Regional grocers dominate Planet Retails 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 smallbox
format, although a nationwide roll-out by a US retailer will take years rather than months.
Source: Planet Retail