North American grocers keep it local to strengthen profits

Regional grocers dominate Planet Retail’s Top 10 retailers to watch in North America. Acquisitive and organic growth will be driven by regional players such as Ahold and H-E-B, whilst national players focus on existing stores.

For the first time ever, Planet Retail has launched a hot list of 10 grocery retailers to watch this year in North America. Only three of the ten are national players; the remaining ones on the list are smaller, regional players that are poised for growth either as a result of acquisition, organic growth, or are developing formats that we believe have the potential to be successful in the long term.

10 to Watch are:

• Ahold
• Price Chopper
• Delhaize
• WinCo
• Dollar General
• Aldi
• Save-A-Lot (SuperValu)
• Tops Markets
• H-E-B
• The Market by Safeway

“Further consolidation is certainly on the horizon, as struggling retailers look to divest unprofitable assets and regional players aim to strengthen their positioning,” said Natalie Berg, Planet Retail Research Director. “Given that cost control remains a priority for all grocers big and small, acquisitions this year are likely to be of a small scale enabling retailers to penetrate in-fill markets.”

The discount channel is poised for another year of impressive organic growth, with 1,250 new discount stores scheduled to open in the US, up 50% compared to the approximate 800 stores that opened at the height of the recession last year. We will also see another year of experimentation with the small-box format, although a nationwide roll-out by a US retailer will take years rather than months.

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For further information please contact:

Renaye Edwards, Senior Marketing Executive
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7728 4985, E-mail: renaye.edwards@planetretail.net

Natalie Berg, Research Director
Tel: +49 (0) 69 9621 4960, E-mail: natalie.berg@planetretail.net

About Planet Retail:

Planet Retail is the leading provider of intelligence on the global retail industry, monitoring more than 7,000 retail banner operations as well as market developments in 211 countries. With over 15 years of industry insight, Planet Retail is a brand trusted by more than 3,000 organisations worldwide, delivering up-to-the-minute news, analysis, market research and digital media via www.planetretail.net. Planet Retail has offices in London, Frankfurt and Tokyo.