Hi,
Today I was in the Bloomingdale area, which had a new Woodman's open less than two weeks ago. I stopped in to see if there were any newly opened store loss leaders.
This new Woodman's is effectively an anchor store located where Macy's once stood in Stratford Mall. I happened to enter where Sear's was once located, there was no life to be seen. I felt better once I rounded the corner where Kohl's is located, because first impression was of a ghost town.
Woodman's parking lot was packed. I met at least two people in the parking lot who could not remember where they parked. There are three major entrances, so it is possible to get disoriented. If I were leaving, I would have offered to drive around looking.
Once in the store, the look, feel and layout was very similar to the Buffalo Grove location I regularly visit. I have a sense this store is bigger, though I have nothing more than a gut feeling to support it. The Lakemoor Woodman's is definitely larger than Buffalo Grove.
Walking into the store, they had watermelons for $1.99 and bags with five large organic avocados for 99 cents. When I grabbed two bags of avocados, the gentlemen next to me asked if this was really the price. "I expect it is and will return it, if it is not." I love loss leaders!
I was a bit handicapped not having a cooler with me. Plus I have food that needs to be eaten sooner than later, so I did not go overboard.
Woodman's gas station is smaller than Buffalo Grove. Fuel today was $2.99 a gallon, while my location recently was $3.15. When I drove by Buffalo Grove later, it was $1.99, too.
On the outer rim of the mall area where perhaps a Best Buy might have had a stand alone location, there was a retail building repurposed into a church. I did not do a full drive around, though I wondered if I might encounter any medical offices I read have begun to locate in malls.
Today's visit was just as much about the changing face of retail malls. Never expected a grocery store to be an anchor store, though it certainly draws people to the location. It will be interesting to see what creative thinking goes to redefining the Sear's location.
Regards,
Cathy2