Chris Johnson said:
"I have one small quibble with Wizard's remarks: I agree, independent grocers
cannot compete on price, and it's very difficult if impossible to compete on
variety. But they can easily surpass the big chains on quality."
I find this hard to believe. My parents ran a wholesale grocer, and I've
worked for 2 of the 3 biggest wholesale food distributors in the nation
(SuperValu & Nash-Finch, both headquartered in the Twin Cities), and have some
knowledge of the grocery distribution chain.
Nearly all of the 'small, independent grocers' get their food from one of the
large wholesalers, the same ones that supply CUB, Roundys/Rainbow, etc. (And
yes, even some of the co-ops.)
That's why I laugh when I overhear people saying things like "the produce at
Lunds is so much better than at CUB" -- it all comes from the same produce
warehouse in Hopkins, and may even be delivered on the same truck! (Back
around 1999, SuperValu changed the names on their trucks, because independent
stores like this didn't like having their customers see a delivery truck marked
"SuperValu" unloading at their store.)
On non-produce items, there is even less difference: a box of Quaker's oatmeal
is very much the same no matter what store you buy it at. Or the bulk oatmeal
that you scoop out of a tub, too.
It's very difficult for a small, independent grocer to compete on cost or on
product selection or quality any more. They have to differentiate themselves
on non-product features, like convenience, service, and presentation. That's
why you see them stressing convenient locations & fast in-out times, or their
friendly personalized service, clean stores, etc. (It's also why most of the
successful small grocers are family-owned & operated -- they need the
attentiveness of owner-workers to keep that service orientation. A big CUB, or
a tiny Quick-Mart can operate according to a formula, and get by with
it's-just-a-job hourly workers.)