Supermarket News on the 50th anniversary of Harris Teeter

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krogerclerk
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Joined: 05 Nov 2005 01:47
Location: Northwest Georgia

Re: Supermarket News on the 50th anniversary of Harris Teeter

Post by krogerclerk »

Congratulations for your contributions. Harris-Teeter's move upscale began in the 80's, mainly as a response to Food Lion in particular, and Winn-Dixie and BiLo in general, benefiting from Kroger exiting the Charlotte and Charleston, SC markets. Ultimately this move would differentiate the grocery once WalMart became a major player in the Carolina grocery scene. The Atlanta expansion was poorly timed, arriving the same time as Publix, and entry into Jacksonville, FL was surprising given the Atlanta experience. Nashville, unfortunately seems likely to be a market H-T will exit due to the same Publix-Kroger crossfire. That said, I'm surprised at the success in the Washington, DC region, as the Giant-Safeway dominated market should have played out like Atlanta and Nashville, but due to both chains resting on their laurels throughout the 90's and early 00's, along with Giant not easily integrating into Ahold's framework, seems to have been a benefit to Harris-Teeter, Shoppers, Wegman's and Food Lion/Bloom/Bottom Dollar, though Delhaize's banners and SuperFresh seem to have the shakiest hold on the region for any long term success.

One concern, the possibility of expanding northward into the Philly region could be a disaster. As Harris-Teeter has yet to expand into Baltimore, which is more like Philadelphia than DC is, they'd be entering untested waters. Harris-Teeter still has a distinct Southern flavor that might not translate well north of the Mason-Dixon Line.
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