WinCo Foods — the limited assortment, low-price, employee-owned grocery store operator, which has been called "Walmart's worst nightmare" — has opened its first store in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and there are more on the way.
The Boise-based chain currently operates 93 stores in seven states, including Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Texas, Utah and Washington.
WinCo's newest store in Fort Worth, like its other stores, features a "wall of values" and aisles stacked with pallets in a nearly 95,000-square-foot box. In an August 2013 RetailWire discussion, a number of respondents compared WinCo to the original Cub Foods concept. Others pointed to its cash-only and bag-your-items policies as similar to those that have worked for Aldi.
The chain plans to open another store in McKinney with three others planned in the DFW market over the next year. Michael Read, a company attorney, told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that the region could eventually support up to 12 WinCo stores.
A long list of competitors awaited WinCo's moves into North Texas, including Albertsons, Aldi, Brookshire's, Fiesta Mart, HEB's Central Market, Minyard Food Stores, Kroger, Tom Thumb, Walmart and others.
Kroger spokesperson Gary Huddleston told the Star-Telegram that it expects to do just fine with a new competitor in the market. "Walmart and Aldi will be affected. We will continue to be the market leader with exceptional customer service, great variety and low price," he said.