>And 4-and-3-and-2-and-1…(deepest apologies to tbe Beastie Boys)…A couple of weeks ago (or was it about a month ago?) Safeway unveiled a new branding campaign, evidently designed to help them better compete with the likes of Whole Foods, or as one (or a million) Chowhounders have called it, “Whole Paycheck.” Armed with a new slogan “Ingredients for Life,” it’ll be interesting to see what Safeway does with it.
Sure, in the last year or so they’ve turned the volume up on their “Safeway Select” brand introducing ready-to-serve soups and rotisserie chickens along with tasty and affordable made-to-order sandwiches in newer branches (a la the 4th and King one in SF).
I really would like to see Safeway succeed at this and make your mainstream grocery store a bit more gourmet, while still providing those staples that Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s can’t/don’t. At the same time, I’ve seen enough Safeway branches in “upscale” neighborhoods (in Palo Alto, for instance) that merely slapped a better looking, more modern facade on a store that was at least 20 years old on the inside. Now c’mon — nothing wrong w/ the 20 year old grocery store — but please, don’t slap a pretty cover on the same old book and expect people to buy it.