Is Albertsons the Next A&P?

Albertsons and Safeway were at one time industry leading brands just like A&P (The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company).  Each as industry leaders were brands stuck in the middle, today combined they still are positioned in the middle of the marketplace catering to all; focused on yesterday’s food retail positioning rather than tomorrows customer according to Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru™. 

When the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea filed for creditor protection in July, which was by the way about three years after emerging from a prior bankruptcy.  A&P, Waldbaums, Food Emporium, Super Fresh, Pathmark, and Food Basics, as well as its namesake A&P stores. 

Remember it was not long ago that Safeway had to sell of it Canadian operations, Albertsons was bought by Supervalu after losing its way. Today the company with brands from Albertsons, Safeway, Von’s, Acme Markets, Bristol Farms, Jewel-Osco, Shaw's Supermarkets, Star Markets and more is looking more and more like A&P all the time. 

Yes, multiple brands all focused on the middle market; just how well did that work for A&P?   Each of these brands has a seemingly greater focus on yesterday’s business model of demanding slotting fee’s rather than tomorrow’s model of grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh food. Why?

WinCo has proven very successful as a low price competitor in the western US where Kroger has been forced to reduce prices across the board at all locations over the past six months. Aldi with quality private label food products, focused on price  is the fastest growing grocery store in the United States and is about to burst on the seen in California. 

Foodservice Solutions®, Grocerant Guru™ predicts that Albertsons will struggled to compete with the newcomers WinCo and Aldi just as it has with Wegmans,  Whole Foods Market Inc. and Trader Joe’s Co. So, we ask do you think Albertsons can win positioned in the middle if so for how long?

This is the grocery business not brain surgery.  The vast majority of retail food customers do not want to cook from scratch, do dishes, or spend the time planning meals. They want fresh prepared meal components that can be mixed and matched into a customized family meal quickly according to our Grocerant Guru™ as regular readers of this blog know. 

So, is there a difference between Albertsons and A&P?  We think not.  Online retailers the ilk of Hello fresh, Blue Apron, O’ and Aldi are winning the hearts and minds of consumers.  We don’t think there is a difference between Albertsons and A&P.  We predict a slow decline in Albertsons sales per unit, and predict more store closing from both Safeway and Albertsons as Aldi, WinCo, Hello Fresh, AmazonFresh, and Blue Apron continue to evolve with consumers. 

Invite Foodservice Solutions® to complete a Grocerant Scorecard or a Grocerant Program Assessment.  Since 1991 www.FoodserviceSolutions.us  of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche visit Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant or twitter.com/grocerant   Call: 253-759-7869 or Email:  Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us