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When I was a kid my mother shopped at a Kroger store & the original Meijer location. It's still family owned. I just don't see them moving into another region. I do think that Meijer was one of several chains studied by Bob Ingle before switching to the large store format.
Does anyone think Ingle's newer stores resemble Kroger's newer stores? Both have pharmacy drive through, fuel centers and Starbucks Coffee.
Ingle's larger stores are nice where they operate outside Greenville County. It is difficult to open a quantity of 80,000 square feet stores. It is easier to open a 45,000 square feet store with the necessities of food, pharmacy and fuel every three miles than to open an expansive store six miles away from its nearest store.
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Carolina Knight
Does anyone think Ingle's newer stores resemble Kroger's newer stores? Both have pharmacy drive through, fuel centers and Starbucks Coffee.
Ingle's larger stores are nice where they operate outside Greenville County. It is difficult to open a quantity of 80,000 square feet stores. It is easier to open a 45,000 square feet store with the necessities of food, pharmacy and fuel every three miles than to open an expansive store six miles away from its nearest store.
I think that Bob Ingle got the design from Kroger. I think that he went to Meijer, Pathmark, & ShopRite for ideas of products & marketing them. A lot of MidAtlantic & Midwestern products are in Ingles.
The Fresh Market in the Greenville, South Carolina Area
The Fresh Market confirmed through its press release yesterday its second Greenville County, South Carolina store in the city of Mauldin. The store has been discussed in "Fresh Market 2 in Greenville.
I wonder if Greenville County could support a third Fresh Market store. It would be nice to have a store in the Cherrydale and Greer trade areas.
Now that the Harris Teeter has been announced for Lewis Plaza, is it likely they will add additional locations in the suburban areas? Possibly Greer, Simpsonville, or Mauldin? Would be nice to have a store somewhere along Woodruff Rd, especially if one of the Bi-Lo stores eventually closes.
Kroger and Harris Teeter in the Greenville, South Carolina Area
Harris Teeter did not open enough stores in its first attempt in the upstate South Carolina market. It should be active opening stores under and utilizing Kroger's ownership and resources. Not only should Harris Teeter open stores in suburban trade areas, it needs to reach out to smaller towns and cities like Easley, Greer, Mauldin, Simpsonville and Travelers Rest.
I do not know offhand what the market share breakdown in the upstate South Carolina market is. I think major competitors in the order largest to smallest are Walmart, Bi-Lo, Ingle's and Publix. I predict Kroger will be among the top three chains in market share in the Greenville area and the upstate South Carolina market. It may acquire an existing chain to boost its store count.
I do not see Bi-Lo stores #5057 (Five Forks Plaza, 2607 Woodruff Road, Simpsonville, South Carolina 29681-3625) or #5273 (1818 Woodruff Road, Greenville, South Carolina 29607-5935) closing. They are among Bi-Lo's busiest and better performing stores.
^^Well so far only the Lewis Plaza store has been officially announced by Harris Teeter. But Kroger is used to competing with Publix in Atlanta, so I would think they realize what they are up against and will continue to add more Harris Teeter stores in order to be competitive in the market this time around. And I believe Kroger is the 2nd largest supermarket operator in the country next to Walmart, so they should have the plans and means to be successful going forward.
Kroger and Harris Teeter in the Greenville, South Carolina Area
I would be curious to know which trade areas Harris Teeter will open new stores in. Does Harris Teeter favor established and booming trade areas with disposable income?
Kroger is opening many Kroger Marketplace stores. I wonder if it would want to bring the format not only to the Greenville area, but the entire upstate South Carolina regional market.
Another angle of Kroger is unionized stores. Many Atlanta Division stores are unionized. South Carolina is a right to work state. I wonder if Kroger may look to add more non-union stores.
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
23,813 posts, read 34,657,307 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Carolina Knight
I would be curious to know which trade areas Harris Teeter will open new stores in. Does Harris Teeter favor established and booming trade areas with disposable income?
Kroger is opening many Kroger Marketplace stores. I wonder if it would want to bring the format not only to the Greenville area, but the entire upstate South Carolina regional market.
Another angle of Kroger is unionized stores. Many Atlanta Division stores are unionized. South Carolina is a right to work state. I wonder if Kroger may look to add more non-union stores.
Unionized supermarkets have their pros & cons. I don't think that Kroger will care much either way.
Acquisition of Ingles would give Kroger instant infill in Upstate SC & western NC with stores that could instantly become Kroger Marketplace locations. Acquisition of Bi-Lo would also give them infill but no Kroger Marketplace locations.
I'm in Kings Mountain. The Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market is now open & really hitting Ingles. It's not having much effect on Food Lion as it's been a mystery for years as to why one of them hasn't closed.
In my opinion, Ingles would be a perfect acquisition for Kroger. Bob II has failed to keep up his father's aggressive expansion plans. They risk being boxed in & therefore cut out of most of the Charlotte market which would be more lucrative than to turn towards Knoxville.
Kroger and Harris Teeter in the Greenville, South Carolina Area
Acquiring Ingle's would give Kroger immediate market share in upstate South Carolina, western North Carolina and northern Georgia markets. Several older Ingle's stores in Tennessee and Georgia in direct competition with Kroger would close. I do not know if the Ingle family has any interest in selling out.
I think Kroger would value Bi-Lo Holdings for Bi-Lo's market share in upstate South Carolina and Winn Dixie's stores in Florida to expand into that state.
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
23,813 posts, read 34,657,307 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Carolina Knight
Acquiring Ingle's would give Kroger immediate market share in upstate South Carolina, western North Carolina and northern Georgia markets. Several older Ingle's stores in Tennessee and Georgia in direct competition with Kroger would close. I do not know if the Ingle family has any interest in selling out.
I think Kroger would value Bi-Lo Holdings for Bi-Lo's market share in upstate South Carolina and Winn Dixie's stores in Florida to expand into that state.
Besides the question of whether the Ingle family would sell, I think that Ingles has more move-in ready locations for Kroger, overall. With Publix moving into the Charlotte market there's no time to dawdle, & that's just one area.Ingles should be looking for property in Gastonia, Hickory, & Mooresville. Where should they be looking in the Upstate?
Last week I was in Ingles & there must have been a minimum of twice the usual number of sale items. There weren't as many cars as usual & the Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market lot was packed.
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The Fresh Market in the Greenville, South Carolina Area
