[Vision2020] Wal-Mart goes after COOP

[Bill London]

Of course, Wal-Mart is expanding into organic foods.  And if the Wal-Mart
Supercenter arrives in Moscow, that store will be competing directly with
the Moscow Food Co-op.
However, I am not concerned about the Co-op.
First, several years ago when Tidymans, Rosauers and Safeway in Moscow all
opened a natural foods or organic section, the result was a rise in sales of
organics at the Co-op.  I think the wider availability of organics prompted
more people to try those products.  Then, they realized that if they wanted
better organic product selection, useful ideas and assistance from staff,
and equivalent prices, they could shop at the Co-op.  The supermarkets were
a gateway to the Co-op for more traditional shoppers.
Second, no other grocery store is going to match the Co-op for quality staff
and a quality shopping experience.
Third, the Co-op is downtown, and is an integral part of this community.  A
bigbox sprawling at the edge of town is totally different.  And this
community knows the difference.
That does not mean that I welcome the new Superduper Wal-Mart.  I don't.
But I believe the Co-op will prosper whether or not the Wal-Mart happens....
BL



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ron Force" <rforce at moscow.com>
To: <vision2020 at moscow.com>
Sent: Thursday, March 09, 2006 3:14 PM
Subject: [Vision2020] Wal-Mart goes after COOP


> Wal-Mart to double its organic food selection
> Retail giant continues its aggressive expansion into grocery market.
>
> By Kate Miller Morton
> AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
> Wednesday, March 08, 2006
>
> Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will double its organic product selection in the next
> few weeks as the company continues an aggressive expansion into the
grocery
> market and tries to lure more upscale shoppers to its stores.
>
> Wal-Mart already sells some organic products in its Supercenters and
> Neighborhood Markets, including baby food, juice and produce. The company
> will expand its organic produce and dairy selections as well as dry goods
> such as pasta and peanut butter.
>
> "We are seeing that the majority of consumers today are interested in
> organics in one form or another, and we want to help them find those
organic
> selections at the best value," Wal-Mart spokeswoman Karen Burk said. "You
> will see this expansion begin in our Texas stores in the upcoming weeks."
>
> Wal-Mart has been aggressively expanding its share of the Central Texas
> grocery sector, adding eight Supercenters in three years for a total of
14.
> The company now has slightly more than 20 percent of the Central Texas
> grocery market, compared with just 4.5 percent in 2000, placing it second
> only to H.E. Butt Grocery Co., which has 55 percent, according to market
> research firm Trade Dimensions.
>
> Organic food sales are one of the fastest growing segments of the
> hyper-competitive grocery industry.
>
> Increased demand has lured more mainstream grocery stores into a product
> area once reserved for fringe specialty stores such as Austin-based Whole
> Foods Markets Inc.
>
> Last year, H-E-B launched an organic private label brand called Central
> Market Organic and All-Natural in its Central Market and H-E-B stores. The
> product line includes all-natural items ranging from commodities such as
> milk and eggs to fruit juices, popcorn, coffee, mustard, cereal,
mayonnaise,
> pasta and pasta sauce.
>
> H-E-B now carries more than 421 organic and natural items and plans to add
> 198 additional products this year, including organic beef.
>
> Randalls recently launched a 150-item private label organics line that
> includes a wide variety of products, such as cereal, eggs, juice, milk and
> bottled teas.
>
> "It's a consumer-driven industry, driven by consumer demands and
> preferences, and obviously a lot of consumers are getting turned on to
> organics and seeking those products," said Todd Hultquist, spokesman for
the
> Food Marketing Institute, a trade association.
>
> "At the same time, the supply of organic products has grown dramatically.
> With an increased supply, prices have gone down, and that was always a
> barrier to people who wanted to go organic but didn't want to increase
their
> household budget on food," Hultquist said.
>
> Whole Foods spokeswoman Kate Lowery put a positive spin on potential
> competition from Wal-Mart, saying she expects Wal-Mart's organic expansion
> to ultimately benefit Whole Foods by exposing more consumers to organic
> products.
>
> "I think it will have a positive impact because once they discover those
> products in those conventional supermarkets, then they will find their way
> to us," Lowery said. "(With the) few products they find there, they will
be
> turned on to a larger variety of products in our stores."
>
>
>
> Find this article at:
>
http://www.statesman.com/business/content/business/stories/other/03/8organic
> s.html
>
>
>
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