Grocery stores have been part of the American business landscape for decades. They mostly replaced the practice of individuals buying food directly from farmers. Their convenience was substantial and has been for a long while. Some chains are over 100 years old. One example is Krogers which was founded in 1883 in Cincinnati. It operates over 2,000 stores today and is in 17th place in the Fortune 500. Publix is another older company founded in 1930.
Retailers that got into the grocery business much later control it based on market share, according to 2022 data. Kroger has 5.6% of the market. Publix’s number is 4.4% The nation’s largest retailer, which has well over 4,000 stores, dominates grocery market share. Walmart’s figure is 25.2%. Costco, another big box retailer, is a distant second at 7.1%.
What happened? First and foremost, Walmart has 4,635 locations. It claims most Americans live within 10 miles of one of its stores. It also has one of the most sophisticated inventory management systems in America. Its distribution centers can quickly get goods to its stores, so they are rarely sold out of top-selling items.
Walmart has another advantage, It sells a wide range of products, People who come to buy one item may buy many more. To some extent, Walmart can also sell items at low prices because it buys them in large volumes.
Walmart prides itself on its grocery prowess. Its success in the sector is often highlighted when it announces earnings. Most recently, Walmart’s same-store sales in the US rose 8.3% quarter over the previous quarlter a year ago. Management added it “continued to gain market share in grocery.”
Walmart’s dominance in the grocery business simply adds to its huge success in other retail sectors. It has perfected a path to a large market share in everything from clothing to consumer electronics to sporting goods. Its Supercenters cover 180,000 square feet and employ about 300 people each. Based on this phenomenal scale, Kroger and Publix are unlikely to pick up market share, and the figure could get smaller for each.
Here are 29 things you should never buy at Walmart.
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