Zapit Components

To satisfy consumers’ needs, Loblaw established strong regional brands such as Provigo in Quebec, and also built superstores that focus on particular product categories. By adopting a multi-format approach, Loblaw is able to cover a wide range of prices to further appeal to consumers. By the same token, responding to the demand of one-stop shopping and the tendency of growing convenience store, Loblaws also offer non-food items to meet the daily needs of every household.

1.1 Financial Resources & Capabilities During the period from 2007 to 2009 total sales went up 8.13% which is a strong performance. Most contribution is driving from domestic sales (i.e. German operations). 2007 Turnover (€m) Total turnover growth (%) Grocery Sales Density (euro/sqm/wk) Number of Stores Sales Area (‘000 sqm) 41,818 +3.9 2008 45,183 +8.0 2009 45,221 +0.1

Although there is not a large amount of new food entering the market, there are many new brands and creative packaging constantly being introduced into the grocery market, and food companies are constantly competing for slots in grocery stores. For these reasons, product innovation is key to the grocery market.

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

Superior Supermarkets is in need of a strategic program to help fuel continued growth, market share, and profitability. The current issue of a new pricing strategy is warranted, considering competitive forces, increasing consumer price consciousness, and recent sales being below budget. Table 3 illustrates how SS compares to its competition in terms of product distribution – a lower percentage of grocery and higher percentage of meats and produce. This table also depicts that lower percentage of sales exist for high profit margin items. This information can be supplemented by recent consumer research carried out through telephone surveys and two focus groups.

It has been said that U.S. food spending is increasing, but unfortunately, supermarkets are not making what they should be. Between the alternative grocery methods, and other such societal shifts, this has caused some supermarket chains to have to focus on their more profitable stores, and exit from the less profitable areas. Even though such value-oriented grocers as Walmart are making it very difficult for conventional supermarkets to compete based on price, Publix continues to lead in the supermarket industry where they made $548 per square foot annually. In addition, Publix’s net earnings in the beginning of 2010 were up to $996 million, compared to $877.3 million in the previous year (Mujtaba & Johnson).

Most firms in the supermarket industry operate as retail outlets, comprising of supermarkets and discount stores. Most of these supermarkets operate on very little profit margins, and mostly get their ideas from their customers for their product developments. Supermarkets generate revenue by being determined to meet the needs of their customers’ lifestyle. By so doing they end up creating value for their products and making profits at the same time. Through bulk purchases, they also achieve their economies of scale at cheaper prices and then end up selling at cheaper prices to their customers.

G. Industry Analysis – The supermarket and grocery store industry is maintaining throughout the economic crisis that America is currently experiencing. As stated by the Market Report of “Grocery Stores”, “The industry fared well during the economic recession of the late 2000s, as more Americans chose to eat at home rather than go out. During this time grocery stores focused on providing economical food choices for cash-strapped consumers.” However, as the economy continues to improve, more people may choose to eat out which could cause the industry to marginally suffer. Additionally, Supermarketnews.com states, “…the 75

In this final project paper, I am going to compile all of the topics that we have been discussing and deliberating on all this term. Moreover, I am going discuss and evaluates the Ajax Foods scenario and in module One content by Putting myself into the shoes of the CEO for Ajax Foods. What is the most important question you need to have answered before you spend thousands of dollars on the launch of a new product? In an arena that is as competitive as the food industry today, most companies are always looking for ways to add new revenue streams and limit product attrition. Therefore, launching a new product can assist a company in gaining access to new markets that might have previously been unapproachable. Therefore, for me, as the CEO of

Panera has access to some relevant resources, because the café is a large corporation, they have a lot of money and investment staffing. With this resource, Panera Bread can hire more driven, determine, and happy employees. In the technology department, they can instill a delivery app, used on any smartphone and customers can simply download the app. immediately after downloading the app, the customer can have a choice to have their food deliver. In other words, Customer A orders what he/she wants on their smartphone, then goes to pick it up, as oppose to waiting in line to order the food. Like anything else, it is experimentation, there are going to be glitches in the beginning. Nothing is going to be perfect. There are some advantages and disadvantages to this methodology. The advantages are the smartphone delivery app is intuitive, facile, and less intricate. The disadvantage of this is that the customers who are not technologically savvy are going to struggle and be confounded. That is why there is a choice of coming into the store to pick the product up or delivering.

Everyone in the United States shops at Wal-Mart Corporation at some point in their life because they have so many items that are useful in everyday life. It can be very frustrating when looking through their many items and you know they carry a product that you simply cannot find. With the popularity of smart phones on the rise, almost 1 per household in the United States, an advanced Wal-Mart application would make

The grocery retail industry worldwide has grown in recent years to become one of the most intensely competitive industries due to the continuous amounts of new entrants. A grocery retailer is one that sells food and other general household items. Hypermarkets, supermarkets, discounters and small grocery retailers are all under the grocery retail umbrella. Between 2003 and 2008, the grocery retailing industry accounted for 45% of store-based retail values sales over the world. The figures

The retail grocery landscape is changing and will continue to change. Retailers no longer expect shoppers to come to them, they must go to the shoppers, especially when Millenials are the shoppers of the future with a multitrillion-dollar opportunity for the grocery industry by 2020 (Guskey, 2014).

But knowing exactly where a shopper is in-store opens up a wealth of other functions that will mean their favourite device, the smartphone, will almost certainly be the retail brand’s main communications channel going forward.

Shopping carts have come a long way since bags, baskets, and early cart designs. The current design maximizes storage with a big basket, a rack, and a child seat, but is missing technology to make shopping easier. Smartphones are so commonly used in this day and age and SmartCart, our product, utilizes current technology like smartphones. With the SmartCart app, customers are able to make lists, compare prices, and prepare their shopping trip. When they arrive at the store, they can sync their pre-made trip from their phones to a screen on the shopping cart. This makes shopping quicker and more efficient, for you can see any information you may need on items right on your cart. The SmartCart perfectly combines current technology with our breakthrough technology that is not present in grocery stores today. With any new product and technology, there are things that could go wrong. However SmartCart creates an overall better shopping experience and has a big upside.