“An independent should never be out-freshed; never be out-serviced and never out-communityized.” “They ought to be able to get closer and stay closer to their customers than the larger folks just because of the size dimension.” “They should be the ‘my hometown’ type of store.”

“It’s not about going to get refried beans, it is going to a place where they feel comfortable.” “What specific ethnic group or groups are you targeting?  Does it make sense for this store to be here? “What is your point of differentiation?  Who are you serving?  How do you execute it?”

“Supermarkets avoid the Internet at their own peril, since a new generation, accustomed to shopping online, might not be averse to buying groceries on the web.” “I think it is important that we look at the newer generation and how we can attract them.”

“If there were a prize for the market segment most overlooked by food marketers, the winner without a doubt, would be adolescents.” “These kids are very sensory.  They have no idea of what color food should be, so let’s make stuff that really appeals to their senses.” “I don’t understand why supermarkets cannot be the […]

“Safeway didn’t change the banner.  It changed everything else when it bought Genuardi’s.” “Giant is going to change the banner, and I think the key will be to maintain as much of the integrity of Clemens as they can.”

“Most people think the good old days were better,  We’re a high-tech society – I think people are looking for a bit of high touch.” “We’re looking for things to hang on to.  There’s emotional bonding.  It’s emotional marketing.”

“There are some things that they could do to reinforce what Wawa stands for that would have more impact than coming out with their own yogurt.” “For example, they need to figure out a way to get more out of its fresh bakery cases, which are busiest from 6 a.m. to noon.”

“People once expected coffee to be inexpensive.  Just look at Starbucks.” “The biggest hazard is maintaining quality across hundreds of outlets.”

“When you look at food retailers, there is the low end, the big middle and then there is the cool edge–that’s Trader Joe’s.”

“We have this whole concern now about eating healthy, and there doesn’t seem be anything going on here in terms of the vanity issue.” “The South Beach diet and all those weren’t about healthy eating, they were about ‘Let’s look better.’ So I think there’s a different kind of paradigm going on here. And I […]