by Cynthia Weifenbach, contributing writer In an effort to encourage shoppers to wear a mask in grocery stores during the COVID-19 pandemic, Montana is considering a 3 to 5 percent discount off the total bill at checkout for patrons with a mask on. “We looked at different things to do to get people to wear masks […]
Category: Market Profile
Market Profile: Oil Industry Fueling Food Retail Growth In West Texas
by John McCurry/contributing writer Gary Huddleston, a former longtime Kroger executive now serving as grocery industry consultant for the Texas Retailers Association (TRA), describes the grocery business as being robust across most areas of Texas. “Western Texas is certainly unique. There are three or four metro areas, but the vast majority is rural. The four […]
Market Profile: Distribution A Challenge For Grocers In The Dakotas
by John McCurry/contributing writer While they are two different states, North Dakota and South Dakota share some challenges for their independent grocers. Distribution to retailers in rural areas and labor shortages are common problems for both North and South. Our market profile looks at the economies and state of the grocery industry in the Dakotas. […]
SOUTHEAST: Market Profile: More Bravo Stores Planned For Florida’s Southern Half
by John McCurry/contributing writer Bravo Supermarkets has been growing fast in Florida ever since it expanded there about 16 years ago. The chain now has more than 50 multicultural stores in Florida and is looking to add more. Bravo is part of a “virtual” chain operated by New York-based Krasdale Foods and its marketing arm, […]
Janssen’s Market Successfully Fills ‘Gourmet Convenience’ Niche
by John McCurry/contributing writer Janssen’s Market has been a fixture in the Greenville, Delaware, community for 68 years. Paula Janssen, the store’s current co-owner, is the granddaughter of its founder, Joseph Janssen Sr. Her parents—Joe Jr. and Eileen Janssen—are her co-owners. Since its founding in the fall of 1952, the store has focused on being […]
High-Tech Facilities Gravitate Toward Land Of Enchantment
by Terrie Ellerbee/editor-Southwest It is no small thing when a company like Virgin Galactic relocates jobs to a state. But then, New Mexico went big when it invested more than $200 million in Spaceport America, an 18,000-acre FAA-licensed facility adjacent to the U.S. Army’s White Sands Missile Range and about 45 miles north of Las […]
Grocery Business Is In DNA Of Mackenthun’s Fine Foods Family
by Terrie Ellerbee/editor-Midwest August Mackenthun opened a little butcher shop in Plato around the turn of the last century. The exact year is not known, said Kim Mackenthun, who with his son, Jaime, and daughter, Jessa, owns the business today. “Jaime and Jessa’s great-great-grandfather started a little store 12 miles west of (Waconia) right about […]
Hispanic Grocer Finds Success Across Different Cultures
by Treva Bennett/staff writer Born and raised in the grocery business, Omar Jorge has followed in his family’s footsteps and now is a partner in Compare Foods and chairman of Aurora Grocery Group. Compare Foods is a subsidiary of Aurora, which is an umbrella holding company. Each supermarket in the group is individually owned by […]
