"RJ" wrote in message
...
Doug Kanter wrote:

"Dave Thompson" wrote in message
news:nKOxb.8111$ZE1.2358@fed1read04...

It's truly very simple. If the customer wants the 413 gram box, they
drive
past Wally World and show up at Loblaw's. WAIT! Hasn't that
mega-chain
run
Mom and Pop grocers out of business?

Uh....yeah. thirty or forty years ago.

Notice a pattern here?

Maybe a repeat performance, but a pattern would require the same reasons and
those reasons are NOT the same.

1) The mom & pop store of the 1940s wasn't much bigger than the convenience
store of today. Perhaps 3000-4000 square feet. You still find IGA and Red &
White stores that size in small towns, but there's no way they can carry the
variety of large supermarket chains. The newer, larger stores actually
offered something worthwhile to differentiate themselves. A Wal Mart store
does not, unless there was no modern supermarket in the area before they
arrived.

2) For a number of reasons, including but not limited to the acceptance of
immigrant cultures, and increased overseas travel, the American consumer
expects to see a huge assortment of foods which used to be considered ethnic
specialties. Large supermarkets did what mom & pop stores could not, unless
the smaller stores were in neighborhoods where they catered to a certain
group, like Hispanic or Middle Eastern customers. Again, Wal Mart does not
serve the function of the larger supermarkets in this regard. They may snag
the hobby shopper (like my sister in law) who doesn't mind visiting 3 stores
to complete her grocery shopping, but grocery biz data shows that more than
70% of shoppers don't have the time or patience for such nonsense.

If you really think about it, Wal Mart serves NO special function as a
grocery supplier, unless you're still under their advertising spell and you
think your groceries cost less there. They have no more leverage, and often
less than the 20 largest grocery chains & wholesalers.