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Supermarkets Shrinking

YumSugar — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 09:00:11 -0700

In a world of oversize food - genetically modified apples, super-size fries, and venti coffees - one thing may be coming up smaller: grocery stores.

According to the New York Times, grocers across the country from Safeway to Wal-Mart are turning to stores with smaller square footage. Supermarket retailers, like Jewel-Osco, who is building a smaller-format store in Chicago, are hoping to capitalize on an untapped segment of time-starved shoppers who are looking for an affordable meal to go without menu prices, or who just want to pick up a handful of grocery items.

These chains aren't shuttering the warehouse-sized predecessors, but hoping to gain market share as competition grows cutthroat. Both convenience stores and drugstores such as CVS are selling more groceries and fresher prepared foods, and British retail giant Tesco began stateside expansion last Fall.

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Are Traditional British Foods Becoming Extinct?

YumSugar — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 16:15:51 -0700

Seems like the Brits have a lot to worry about food-wise. First their curry industry ran into a crisis, and now it seems that their actual traditional dishes are becoming extinct. Experts believe that dishes like toad in the hole, spotted dick, steak and kidney pie, and jam roly-poly could disappear from dining tables by 2021.

A new survey conducted by Tesco - a huge British grocery store chain - discovered that only 6 percent of 18-40 year olds had cooked a Beef Wellington compared to 15 percent of 41-55 year olds.

The research claims that the traditional dishes are being prepared less frequently and that folks are opting for foreign cuisine, like spaghetti bolognese and curry instead. They believe that this will lead to the eventual wipe out of traditional dishes. Personally, I don't think this is true. We don't eat chicken piccata, or duck a l'orange very often, but those dishes have survived for centuries, and while not served in most homes, they're hardly "extinct."

So what do you think? Do you believe these dishes could become extinct?

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Tesco Plans on Opening Stores in the US

YumSugar — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 13:58:16 -0800

I'm about to admit something absolutely dorky: I love grocery stores. I love walking through the aisles and checking out all the different products. In fact, whenever I travel I always end up popping into the grocery stores. In England, one of the biggest chains is called Tesco, and I've always been surprised how they seem to be everywhere except America. Well, turns out us Americans won't be Tesco-less for much longer. Starting sometime this year, the Tesco company is opening up stores under the name "Fresh and Easy." These store are going to be closer in size to Trader Joe's than they are to Safeway, and are supposedly catering to time-pressed and health-conscious shoppers. And before all of you Anglophiles get too excited, I hear that they'll have Tesco branded items and standard American products, but won't be importing a bunch of British items.

The first store is probably going to be in Phoenix, but Tesco is also looking at Las Vegas, LA and San Diego. Learn more about the Fresh and Easy Tesco stores.

Whole Foods Falls Short of Success In UK

YumSugar — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 14:00:19 -0700

Earlier this month, Whole Foods reported losses of $18.4 million for its UK stores.

In addition to its domestic struggles, the Austin-based natural foods chain has been unsuccessful in its attempt to snag a piece of the UK market share. In the last year, the chain has opened six stores in Britain. The highly anticipated debut was a three-story, 80,000-square-foot emporium that opened on London's High Street last June.

So what went wrong? There are several factors: First, the company set up shop at a time when organic foods were still flying off shelves.

Since the credit crunch occurred, however, the country's sales of organic produce have fallen. Second, the organics industry is well developed and competitive in Britain, and existing stores such as Waitrose and Tesco have developed brand loyalty.

With the economy's downward spiral, it's unlikely that Whole Foods's problems will magically disappear. What do you think about the development? Are you surprised Whole Foods wasn't a success in the UK?

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