Shop Talk
Retailers, consumers and prices
Food sellers: I’m no Twit!
Just when it seems like everyone is using Twitter, we learn that is not really the case.
A panel discussion on Thursday at the CIES World Food Business Summit in New York featured four prominent industry leaders: Sara Lee CEO Brenda Barnes, Cargill CEO Greg Page, Kraft CEO Irene Rosenfeld and Jeff Noddle, executive chairman of grocery chain Supervalu. The conversation turned to how the panelists’ companies would stay relevant with the next generation of consumers.
Understanding Generation Y, whose oldest members are already in the work force, will be key to success in the future, said Noddle.
Very broadly defined, Generation Y includes more than 70 million Americans born from 1977 to 2002.
“They will measure their purchases on different criteria than those who came before them,” Noddle said, noting that younger consumers were more concerned with issues of sustainability and health. “We’re trying to understand that and trying to project how do you respond to that. Even though they may not have the dollar power today, they will. And I think that’s a critical element.”
Sara Lee’s Barnes agreed, noting that today’s younger consumers “grew up on the Internet” and that they “have every bit of information at their fingertips in a nanosecond.”
Moderator Bill Rancic, the first winner on Donald Trump’s “The Apprentice” reality television show, asked who on the panel was “tweeting” (and therefore a “twit”).
Starbucks’ cafe-to-market coupons
Starbucks cafes in the United States are handing out a limited number of coupon books designed to drive its cafe customers to grocery stores where the coffee chain’s ice cream, bottled drinks and coffee beans are sold.
“We started in the coffee aisle. But the other aisles got jealous. So now, we’re all over the grocery store,” reads the little brown book of coupons, available now in company-operated stores.
The books include discounts like $1 off ice cream pints, $2 off bottled Frappuccino drinks or $1 off 10- or 12-ounce bags of coffee.
Licensed stores, such as those operated in grocery stores and book stores, will get the coupon books on Friday, Starbucks spokesman Alan Hilowitz said.
The company said its latest effort is an “evolution” of its long-standing efforts to promote cafe products in grocery stores, and vice versa.
For example, when the company launched its new daily brew Pike Place last year, grocery shoppers who bought a bag of the new blend got a coupon code at check-out that entitled them to a $5 Starbucks gift card.
Similar efforts are percolating overseas. In Switzerland, Starbucks is giving away a voucher for a free espresso beverage with packages of coffee purchased in supermarkets. The promotion will travel to the United Kingdom, France and Germany later this year.
It’s 4:15 – do you know what your dinner is?
If you’re broke and in a hurry, Supervalu — the owner of grocery chains like Lucky, Albertsons, Shop ‘n Save and Shaw’s – has your number and it’s 4:15.
The third-largest U.S. supermarket operator is setting up stations in its produce, meat and deli departments that feature the fixings for fast, easy, home-cooked meals that can feed a family of four for less than $15.
“Research shows that most people don’t know at 4 o’clock what they are having for dinner that night, and in many cases, these hurry-up meals result in less-than-balanced and more expensive food choices,” said Jim Smits, Supervalu’s group vice president of fresh foods merchandising.
“We wanted to make it easier for our customers to answer that inevitable ‘what’s for dinner’ question by providing them with simple, convenient, affordable ideas for creating a real home-cooked meal,” Smits said.
The 4:15 program is part of the company’s “Simply Good Meals” campaign, which targets shoppers who are looking to save money on food by cooking at home.
(Photo\Supervalu)
Let them eat steak
Tired of paying high prices for everything from soup to cereal? See your butcher.
While food makers like Kellogg and Campbell Soup have yet to take back price hikes on boxes of cereal and cans of soup spurred by last year’s spike in commodity costs, beef companies have to move their premium, perishable product in a environment where restaurants aren’t buying and consumers are pinching pennies.
“You are seeing some of the best value in grocery stores for steaks than what you have seen in an awfully long time,” Gregg Doud, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s chief economist said at the Reuters Food and Agriculture Summit in Chicago.
“You are seeing a lot of features for rib-eyes and T-bones at below $5 a pound. That is some of the best featuring we have seen in many many years,” Doud said.
In April 2008, the retail price for boneless rib-eye steaks averaged $9.49 per pound and T-bones averaged $6.88 a pound, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
(Photo\Reuters)
Whole Foods selling 13 stores in settlement
Natural and organic food grocer Whole Foods will sell 13 stores as part of a settlement that ends an antitrust battle with U.S. regulators over its acquisition of rival Wild Oats.
Is your store on the list?
- 7133 N. Oracle Rd., Tucson, AZ
- 8688 E. Raintree Dr., Scottsdale, AZ
- 2584 Baseline Rd., Boulder, CO
- 1651 Broadway St., Boulder, CO
- 3180 New Center Pt., Colorado Springs, CO
- 5910 S. University Blvd., Littleton, CO
- 9229 N Sheridan Blvd., Westminster, CO
- 340 N. Main St., West Hartford, CT
- 4301 Main St., Kansas City, MO
- 1090 St. Francis Dr., Santa Fe, NM
- 7250 W. Lake Mead Blvd., Las Vegas, NV
- 19440 N.W. Cornell Rd., Hillsboro, OR
- 6930 S. Highland Dr., Salt Lake City, UT
(Photo\Mike Blake, Reuters)
I would have liked to have seen a greater impact on Whole Foods from this settlement – apparently these were underperforming stores for them – what kind of punishment is that? I do think its unfortunate that the stores will simply close – its not like Wild Oats is going to reopen. So in the end its the consumer that suffers – either to the highly marked up foods at Whole Foods or because they now have one less place to shop for organics. Consumers need to learn their options for organic foods: farmer’s markets, local health food stores, and shopping online (www.shoporganic.com for one) are all good options.
Love? Try Aisle 5
Need a mate this Valentine’s Day? Whole Foods wants to help.
The high-end seller of organic, natural and gourmet food has been throwing singles’ mixers in stores around the country as Valentine’s Day approaches.
The chain’s hometown of Austin hosted an event called “Check Out” and to give us a flavor of the evening, it supplied this picture:
Here’s how it billed that free, Feb. 11 event:
If you want a “healthy relationship,” where better to look than Whole Foods Market? Stroll the aisles and taste decadent chocolates and champagne, flirt over fondue, sample perfect recipes for romantic dinners for two, and mingle on the patio with your new friends. You might just find a date for Valentine’s Day!
Several stores in the Southern United States hosted repeat events called Kiss A Fish (a monkfish, that is), Get Some (lobster) Tail! — The parentheses are mine.
Creating a to-do list for Wal-Mart’s new CEO
This Saturday, Lee Scott will retire as CEO of Wal-Mart, the world’s biggest retailer, and Mike Duke will step in to the CEO shoes on Sunday.
Since the management change was announced in November, ShopTalk is fairly certain that Duke has come up with a pretty long list of things to do in his first few months as CEO.
But Reuters talked to analysts and investors about what they want Duke to focus on.
Some said Duke should continue the turnaround started by Scott, looking to boost results in its existing U.S. stores by slowing the opening of new ones.
Others said Duke needs to focus on building loyalty among the new shoppers that it has attracted during the recession to help keep its sales momentum going when times get better.
Another issue for Duke will be to find ways to spur strong sales in its grocery business as it looses the boost created last year from soaring food inflation.
If you could add to Duke’s to-do list, what would you want him to focus on?
I know that a lot of the soft goods, toys, and the like are from China… my concern is the food. My husband bought some nuts that listed ‘Product of California -packaged in China’.
If you look at the Great Value brand of foods- They say ‘Marketed by Wal-mart or Distributed by Wal-mart’. The origin is not on the package.
The prices are low, but keep in mind that China has no problem poisoning their own kids with tainted milk.
WHY ON EARTH WOULD THEY CARE ABOUT US?
If Sam Walton were still alive this whole China thing would be a non-issue.
Maybe the heirs will wake up and start using domestic products again.
Thanksgiving ’08 will gobble up more of your dollars
Thanksgiving dinner promises to take a bigger bite of your wallet this year.
“Thanksgiving food prices are up about 6 percent compared to last year,” said Corinne Alexander, a Purdue University agricultural economist.
Alexander said grocery store prices are increasing at a pace of 7.6 percent, compared with restaurants’ rise of 4.5 percent.
Still, consumers planning to have a traditional Thanksgiving meal at home should find bargains on several holiday staples, including the symbol of the season: turkey.
The estimated wholesale price for turkey is 3 cents to 7 cents per pound higher than in 2007, driven by higher export demand for U.S. turkeys.
Still, Alexander said “turkey is a favorite loss leader item for grocery stores, where they’ll offer you a coupon or a discount to give you a really great price on turkey,” Alexander said.
Grocers typically offer virtually free turkey in hope that shoppers will pick up the remaining fixings for their meals at the same time.
Browsing for butter, lip balm on Walmart.com
You can look but you can’t buy — online at least.
Wal-Mart has started allowing visitors to its website to browse some of the groceries, health and beauty, and pet products that the discount giant sells in its stores.
Instead of being able to buy the items online, Walmart.com browsers can check to see if the products are in stock at a store near them.
Walmart.com spokesman Ravi Jariwala said the new feature will help consumers save time and plan their shopping trips before they hit a Wal-Mart store. He also said allowing website visitors to check if a product is in stock at a local store has become one of the most frequently used features on its website.
The products that Wal-Mart has added to its website are actually the ones that have been driving Wal-Mart’s U.S. sales this year.
Shoppers, pressured by the housing market meltdown, spiking gas prices, rising grocery bills and an uncertain job market, have been heading to Wal-Mart in search of low prices on everyday necessities, like food and toilet paper.
Now, before heading to Wal-Mart, they can check to see if their favorite brand of bacon or cereal is actually in stock.
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