Market And Competitor Analysis Paper

The grocery industry has a relatively high market commonality; a lot of grocery stores are somewhat related in terms of technologies used, labor force and the products or services offered in the stores. Differentiation with other competitors is key for survival in this highly competitive industry.

1. The grocery industry is a commoditized industry, which makes it difficult for grocers to sustain through differentiation. Buyer power is high and thus, cost leadership and operational efficiencies are critical. There is fierce competition amongst various grocery stores, with the main players such as Loblaw and A&P holding multi-banner stores in various market segments. Traditional grocery stores also lose some of their market share to drug stores, convenience stores and other retailers who have entered the industry. Threat of substitutes from fast-food and take- away outlets is not as prevalent, since many grocery stores have started stocking ready-to-eat meals and have deli services available for consumers. Competitive

In the United States, the food retail industry is absolutely massive. According to Statista, this industry brings in nearly 5.27 trillion dollars annually and 594.4 billion of that is from grocery store sales. In this market, the 20-ton gorilla in the room is Walmart, racking in nearly 20% of the entire market at around 118 billion dollars in 2013 according to the Harvard Business School case study. Following Walmart, Kroger and Costco own the biggest next largest slices bringing in 76 billion and 71 billion respectively. In this highly competitive market that has some of the smallest margins of any industry it can be tough to get ahead and even tougher to grow. However, Trader Joe’s has managed to pierce what was once a very small world

Operating on very thin profit margins, players in the supermarket industry traditionally either focus on a premium segment or follow a discounter strategy at the low end. Premium players address educated and more price elastic consumers who value healthy, natural and organic food; the share of perishable items for these players is normally distinctly higher. Players that focus on a discounter strategy offer a higher share of simple necessity items and value price competitiveness over premium features like healthiness or organic origin. Independently of the focused customer group it is imperative for players in the supermarket industry to be cost efficient and optimize operations

Grocery shopping is more diversified and evolved than ever before. Individuals across the nation have access to everything from exotic products to unique delivery services. Often, specialty stores have limited locations whereas specialty services have a limited reach. However, two retailers have expanded to hundreds of locations while adhering to unexpected market positioning for previously untargeted market segments. Whole Foods Market and Trader Joe’s have become household names while also innovating beyond regional and national traditional chains. Despite comparable size in

In this article Michael Baker discusses the livelihood of small retailers in a market subjugated by the financially dominant oligopolies, Woolworths and Coles. While the small independent retailers in direct competition with Woolworths and Coles provide some competitive respite for consumers, as they encourage competitive pricing, albeit predatory pricing, it is clear that Woolworths and Coles control the supermarket industry in Australia, in the formation of a duopoly. It is evident that Woolworths and Coles engage in predatory pricing in an attempt to eliminate independent retailers from the market. This article discusses recent efforts made by the Australian government and the Australian Competition

Larger stores also offer people the convenience of additional services along with their shopping, for example post office, pharmacy and opticians. By addressing consumer’s expectations and using their buyer power they can offer a choice of products to reflect consumer’s diverse budgetary, dietary, ethical and environmental requirements. Furthermore their global buyer power enables consumers to benefit from choosing exotic produce all year round. With 30,000,000 customers (Bevan cited in Allen, 2009) choosing to use the big four supermarkets on a weekly basis it would suggest that they provide a format that consumers want.

The retail industry is a sector of the economy that is comprised of individuals and companies

The retail industry has always been a large portion of the U.S. economy. In 2012, the industry had nearly one million stores and accounted for four trillion dollars in revenue. An estimated two-thirds of the U.S. GDP

Sam Thompson and Bob Thompson were the owners of Bob's Supermarket. They had formed what was known as the sub-chapter-S corporation with the aim of a supermarket in Indiana specifically Hanover. They tried to expand their firm but failed on more than one occasion, and the arrival of Wal-mart supermarket greatly affected their sales. By the year 2005, the store of Hanover appeared to be failing, but these two individuals continued to make additional investments on the store.

As for the Waitrose convenience store, it opened up in December 2008. This company first appeared in a 6,000 square feet building with two-thirds of the space devoted to fresh food, including serving counters for meat and fish, cheese and, deli. As that store became successful the company opened up another store in Cambridge in June 2010. With the company becoming bigger, the company began using price optimization technology to improve sales and profits at the pump. With this, the company can change prices more quickly, the information is quicker, and with historical data we can optimize sales and

Consumers want value for money, and who can blame them? This is surely a pre requisite in our economic climate.' The pro-supermarket lobby states that supermarkets use, not abuse, their economic size for the benefit of communities and consumers, suppliers and workers, alike'.(Allen, 2009, p69) While this claim is valid, it is important to remember that there may be a degree of corporate spin involved here.

The grocery industry is a high volume, low margin industry that is heavily competitive. It can be characterized as a fragmented mature industry. As of 2014, it is estimated that there are 37,716 supermarkets (with $2 million or more in annual sales) in the United States which make $638,338 billion in sales a year. (Food Marketing Institute, 2015) Within this industry there are a variety of retailers, ranging from specialty neighborhood markets to health food specialty markets. The following chart shows the number of different channels used by customers and what percentage of the time customers use such channels for their purchasing needs. The source of the chart is from a study conducted by the Hartman Group for the Food Marketing Institute, Retrieved from: http://www.fmi.org/docs/default-source/research/presentation.pdf?sfvrsn=0

The retail industry that exists in the UK is huge because in the year 2010 the sales were recorded at being over £293 billion.

Many families that shop in supermarkets are usually in the low- to middle- class ranks, making them cost conscious when it comes to purchasing products. While convenience is often the deciding factor for purchasing products and services, many consumers are increasingly becoming brand-conscious and altering their shopping habits (Euromonitor International, 2014). Because of their tight budgets, families will most likely purchase products at time of need or when a particular product is on sale for that day. Supermarkets started to be known as places