06/13/07 A Starbucks in every Safeway

So you really do enjoy Starbucks in Safeway. I do too, and I appreciate a nice flower market, a butcher that will help me pick a brisket and tasty take outs. Those and other custom conveniences have brought the "grocery store" back with a vengeance. It seems that more and more of us are becoming weary of the wait at Wal-Mart and according to retail consultants last year supermarkets posted the best sales gain in five years. Annalists believe that supermarkets on are the mend after taking massive hits from membership clubs like Costco and Wal-Mart superstores. Albertsons, Safeway's and Kroger's fought for their market share through aggressive remodeling strategies after discovering that many of us would rather shop in a boutique atmosphere. Safeway's for one has converted nearly half of it's 1755 stores into a lifestyle market and with their goal to finish all conversions by 2009 it won't be too long before an iced mocha becomes a common occurrence virtually everywhere you shop.