ALDI USA's small format, limited assortment supermarkets (above) have about 15,000 square feet of retail selling space. The small format grocery stores are attractive but basic in design.
As our regular readers are aware, we've been writing about what we believe is nothing short of a small format food retailing revolution taking place in the U.S. It's not that small, neighborhood-style grocery stores haven't existed in the U.S. forever--they have. Rather, the reason we're calling it a small-format food retailing revolution is do to the scale of what's occurring, how fast it's happening, and the involvement of two large international retailers--Tesco and ALDI--who are leading the charge.
The catalyst for this so called small-format food retailing revolution is British grocer Tesco, which launched it's first Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Markets stores in Southern California and Las Vegas, Nevada in mid-November, and in Arizona three weeks ago. Tesco has opened nearly 30 of the small format grocery markets in just a little over a month. The retailer plans to have 200 of the stores open by the end of 2008, and up to 500 stores in the U.S. in five years.
In addition to Southern California, Nevada and Arizona, Tesco will begin opening Fresh & Easy grocery markets in Northern California next year. Further, as we've reported and written about here, the grocer is looking for store sights in New York, Florida and Chicago, along with land to built a distribution center on near Chicago.
Fresh & Easy grocery markets average about 10,000 to 13,000 square feet. They're a hybrid basic neighborhood grocery store and semi-upscale prepared, fresh food retailer. We describe the store format as low-price leader, limited format grocery store meets Trader Joe's.
Price-point is a big focus on the basic grocery side of the operation. The stores' thus far opened have lower retails on national brand (a limited selection though) grocery items than traditional supermarkets like Ralph's, Von's, Stater Bros. and others in their trading regions. In fact, the prices are more in-line with the deep-discount limited assortment and warehouse format stores in Fresh & Easy's current operating areas.
On the fresh, prepared foods side of the business, Fresh & Easy offers a wide variety of ready-to-eat, ready-to-heat and grab-and-go prepared foods. These range from basics like mac n' cheese and meat loaf, to more high-end offerings like Beef Tips in Burgundy Sauce and upscale, ethnic prepared foods featuring Indian, Asian and other cuisines. The stores' even sell fully-prepared complete meals that come with dessert and a bottle of wine. The prices on the prepared foods, which are all branded under the Fresh & Easy private label, are very reasonable.
In addition to the basic grocery items and prepared foods, the stores' offer fresh produce, fresh meats, other perishables and a selection of specialty and natural grocery items. About 65% of the items in the grocery markets' are private label, including fresh milk and eggs, and about 35% are national brands.
Aldi to expand its small format, no frills, limited assortment supermarkets
German food retailer ALDI was operating in the U.S. long before Tesco even thought about and created its Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Markets concept and venture. Unlike the big splash--and rapid store opening strategy--Tesco made in the U.S. with Fresh & Easy, ALDI USA's venture has followed a low-key, low-publicity, gradual-growth model.
The international food retailer first entered the U.S. market in 1976 with a handful of stores in southeastern Iowa. Today, nearly 32 years later, the international grocer with stores in 18 countries, is a major player in U.S. food retailing.
ALDI USA currently operates over 850 stores in 26 states, and is ranked as the country's 24th highest grossing (sales) supermarket chain. The stores' are located from the Midwestern USA (Kansas, Iowa, Illinois) to the Eastern Seaboard. (you can view a map of all 26 states ALDI USA has stores in here. When you get to the linked page, go to "What is ALDI and click where it says "view a map of where we operate and divisional offices."
The German grocer's U.S. supermarkets not only are small format (they average about 15,000 square feet), limited product assortment, and price-impact focused, they're also totally no-frills. The stores' design is attractive but bare bones. If customers want to use a shopping cart they have to pay 25-cents to do so. Aldi USA stores also charge for paper and plastic grocery bags, and encourage shoppers to bring their own reusable grocery carriers. The chain's retail positioning can be summed up as "Less is More."
The small format stores' sell their own branded private label grocery items almost exclusively; with the exception of a handful of national brands, which they primarily offer only on an in-and-out basis. The grocer uses sku rationalization to its fullest, constantly evaluating categories and items and adjusting store category and item assortments. The no-frills markets offer fresh produce, fresh meats, perishables, frozen foods and non-food items, all based on that same limited-assortment merchandising philosophy.
The no-frills markets carry a total of slightly over 1,000 items across all categories. Low-price is the prime category-wide focus of the small format stores. In their trading areas, the stores' generally undercut all food retailing formats on price, including Wal-Mart, warehouse stores, and other deep discounters. ALDI supermarkets have the reputation as being the low-price leader stores in the communities they operate in.
Bring on the revolution: ALDI USA's slow growth model is about to change
With 850 stores in the USA, ALDI is considered a major food retailing player based on any score card one uses. That it is 24th in the U.S. in gross sales is impressive considering its stores are a third or more smaller than today's average American supermarket.
But the small-format, price-impact grocer is about to explode on the American food retailing scene in an even bigger way. ALDI USA just announced it is going to excelerate its new store building program in the U.S. from about 20-30 stores per year, which is it's current rate, to as many as 100 stores a year beginning next year. Additionally, the small-format grocer is going to enter Florida and Rhode Island for the first time next year, and is planning a major new expansion into Texas in 2009.
With stores in Texas and Florida, the grocer will be entering two of the most competitive and lucrative states for food retailing in the U.S., as well as establishing a retail presence in the number two and three largest states in the country respectively.
It might be televised, but the small format revolution is real
ALDI USA's rapid growth plan is predicated on the huge success the grocer has had with its 850-plus store chain. It, along with others like Supervalu Inc.'s Save-A-Lot small format, price-impact chain, have proven not only the viability but success of the format at the lower-end of the food retailing spectrum.
Of course, the international grocer isn't a stranger to high-end, small store format food retailing in the U.S. either. It owns the fabulously successful Trader Joe's specialty grocery chain, which is expanding rapidly into new markets in the U.S. as well.
We don't think it's an accident Tesco positioned it's Fresh & Easy grocery markets as a combination price-impact, specialty and prepared foods hybrid market. They saw the success of no-frills, small format operations like ALDI USA , Save-A-Lot and others--as well as the success of Trader Joe's on the higher, specialty end. In part, this influenced Tesco to craft a format they believe can serve both customer demographics--price-conscious, basic grocery shoppers tired of huge superstores, and time-pressed consumers who are looking for specialty-oriented and convenient prepared foods at not out of this world prices. Like we said earlier, it's low-price, limited assortment grocery market meets Trader Joe's.
Of course the jury is still out on Fresh & Easy. They just opened their first stores last month after all. However, Tesco's plans are to have as many as 500 stores operating in the U.S. in five years. As such, Fresh & Easy isn't an experiment. Rather, it's a full-fledged venture.
Onward small format food retailing revolution
We see what we are calling the small format food retailing revolution going full-steam ahead. As we've reported recently, Safeway Stores, Inc. is currently negotiating with real estate interests in the San Jose, California area of the San Francisco Bay Area for locations to build five stores of a new and yet unnamed small format food retailing venture. The stores will be about 20,000 square feet, and it's believed will offer a wide variety of fresh, prepared foods in addition to groceries and other offerings.
We've also written much about Wal-Mart's research into two small store formats--one a small footprint grocery/food market and the other a small format health and wellness-oriented store, which would include a health clinic in-store. The mega-retailer had a team of executives working on the concepts in the San Francisco Bay Area for a number of months earlier this year. We expect some announcements as to what they might--or might not--do in terms of their small format retailing plans by early next year.
Other retailers like supermarket chain Giant Eagle are testing the small format food retailing waters. The chain, which operates primarily superstores and conventional supermarkets, has opened two Giant Eagle Express stores. The grocery markets are about 15,000 square feet and feature a mix of basic groceries, fresh produce and meats, and upscale offerings, including prepared foods, along with specialty, natural and organic groceries. The express markets also offer some standard convenience store items and have fueling pumps next door.
Further, supernatural grocer Whole Foods Market, Inc. plans to open a small format, convenience-oriented prototype store early next year in a former Wild Oats store in Boulder, Colorado. The grocer is currently remodeling the store into its Whole Foods Express prototype format. The express store will offer lots of prepared foods, especially convenient grab-and-go items. It's also expected to have a limited assortment of natural and organic groceries, fresh produce and meats. An in-store cafe also is likely.
Other food retailers are looking closely at the small format concept and thinking about whether or not it's something they should experiment with. And of course, the original small format food retailer, the neighborhood independent grocer, is smiling and thinking perhaps he was right all along.
We also must mention Pennsylvania-based Wawa Food Markets, which is the prime chain store innovator in the U.S. in terms of mixing convenience store-type retailing and more upscale grocery and specialty store merchandising into a single format.
For decades, Wawa has been successful in building a large chain of such hybrid stores throughout the eastern U.S. The retailer also is one of the early pioneers in offering quality prepared foods offerings in a convenience store setting. Its also one of the first chains to include larger than average grocery and perishables sections in its convenience stores, offering basic groceries at a decent price, compared to the normal convenience store retail prices in the category.
Hold on to your shopping carts folks. We're just seeing the beginnings of a small format food retailing revolution. The format's success on the no-frills, price-impact end is proven--and growing. Success stories like Wawa Food Markets and Trader Joe's--and the initial popularity of Tesco's first Fresh & Easy stores--are beginning to suggest that the small format hybrid food store concept also could become a big success at the middle-to-higher end of the spectrum as well.
Which retailer will be next to test the small format store retail waters; be it low-end, high-end, in the middle, or some combination of all three? We'll let you know. And, if you know of one--do let us know.
[To read numerous stories on the small format food retailing revolution search the blog using key words: Fresh and Easy, Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Markets, Small Marts, The Invasion of the Small Marts, Whole Foods Express, Whole Foods Market, Giant Eagle Express, Wawa Food Markets, Safeway Stores, Inc. and Small Format Food Retailing.]
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