Fred Meyer is indeed loads better than Walmart. Nicer stores, better grocery selection, but also quite a bit more expensive, since they carry mostly name brand items. They don't even have their own store brand like Walmart does, they sell Kroger store brands like Premium Selection and Simple Truth Organic instead.

I'm wondering how they're dealing with the shoplifting crisis though, especially in a city like Portland. My local store has started to close all side entrances by 8pm, apparently due to shoplifting, and I live in a suburban area. Fred Meyer has at least 8 stores in Portland proper, and at least half of them are closer to downtown than any of the Walmarts were.