By George Anderson
The small produce store and local meat market are back in vogue and it's the stores that help put many of them out of business that are bringing them back.
Retail Traffic reports grocery chains such as Sainsbury are making the move to smaller and, some might say, more personal stores as the availability of suitable construction space shrinks.
Sainsbury's Local store format combines the shopping convenience of a c/g-store with the high-quality fruits, vegetables and fresh meats found in its larger locations.
According to Retail Traffic, 11 of Sainsbury's 20 best-performing stores are Locals.
Moderator's Comment: Is the UK experience applicable to the US? What are your thoughts on the future of small grocery store formats here?
Meredith Adler, an analyst with Lehman Brothers, told Retail Traffic that the small store trend in England is unique to that situation because it "is a function of the real estate market in the U.K., where real estate is limited."
Another analyst, Jason Whitmer of FTN Midwest Research, says format changes are inevitable in the grocery industry "but none of this (smaller stores) is really on the radar right now."
We disagree with both Ms. Adler and Mr. Whitmer. There are numerous examples of supermarket chains operating and testing c-store and smaller format locations and, of course, there's Neighborhood Markets. [George Anderson - Moderator]