Safeway flagship store offers more than beer, wine

The newest 'lifestyle store' for Safeway has been a success in Littleton, the only one of its kind offering beer, wine and spirits alongside groceries, and unique features like a sushi bar and a nut bar and a floral kiosk.

The lifestyle concept store at 181 W. Mineral Ave., opened in November 2007, offering what Safeway director of public affairs Kris Staaf calls a "wow" factor.

"The lighting is a little bit different, the paint and interior is a little bit different - it's the soft, warm inviting colors that makes shopping a fun and more comfortable experience for our customers. It's not that big, bright fluorescent lighting you sometimes will see the lighting kind of focuses on the products," she said.

It's also one of the larger Safeways at 68,000 square feet, but was constructed in just 130 days, Staaf said.

While other Safeway stores - nearly half - have the lifestyle design and décor, the Littleton flagship store is the only Safeway in Colorado that has a full-service liquor department with beer, a wide variety of wine and spirits.

Staaf said Safeway had been hearing from customers for some time that they would like the opportunity to be able to buy wine for dinner or buy liquor as well as beer when they shop.

Initially, Staaf said some private liquor store owners feared the competition might pose a threat to their survival.

Calls to other liquor stores in the area were not returned.

Staaf notes the competition is still there.

"Look at the competition around where that store is - they're alive, thriving and doing well. From our perspective, it's so nice to be able to provide the convenience to our customers who have asked us for this for years," Staaf said.
Staff said striving for shoppers' dollars has made the retail marketplace more competitive.

"With all healthy competition it forces everyone to kind of sharpen their business skills and figure out ways to market differently or more efficiently - that's certainly how we shift and adjust accordingly," she said. "The landscape of the grocery business has changed over the years; 20 years ago you didn't have all of these super centers and things of that sort. And now, everyone needs to find a way to make their business work so that we can all compete efficiently and effectively in the marketplace."

Assistant manger Robert Arrington, Staaf says, has done a fine job with the new marketing look at the store.

When the store first opened, Arrington was the liquor department manager and the store featured "Robert's Pick" with his recommendations for brands of wine to enable customers to match up wines with a particular food.

One of the other customer options proving popular, Staaf said, is a gasoline discount. There's a fuel farm alongside the store that enable customers to take advantage of the promotion that gives a 10-cent-per- gallon discount for every $100 spent.

Customers also can stack those benefits over three months for a single fill-up. Launched on July 1, the promotion has been very successful, Staaf says.

Staaf said grocery stores are also cornerstones of a community and Safeway management looked for local partnerships and charities to assist. Some $10,000 was given to local charities when the store held its grand opening, she notes.

Beside shopping, she said, stores are also social venues.

"Grocery stores are places where people shop, they exchange information - it's social; so we wanted to make sure with Littleton that we're woven into the fabric of that community," she added.