Grocery Stores : GroceryGuide.com

A new, smaller grocery store coming to town

2008-07-22T15:34:37Z

Supermarket giant, Supervalu, is testing a new grocery store concept with a small format. The store, Urban Fresh, of the Jewel-Osco division will open in Chicago's Lincoln Park. The retailer has designed the 16,000-square-foot store to cater to urban consumers in affluent neighborhoods.

Sounding a lot like Tesco's Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market, "Urban Fresh, by Jewel" has a fresh-food focus with prepared meals being a very important offering to its time-strapped customers. The store is taking the place of Supervalu's Sunflower Market, its organic grocery concept that closed its doors at 1910 N. Clybourn Ave in Chicago's Lincoln Park in February. Urban Fresh's doors are scheduled to open this fall.

We at GroceryGuide.com are seeing more grocery chains studying and testing this type of concept as retailers struggle to find a competitive advantage over the big-box stores. With high gasoline prices, consumers are not as likely to drive to the bigger grocery stores if they can find what they need at a neighborhood store. If offer fresh produce, friendly faces, reasonable prices and accept coupons they should succeed.

Chains such as A&P have opened these smaller footprint style grocery stores. Their SuperFresh banner is found in urban downtown areas. Aldi does great with their small format. Grocery formats that match up well with the consumers needs and the lifestyles of the local neighborhood shoppers will succeed.

Read more: Urban Fresh Grocery Stores

Kroger announces “a better way to save” for Ralphs Grocery

2008-06-26T15:32:44Z

Ralphs Grocery Co., a division of Kroger Co., Cincinnati, introduced “a better way to save” yesterday to customers at its 262 Southern California stores. Following up on a teaser ad last Sunday promising “new lower prices,” Ralphs said it was lowering the prices on thousands of items while also continuing to offer in-store and advertised specials.

Safeway plans healthy-food line pitched at kids

2008-06-04T22:43:19Z

Grocery-store operator Safeway Inc. and media company Warner Bros. on Wednesday said they will introduce a line of food products targeted at healthy eating featuring Looney Tunes characters ranging from Bugs Bunny to Daffy Duck.

Safeway said the products will be formulated based on the most recent dietary recommendations from several federal and state agencies, including the Dept. of Health and Human Services, the Department of Agriculture, Alliance for a Healthier Generation, as well as California's school nutrition guidelines.

The Eating Right Kids, line has more than 100 food items and drinks for children. Included in the line-up are breakfast foods, portable meals, dairy, snacks and beverages.

Read more:
Safeway Inc.
Business Week
Wall Street Journal
ConsumerAffairs.com

Wal-Mart pressuring vendors to take costs out of the supply chain

2008-06-04T17:34:42Z

"When our grocery suppliers bring price increases, we don't just accept them," says Pamela Kohn, Wal-Mart's general merchandise manager for perishables.

Size does have it's advantages and volume does give Wal-Mart an advantage when negotiating with vendors. I thought that this article in Fortune magazine would be of interest to our GroceryGuide.com visitors.

Wal-Mart has long been known for some great prices and with the current pressures on consumers they have enjoyed larger crowds of shoppers as they promote there low price message through increased media impressions.

To see how they do it and learn a new word: Locovore, read the rest of the story at CNN.

Save on gasoline at Kroger's family of stores, up to 15 cents off per gallon.

2008-05-23T21:05:15Z

Customers throughout The Kroger Co.'s family of stores can now accumulate and redeem fuel discounts they earn by shopping at Kroger-owned stores at participating gas stations the retailer operates across the country.

Most of the fuel discount programs offered by Kroger and its family of stores reward customers with a minimum of 10 cents off per gallon of gas for every $100 they spend in a store. The fuel discount programs are available and transferable at Kroger stores nationwide under the following banners: Kroger, Baker's, City Market, Dillons, Food 4 Less, Fred Meyer, Fry's, Gerbes, Hilander, Jay C, King Soopers, Owen's, Pay Less, QFC, Ralphs, Scott's, and Smith's stores.

Shoppers who use Kroger's 1-2-3 REWARDS(R) MasterCard can earn discounts up to 15 cents off per gallon of gas in participating markets.

Read more: Kroger