How Fred Meyer SCREWED Rockwood
It is 2012
It was 2002 when Fred Meyer broke up with Rockwood. Their spokesmen made their nasty comments that have echoed and been etched in the community for years like nasty gossip does. The words of the nasty break up still are repeated by others regularly and have certainly affected the ability of Rockwood to start a new courtship with it's reputation becoming more damaged.
In 2002 the headlines read, "Fred Meyer Leaves Due to High Crime in Rockwood." Just last week I was standing in line at the bank and listening to 2 gentlemen behind me speaking, "...well you know that the crime is so bad here even Fred Meyer had to give up on this community..." as the other man nodded his head in agreement. Go online and do a search for ROCKWOOD FRED MEYER and you can pull up these assertions on at least ten different comment lines, as this discussion is still alive in 2012.
The FIRST rotten step from Fred Meyer was the assertion that Rockwood is a high crime area and using that as their reason to leave. I only wish I had all of the documentation on that information that I held back in 2002.....
The reasoning was challenged back then by many... those in Fred Meyer Corporate who spoke anonymously, and definitely plenty of workers within the store. It was pointed out that the store was not a full service store and that the profits were not as high so the store was planned on being closed for that reason; it was pointed out that none of the security measures that were in place at ALL other Fred Meyer stores were added to the Rockwood site, because the determination had been made to close before and no further capital costs were to be added. For a store with high crime, it was noted that this store implemented none of the crime deterrents added to the other stores, which would of course have had an effect. It was noted that other stores in North Portland had just as high/higher of theft rates. But the reason stated by those "in the know" was Wood Village Fred Meyer was not getting the traffic they had wanted and WinCo had moved not far down the street. It was determined that by closing the Rockwood location - which was not a high volume store - they may be able to increase sales at Wood Village.
1.) Thank you Fred Meyer for tainting the reputation of Rockwood forevermore with your self-serving thoughtless and irresponsible public relations message. Fred Meyer turned the responsibility of leaving from their shoulders by forever condemning a neighborhood instead.
BUT THEY DIDN'T STOP THERE!
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-94834390.html
FRED MEYER HOLDS PROPERTY IN ROCKWOOD HOSTAGE....
When Fred Meyer closed their doors in 2003, they held a long term lease on the property. They were locked into a lease where most assumed they would sell to the first offer. But Fred Meyer/Kroger drove the stake in deeper as they refused to entertain offers from any business that was similar to theirs. Though the neighborhood needed a grocery store, Fred Meyer turned away any offers from such amenities. Fred Meyer was much more concerned about their competition moving into the neighborhood and potentially affecting their stores in Gresham/Wood Village and 148th and SE Division than doing the responsible thing for the Rockwood community.
Behind the scenes, the development staff at the City of Gresham heard new interest of buyers, but could not get Fred Meyer to let their lease go - instead leaving an empty eyesore in the middle of Rockwood.
This land was "locked" until the City used Urban Renewal funds to acquire the property.
But was it too late?
It was 2002 when Fred Meyer broke up with Rockwood. Their spokesmen made their nasty comments that have echoed and been etched in the community for years like nasty gossip does. The words of the nasty break up still are repeated by others regularly and have certainly affected the ability of Rockwood to start a new courtship with it's reputation becoming more damaged.
In 2002 the headlines read, "Fred Meyer Leaves Due to High Crime in Rockwood." Just last week I was standing in line at the bank and listening to 2 gentlemen behind me speaking, "...well you know that the crime is so bad here even Fred Meyer had to give up on this community..." as the other man nodded his head in agreement. Go online and do a search for ROCKWOOD FRED MEYER and you can pull up these assertions on at least ten different comment lines, as this discussion is still alive in 2012.
The FIRST rotten step from Fred Meyer was the assertion that Rockwood is a high crime area and using that as their reason to leave. I only wish I had all of the documentation on that information that I held back in 2002.....
The reasoning was challenged back then by many... those in Fred Meyer Corporate who spoke anonymously, and definitely plenty of workers within the store. It was pointed out that the store was not a full service store and that the profits were not as high so the store was planned on being closed for that reason; it was pointed out that none of the security measures that were in place at ALL other Fred Meyer stores were added to the Rockwood site, because the determination had been made to close before and no further capital costs were to be added. For a store with high crime, it was noted that this store implemented none of the crime deterrents added to the other stores, which would of course have had an effect. It was noted that other stores in North Portland had just as high/higher of theft rates. But the reason stated by those "in the know" was Wood Village Fred Meyer was not getting the traffic they had wanted and WinCo had moved not far down the street. It was determined that by closing the Rockwood location - which was not a high volume store - they may be able to increase sales at Wood Village.
1.) Thank you Fred Meyer for tainting the reputation of Rockwood forevermore with your self-serving thoughtless and irresponsible public relations message. Fred Meyer turned the responsibility of leaving from their shoulders by forever condemning a neighborhood instead.
BUT THEY DIDN'T STOP THERE!
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-94834390.html
FRED MEYER HOLDS PROPERTY IN ROCKWOOD HOSTAGE....
When Fred Meyer closed their doors in 2003, they held a long term lease on the property. They were locked into a lease where most assumed they would sell to the first offer. But Fred Meyer/Kroger drove the stake in deeper as they refused to entertain offers from any business that was similar to theirs. Though the neighborhood needed a grocery store, Fred Meyer turned away any offers from such amenities. Fred Meyer was much more concerned about their competition moving into the neighborhood and potentially affecting their stores in Gresham/Wood Village and 148th and SE Division than doing the responsible thing for the Rockwood community.
Behind the scenes, the development staff at the City of Gresham heard new interest of buyers, but could not get Fred Meyer to let their lease go - instead leaving an empty eyesore in the middle of Rockwood.
This land was "locked" until the City used Urban Renewal funds to acquire the property.
But was it too late?
posted by Dina DiNucci at
2:33 PM
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