essentially anonymous and retain your privacy while making it easier for me and others to know who we're talking to on different posts. For the time being, the anonymous option will remain intact, but I would definitely prefer if you'd consider adopting a username.

Returning to the topic at hand... To commemorate the anniversary, I figured why not (in the vein of AFB) include a few statistics? At the time of this writing, the Mid-South Retail Blog has received 7,652 visitors since its inception - you can track this yourself now with the addition of a new widget in the blog's footer. In January of this year we received our highest monthly amount of pageviews, peaking very close to 1,000 at 969! That Metro Listing post I mentioned has been pretty popular with 118 views, but comes nowhere close to the all-time most-visited post, the similarly updated Tanger Outlets Southaven Complete Store Listing, which has garnered to date 284 views, with the Kroger Millennium Décor post trailing in second place with 202 views. The Tanger post also holds the record for most user activity with 19 comments.

Even after one year on the web and so many visitors and comments, I'm still not quite sure what exactly the mission of the Mid-South Retail Blog is. Is this a Kroger-centric site? A hub for regional retail news? Or simply a host for feature posts, such as my personal favorite highlighting South Lake Centre? Honestly, I'm thinking it's a blend of all that and more... and what is certain is that I look forward to continuing to share content and comments with all of you for the next 365 days. :)

For my next post (the blog's 30th!), we'll be taking a look around the Memphis Kmart - that's coming up next weekend. Until then, and as always, thank you for following the Mid-South Retail Blog, and have fun exploring the retail world wherever you are!

Retail Retell

BREAKING: East Memphis Kroger Closure, Target Remodels (UPDATE: and Sears Replacement)

Today's post highlights Shelby County, TN, retail.

As predicted on the blog in December, and announced today by the Memphis Business Journals, among other outlets:

Kroger has confirmed the closure of one of its Memphis stores. 

Located at 576 S. Perkins Road, the East Memphis Kroger will close to the public March 26, 2016.  

“With three stores within a one mile radius in this area along Poplar Avenue, we have decided not to renew the lease at 576 S. Perkins,” said Teresa Dickerson, public affairs manager for Kroger Delta Division. “We believe, by not renewing the lease, we can better serve our customers at our nearby locations.” 

Kroger recently remodeled its Truse Parkway store, which is only one mile from the Perkins site, and the South Mendenhall Kroger is even closer.  

Built in 1964, the more than 28,000-square-foot supermarket was formerly a Schnucks. Kroger’s lease at that site will expire in May 2016. The 81 associates at the Perkins location will be offered positions at other local Krogers.  

The Cincinnati-based grocery chain is currently investing more than $118 million in the Delta Division market towards renovations and new builds. Kroger also closed a store at 3830 Hickory Hill Jan. 30, 2016.

A sort-of-simulated overhead view of the S Perkins Kroger, courtesy Google Maps

Additionally, Target will be investing in its East Memphis stores:

Both Target stores in East Memphis will undergo remodels.  

First up is the Target located at 601 Colonial Road. A spokesperson for Target Corp. said updates were planned for the “electronics and entertainment floorpad and Starbucks.” Work is slated to start May 30 and be finished mid-June. 

Next up, the 5959 Poplar Ave. Target near the Ridgeway Loop. Like Colonial, improvements are scheduled for the electronic and entertainment floorpad as well as to the Starbucks, but the overall renovation will be more extensive.  

An optical department will be added as well as self-checkout lanes in the front of the store. Construction should begin at the Poplar Avenue site in early July with completion in September. A building permit valued at nearly $500,000 was filed Feb. 19 for the store.  

UPDATE - The S Perkins Kroger is already on the market, up for lease through The Shopping Center Group; hopefully a new grocery tenant will move in and keep the Industrial Circus décor intact! Additionally, the longtime Sears location just nearby at the Poplar/Perkins intersection, closing in April, will officially be the home of Nordstrom Rack, as well as other retailers, in the future... but at the sacrifice of the Sears structure itself, it sounds like. You can read more on that here.

Yet more proof that for good and bad retail news alike, it's always good to keep a close eye on the MBJ - and another good time to note that by quoting their articles I'm only meaning to share the news and do no harm. Until next time, have fun exploring the retail world wherever you are...

Retail Retell

Mid-South Kroger Marketplace Expansion Update

Note to begin with that this is my third post within ten days. I believe this is a first... I'm proud of myself! Please remember this when I don't post anything for the entire month of April.

Typical Kroger Marketplace exterior, courtesy oakridgetoday.com

Now note that the title to this post refers to the Mid-South in general instead of a specific Kroger Marketplace location because the Marketplace concept is infiltrating the region as a whole. While Jonesboro, AR, got a Kroger Marketplace back in 2014, the rest of the area has been without one... and now it's getting not one, or two, but three!

Hernando Kroger Marketplace progress - taken February 18, 2016

You may recall my breaking news report that Hernando, MS, is getting a Kroger Marketplace, the first of its kind within the Memphis metro area and the entire state of Mississippi. I've been keeping track of that construction project, as has l_dawg2000 - you can view our albums here and here, respectively. Above is a recent look at the store. You can see it's taking shape to look like what has more or less been the cookie-cutter Kroger Marketplace design, posted at the top of this post, which has been around for about a decade.

Courtesy townofarlington.org

Well, it won't be around for much longer, if Arlington, TN, has anything to say about it! They also were announced last year to be getting a Kroger Marketplace, construction on which will begin soon. The above rendering of the store shows a completely new, modern design, which will be complemented by a fuel station and online pick-up area.

Courtesy townofarlington.org

That store rendering and this site plan were released to the public following a presentation to the mayor and board of alderman of Arlington. You can check out other developments in the town on their city webpage. On Twitter, the Mayor said the new store will be the largest in the region (although at 123,000 square feet, it should equal the size of the Hernando Kroger Marketplace).

Courtesy Construction Solutions

The current Arlington Kroger (pictured above - I found a cool website for a firm that was involved with building several Kroger stores in the Mid-South, and this link will take you directly to it for additional pics!) is across town from where the new store is to be built, whereas Hernando's Marketplace shares the same lot with the existing store. As a town, Arlington pretty much mimics Hernando: small yet apparently a great host site for a gargantuan Kroger Marketplace store (!).

Screengrab courtesy oxfordms.net

Perhaps a more logical host site for a Marketplace is college town Oxford, MS, home to the University of Mississippi. No word on what design this particular store will take, but what is certain is that unlike the Hernando and Arlington stores, this Marketplace will be an expansion of the existing Kroger location. As you can see from the site plan above (from 1999, and even then labeled "pre-expansion"!), the existing 58,666 square foot store is flanked on the right by a string of shops. While I can't find any information definitively saying anything, my guess is that those shops will be kicked out to make room for the Kroger expansion. Construction work is reportedly set to start in early 2016, which could mean any day now.

Courtesy Linkous Construction on Twitter

Last but not least, an update from a non-Marketplace but still unique Kroger: the new store being built to replace the ancient former Seessel's structure on Union Avenue in Midtown Memphis. That store closed at the start of this year, and its replacement is expected to be completed this fall. The above and below photos were pulled from Linkous Construction's Twitter page: if you're interested, I'd suggest checking that out for future updates. There's more fun stuff to be found there as well, such as this time-lapse video of the Conn's construction in Southaven, MS.

Courtesy Linkous Construction on Twitter

With that, I leave you for the evening. As much as I enjoy writing for the blog, I hope this is the last time you'll hear from me until I do my next post in March, haha! Until then, you know the drill... have fun exploring the retail world wherever you are ;)

Retail Retell

Inside the Closed Hickory Hill Kroger

Today's post highlights Shelby County, TN, retail.

Thanks to an anonymous commenter on the End-of-Year Kroger Statuses post where I told you guys the Hickory Hill Kroger would be closing, we can now see inside the store! S/he directed me to the website of Grafe Auctions, which is tasked with selling everything left regardless of price. They have pictures of everything up for sale at this link (you can also access the online bid room from there, if you're interested - the auction is Thursday, March 3rd at 10:30AM - but if you want anything it'd probably be best to be able to go to the store in person). All of the photos below are from the store's auction page linked previously. I only chose specific pics, mostly décor focused toward the end of the post, mixed in with some other behind-the-scenes stuff I thought was cool. There's plenty of others to see there though, plus more can be found by searching their website for other Kroger auctions! Enjoy! :)

 

UPDATE - Courtesy of B-More Retail on Flickr, here is a link to additional pictures (that look to be from before the store's closure!) on Grafe Auctions' Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/grafeauction/posts/10153903140564259

Thanks again to that commenter for pointing this out, and Grafe Auctions for taking such great pictures! This is what's going on in Hickory Hill... until next time, have fun exploring the retail world wherever you are!

Retail Retell