Supermarket News just came out with this comprehensive report on the supermarket industry. It’ll be very interesting to see what happens to the existing grocery players in the next couple years, not to mention new ones like Bottom Dollar.
Little Relief in Sight for Supermarket Operators
Financial results in the second half of 2010 are likely to be very similar to what the industry experienced in the first half, with few indications the economy is recovering, industry analysts told SN.
The first half was a tough period for the industry, the analysts said.
“A lot of it had to do with attempts to gain a competitive advantage, especially once Wal-Mart came out with its price rollbacks,” Meredith Adler, managing director for Barclays Securities, New York, explained.
“On top of that, one thing that made the situation even more difficult was the presence of inflation in some categories and the fact many companies chose not to pass that along.
“We also continued to see real malaise among most consumers, who remained quite cautious in their shopping — though we did see sales improving among upper-income customers who had previously been pretty cautious.”