Ahold may have bought the Ukrop's grocery chain but there is no guarantee that the shoppers who were loyal shoppers at the local institution will be coming around to shop in the renamed Martin's Food Market locations.
As a Richmond Times-Dispatch report points out, Food Lion, Kroger, Wal-Mart and others will all be looking to slice off former Ukrop's shoppers from Martin's.
David Urban, a professor of marketing and executive associate dean at Virginia Commonwealth University, said he expected most Ukrop's shoppers to give Martin's an opportunity to keep their business. "You can certainly expect other grocery stores to try and make new pitches for the Ukrop's customer base," he added.
To help hold onto former Ukrop's shoppers, Martin's is cutting prices by five percent below previous levels.
"Loyalty in the food business is at an all-time low, and customers are keenly aware of cross-shopping opportunities," Jeffrey Metzger, publisher of Food World, told the paper. "Customers are up for grabs every day."
Martin's is looking to retain many of the practices that make Ukrop's a shopping destination while cutting prices five percent below the former owner's.
Stores in the market are looking to gain an advantage by upgrading the customer experience in stores. Food Lion and Kroger have either remodeled or are in the process of making over stores.
Kroger has taken a page from the Ukrop's playbook and started taking groceries out to customers' cars. The chain is also adding gas stations at some locations.
"We feel like this is an opportunity," Carl York, a spokesperson for Kroger, told the Times-Dispatch. "The Richmond market is very important to us, and we've invested quite a bit. We feel like we're well-positioned."
Food Lion, for its part, has aggressively promoted a large-scale price reduction at its stores.
J.J. Fleeman, vice president for Food Lion's Northeastern markets, said, "We want to focus on customer service and need to make sure we serve our shoppers every day."
Discussion Questions: Do you expect Martin's to gain, maintain or lose shoppers from the levels previously registered under Ukrop's? What must Martin's do to build the business from where it had been? What must others do to pull business away from Martin's?