Traditional Supermarkets Losing Ground To Big Box, Club, Natural/Specialty Outlets

Conventional supermarkets are taking a sales beating, according to market consultants Gerson Lehrman Group, as they cede ground to big box, club and natural/specialty outlets. The key reason is the fact that traditional supermarkets “lack a brand proposition that can offer superior quality or superior value.” The report says seven of the top nine public  conventional supermarkets posted sales declines in the first half of 2010. Same-store sales for A&P dropped six percent through June 2010. Same-store sales fell seven percent at SuperValu, and food sales dropped 10 percent. Less dramatic but equally disturbing were the sales declines at Safeway (two percent), Delhaize Group (Food Lion and Hannaford, two percent) and Harris Teeter (one percent). Meanwhile, Whole Foods Market posted a same-store sales increase of nine percent in the third quarter.