Wegmans Essay

Trader Joe’s is a major food retailer who has developed quite the name for themselves. It has well over 350 stores in over 32 states and is expected to continually grow over the next few years (Bond, 2012). For over 50 years, Trader Joe’s has been providing quality customer services, products and a unique shopping experience for its customers. They have come a very long way from when they first officially opened their doors. Trader Joe’s started when its founder Joe Coulombe wanted to find a way to differentiate his 7-Eleven stores (Schermerhorn, Osborn, Uhl-Bien & Hunt, 2012). In the food retailer industry, Trader Joe’s has developed a process that works well and

Trader Joe’s is in the broad market of grocery retailers, a market where the top 10 revenue-generating companies accounted for over $360 billion in sales in 2011. This market is saturated with supermarkets (Publix and Kroger), large discount retailers (Wal-Mart and Target), premium retailers (Whole Foods and Fresh Market), warehouse clubs (Costco and Sam’s Club), and “hard discount” retailers (Dollar General). With this large variation in grocer strategies, the market is heavily penetrated and competition is fierce. Supermarkets are continually losing market share in grocery sales (51 percent in 2011 as opposed to 66 percent in 2001) as players like Wal-Mart and Costco continue to generate more revenue. Although the supermarket share is decreasing, the overall grocery market is steadily increasing as the population of the United States increases. People always need to eat, so there will always be a

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

Supermarkets are one of the many components that contribute to the expansion of the U.S. economy. There are several chains of supermarkets in almost every state, but they cannot be all considered the same. For instance, Publix, Aldi, and Walmart are three of the most popular supermarkets in the U.S., and each one of them has something that its respective consumers value the most, which makes it unique and favorable for the competitors. Therefore, choosing value propositions that will differentiate them from the competitors are a major factor to consider in marketing. This is crucial for the growth of any business because the development of all enterprises lies solely on the effectiveness of its

Publix is not your quintessential grocery store, it is so much more. What is it about Publix that make it unique from all the other stores that sell groceries? What are its unique selling points that add extra value to a visit? Why are customers willing to pay more to shop there? To quote Publix President, Todd Jones, “We believe that there are three ways to differentiate: service, quality and price. You’ve got to be good at two and the best at one. We make service our number one, then quality and then price” (Jones, 2013).

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

Publix is an employee-owned supermarket chain that is said to be the largest of its kind in the United States. Its operations span throughout the southeast region, with locations in Tennessee, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina and South Carolina; with Florida having nearly half of the company’s operating base. George W Jerkins founded the corporation as an employee-owned private entity. The company has managed to create over 168,000 jobs in its numerous branches now totaling to a tune of 1098 stores. Moreover, it has invested in cooking schools and grocery distribution. The company’s turnover in the previous year, 2014, was 28.92 billion US dollars to 1.74 billion as its net profit ranking it to be the thirteenth largest private retail company in the United States (Forbes.com, 2014). Currently, the price of its stock share is around 39 US dollars per share capital. The company has managed to build a niche for itself competing with the likes of Costco, Whole Foods, BJ’s Wholesale Club, Sam’s Club and even Wal-Mart.

Wegmans Food Market, Inc. is a regional supermarket chain headquartered in New York State, which has 83 stores. Since 1998, it has appeared on Fortune’s annual “100 Best Companies to Work For” list, and is ranked the fifth in 2013. This article will analyze Wegmans’

Trader Joe’s operates over 340 stores in 9 states were they “buy direct from suppliers whenever possible, bargain hard to get the best prices and then pass the savings on to the customer” (Trader Joe’s, 2013, para. 4). Whole Food’s Market is the “world’s leader in natural and organic foods, with more than 360 stores in North America and the United Kingdom” (Whole Food, 2013, para 2). Trader Joe’s and Whole Food’s Market have managed to take original ideas and spread them throughout the nation to many different customers. Although they differ not only in the technique in which they decide to bring products to their customers but also in term of inventory management and supply chain organization. These two companies have become so successful in my opinion, not by what they differ in but what they have most in common, which is their commitment to their loyal customers, employees and undeniable quality in their products they sell. Through their loyalty to their customers and employees in addition to their irreplaceable value

point of sale system. The POS system is a perpetual inventory counting method that electronically records items immediately upon their point of sale (Stevenson, 2015, pg. 552). In other words, as a cashier scans a customer 's groceries, each scanned item is automatically recorded in the system and deducted from the store’s inventory. Implementing a point of sale would benefit a business’s inventory management function in several ways. First, the POS system will provide managers with a continuous flow of updated information (Stevenson, 2015, pg. 552). As a result, the information will provide more accuracy when used for sales forecasts and analysis, which substantially affect inventory decisions. Continuously, this inventory system would also allow greater flexibility in the sense that it can be wirelessly linked to the main company’s inventory system, creating a network of the company’s inventory systems. The POS system is capable of tracking many operations at once and can be modified according to management’s needs (MacCarthy, n.d.). This flexibility would undoubtedly benefit a large company like Wegman’s with many store locations. Lastly, the system is able to help businesses maintain a high level of customer service. Because the system gives customers a receipt with the price and quantity of each item purchased, the customer is able to see exactly what he or she purchased. This practice

Publix Super Markets is one of the largest and fastest growing employee-owned grocery companies in the United States. The company seeks to provide a broad range of quality and fresh products at reasonably affordable prices. They purposefully strive to avoid waste, offer great value, and act as good corporate citizens for the communities that they serve. The company also maintains manufacturing and distribution centers to supply its stores. Unless otherwise noted, the core information about the elements of Publix comes from their website, whose address is http://www.publix.com/Home.do.

By taking a more collaborative approach, major improvement could be made. One way is by embracing the concept of “Collaborative Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment” (CPFR) which have been developed and successfully employed by leading food retailers. It foresees that data is shared and discussed actively between retailers and suppliers, e.g. by producing joint forecast on annual production volumes, also considering foreseeable flunctuations. With a better understanding of the mutual dependencies, the planning basisi could be improve and complexity reduced. On the short term planning basis, making aviable sales data collected in-store 9from the scanner-equipped cash registers) to suppliers in real time allows suppliers to produce more accuratelty to the actual demand, and thus reducing cost for buffers and excess inventory (Trebilcock 006). Of course, Aldi will have to receive a certain share of these benefits. Going one step further would be to add ”Category Management” to Aldi’s supplier collaboration approach to optimise assortment towards the end of customer needs.

This case involves a mid-sized, regional grocery store chain called Reed Supermarkets. Reed has 192 retail stores, two regional distribution centers and 21,000 employees in five states in the Midwest of the United States. This case discusses Reed’s market strategy for the Columbus, Ohio, market in particular, which is one of Reed’s largest markets. The Columbus market has grown slightly over the past five years, while Reed’s market share has dwindled slightly in the market. Reed has watched their market share stagnate with the entrance of new competitors (10% growth in stores) and a dramatic shift in customer preferences to value or

Publix is the leading employee owned supermarket found in 1930 by George Jenkins in Winter Haven, Florida. Currently, there are 1,051 stores in the five states who operate Publix’s supermarkets, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama and Tennessee. Its promise to commitment has facilitated their success in a being a grand place to work and shop. “Where shopping is a pleasure” is Publix’s slogan which they are known for promising never to disappoint a shopper intentionally. Not only does Publix cater to their customers but their employees as well which has maintained high rate of employee fidelity.