Supermarkets lead customer experience survey; Wegmans tops all companies

The Temkin Group, a research and consulting firm, said earlier this month that its 2018 Temkin Experience Ratings survey of 10,000 U.S. shoppers revealed that supermarkets were tops in customer experience ratings among 20 industries evaluated.

Supermarkets posted a rating of 78.5%, up from 78.1% in 2017. The industries near the top of the list include retail (74.4%), banks (73.1%), and parcel delivery (71.9%). A score of 80% or above is considered "excellent," 70% or higher is "good," and below 60% is deemed "poor."

Ratings are determined by customer responses in three main categories - success (can you do what you want to do?), effort (how easy is it to work with the company?), and emotion (how do you feel about the interactions?).

Overall, Wegmans turned in the top rating of all 318 companies included in the survey. The Rochester, NY-based food retailer had an overall customer experience rating of 86%. Among supermarkets, H-E-B, the top company in 2017, and Publix tied for second with a score of 83%.

Rounding out the top 10 scores among supermarkets for overall customer experience were Aldi and Wawa (82%), Trader Joe's and ShopRite (81%), Save-A-Lot and Food Lion (80%), Meijer, Kroger, Hy-Vee and Winn-Dixie (79%), Albertsons (78%), Safeway and Piggly Wiggly (77%), Stop and Shop (76%) and Vons (75%).

Investments in grocery-anchored centers grew in 2017

Investments in grocery-anchored shopping centers grew by 5.3% last year compared to 2016, according to a report issued by Chicago-based Jones Lang Lasalle (JLL). The increase makes the grocery-anchored segment one of the few retail sectors to see real growth.

The report also stated that grocery store openings declined by 29% in 2017, with several retailers cutting back on expansion plans and others shutting stores as they attempted to avoid bankruptcy.

"Grocery is considered to have a moat around it to defend against e-commerce, and because of that, these assets are seen by retail property investors as a safe investment," according to JLL.

A Supermarket News article points out investing in supermarket-anchored centers is not 100% safe, as Amazon and other e-commerce firms make inroads into the market. As a result, many shopping centers run the risk of dying, like their regional mall counterparts anchored by weak department stores.

Tops Friendly Markets (upstate New York) filed for bankruptcy last month, and Southeastern Grocers (Bi-Lo, Winn-Dixie, Harveys) may file this month. A&P, once a major player in the grocery industry, filed for bankruptcy and liquidated in 2015.

Not surprisingly, shopping centers anchored by strong operators like Whole Foods, Sprouts, Trader Joe's, Kroger, ShopRite, Wegmans and Publix are among those that have the greatest investment potential.

Seven grocers in top 30 U.S. private companies

Forbes published its 33rd annual ranking of America's largest private companies, and seven grocers landed in the top 30. (Cargill topped the overall list, with $109.7 billion in sales, followed by Koch Industries).

Albertsons, with several banners including Albertsons, Safeway and Acme, is third on the overall list and the top grocer, with $59.7 billion in sales and 273,000 employees.

Also on the list:

#7: Publix Super Markets
#10: C&S Wholesale Grocers
#12: HE Butt Grocery (H-E-B)
#16: Meijer
#25: Southeastern Grocer (Bi-Lo, Harveys, Winn-Dixie)
#27: Hy-Vee

Eight US companies make "world's fastest growing retailers" list

Recently 24/7 Wall St. analyzed data from the National Retail Federation and released a "World's 25 Fastest Growing Retailers" list. Eight U.S.-based retailers made the cut, three of which are grocers.

Here are the eight American companies on the list:

• Albertsons Companies (5-year annual growth: 74.1%)
• Sprouts Farmers Market (47.4%)
• Southeastern Grocers - BI-LO, Harveys, Winn-Dixie, Fresco y Mas (34.6%)
• Apple/Apple Retail Stores (23.4%)
• NIKE/Direct-to-Consumer (22.3%)
• Ulta (22.1%)
• Dollar Tree (21.4%)
• Amazon (20.8%)

23 Bi-Lo and Winn-Dixie stores to close in the next month

A spokesperson for Bi-Lo Holdings said this week that the company would close 23 Bi-Lo and Winn-Dixie stores on or before November 17. Closures, which are blamed on poor performance, will take place in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina and South Carolina.

The Spokesperson told Supermarket News that the closing stores represent less than 3% of the company's total store base.

Bi-Lo Holdings also plans to open or remodel 25 stores this quarter.

Bi-Lo to buy three banners from Delhaize

Bi-Lo Holding, which operates Bi-Lo and Winn-Dixie supermarket chains in eight southern states, announced yesterday that it has agreed to acquire Sweetbay, Harveys and Reid's stores from Delhaize for $265 million. Delhaize owns Food Lion and Bottom Dollar Food, among others.

According to a Supermarket News report, there are 165 stores included in the transaction that generated revenues of about $1.8 billion last year. The same report claims that Sweetbay currently has 72 stores in Florida, Harveys has 72 stores in Georgia and Florida, and Reid's has 11 stores in California. (72+72+11=155.)

The sale is expected to close later this year, pending regulatory approval.

Winn-Dixie to merge with Bi-Lo... who's next?

Although the impending merger between Winn-Dixie and Bi-Lo doesn't affect the Greater Philadelphia market, it's newsworthy nonetheless. It is widely expected that we will see more such mergers and/or acquisitions in the coming months and years. And the next transaction - if the many rumors are true about Giant (Ahold) and Genuardi's (Safeway) - may be much closer to home.

As for the current news, the merger of Winn-Dixie and Bi-Lo, two strong regional brands with no overlap, will result in a network of nearly 700 stores in eight Southeastern states. The transaction is expected to close by April, subject to the approval of Winn-Dixie shareholders. Once the merger is completed, Winn-Dixie will become a privately-held, wholly-owned subsidiary of Bi-Lo. Winn-Dixie's stock will no longer be traded on the NASDAQ.

Representatives of the two companies expect that both companies will continue to operate under separate banners, and no stores will close as a result of the merger.

Dollar General sued by supermarket chain over food offering

Winn-Dixie claims that Dollar General is breaking restrictive lease covenants by selling too many food items in more than 100 shopping centers where Winn-Dixie is the anchor tenant, according to a suit filed in U.S. District Court in West Palm Beach, FL.

Winn-Dixie says Dollar General is knowingly violating non-compete provisions of its leases, and Dollar General disagrees and plans a rigorous defense.

The grocery industry will be watching this case closely, as there are thousands of leases with similar clauses in favor of supermarket anchors.

Source: Supermarket News