Brown and Cole Closing Stores

By George Anderson
The family-owned Brown and Cole grocery store chain is closing eight of its 31 stores in the Pacific Northwest and the owner says he has no choice as shoppers desert his stores
for Wal-Mart.
Craig Cole told komo 4 TV, “The American worker and local business are becoming road kill in Wal-Mart’s march toward worldwide domination of commerce.”
Moderator’s Comment: What is the current state of independent and small chain grocery in the U.S? What strategies and tactics are independents and small
chains currently using to effectively compete with larger competitors?
First, let us say that we have enjoyed a number of visits to Brown and Cole stores over the years and fondly remember writing a special report on principle
centered management that included a profile of the chain.
It saddened us to read the news of the store closings. Brown and Cole and other independents and small chains in the Pacific Northwest such as Haggen’s,
Larry’s and others have, for us, exemplified some of the best qualities of what local grocery is all about.
Craig Cole may be right that “the American worker and local business are becoming road kill.” His anger is misplaced, however, because it is the American
consumer, not Wal-Mart, that is putting them in face of oncoming traffic. –
George Anderson – Moderator
- Family-Owned Grocery Chain Will Close 8 Stores – KOMO 4 TV
- Washington grocery to sell 8 of its 31 stores – The Associated Press/Seattle
Post-Intelligencer
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7 Comments on "Brown and Cole Closing Stores"
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My blog (urbanplacesandspaces.blogspot.com) has an entry linking to three great articles in today’s Austin American-Statesman (registration required). The new Whole Foods store opening tomorrow is eatertainment-retailtainment to the max. They even sell clothes. Two other entries cover HEB and their Central Market concept. Another entry is about the department store thread, and I came across a book by Cecil Hoge from the late 1980s about Sears competing with Wards. Both entries are relevant to this thread.
I think this is a time of tremendous opportunity for the independent grocer. I work with many independents that have effectively used Wal-Mart as muscle to cripple and destroy ineffective publicly held chain stores who are obsessed with Wall Street and their multi-million dollar CEOs who have no meaningful supermarket experience. It is a thrill to watch these retailers, some with as few as one store, continue to grow and thrive in a competitive environment. Their methods are not always grand prix, but rather demolition derby. These retailers are like coyotes – they adapt and survive. As the chains depart from the marketplace, these creative independents find ways to consolidate and absorb the sales of their fallen competitors.
It’s hard to second-guess operators as sharp as these. So I’m sure they did the right thing. The overall competitive climate is getting tougher all the time. Most success stories I hear against Wal-Mart involve making strong statements on perishables, or upscaling. But the anti-Wal-Mart sentiment out there is growing. Just about every day I hear new stories of communities of all sizes and demographics fighting proposed Wal-Marts in their cities and towns. Based on anecdotal reports I hear, that is already affecting Wal-Mart business to a degree. I don’t see that as becoming a very significant factor, but I also believe Wal-Mart has to take serious, genuine (vs. PR window dressing) steps to counteract arguments of how it brings down wages, benefits, standards of living, etc., in the communities it serves. I still love Wal-Mart, as you all know, but I also believe this would be a wise course for them.
George is right that we have to blame ourselves for supporting Wal-Mart by shopping there if we disapprove of what they are doing to the independents and small chain grocers. We all enjoy lower prices and love to get a deal but feel very badly about the stories of Wal-Mart employees being underpaid and having inferior or no healthcare insurance. Many of us think that it might be a good idea for the government to, in some way, level the playing field, particularly in the area of healthcare. That’s ironic when in so many ways it’s the government’s fault that we have the healthcare mess in the first place. As a general rule, the more the government gets involved, the more expensive things are due to bureaucratic waste and politics. And they don’t have a very good track record regarding looking out for the public’s best interest versus big business either. Look at the USDA and FDA for current examples.
I saw a presentation at the mid-Atlantic ICSC meeting last year and the point made about Wal-Mart Supercenters and supermarketing is that, after a year, the #1 and #2 chains in the market recover (provided they respond) but that the #3 and #4 chains lose significant market share, or worse (like close stores).
Also, I remember reading a piece I think in the NYT many years ago about a Chick-fil-A franchisee. One of the points he made is that for years he would focus most of his attention on his lower performing stores, and as hard as he worked, it was difficult to get these stores up to the average. He then came up with a new strategy–get rid of the lower performing stores and spend all his efforts making the better performing stores even better.
Things to think about.