Retail Watchers

Kroger is using infrared cameras to tell how many people are in the stores and computer software to tell how many lanes to open:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/krogers-w ... 00830.html

Yes, in some areas, they have no competition. For instance, in Georgetown, TX, there are two HEBs and a Super Walmart. That's it. The Albertsons and Brookshire Brothers both closed. They are doing a good job going head to head against Walmart on the I-35 corrider. Luckily, they still keep their pric...

I've been to Sprouts in both Phoenix and the Austin area, and I have to say that their prices are pretty reasonable. The prices are lower than Whole Foods, and have a better selection than their mainstream competitors (Fry's and HEB, respectively). They also have things such as cheese and bulk grain...

Fresh and Easy is finally going to start opening in the Bay Area, along with Sprouts and Henry's: http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_localsfo/20110114/ts_yblog_localsfo/food-fight It also mentions that Safeway may take a look at their entry and open some more stores, also. I really like the Sprouts I've ...

In the Austin, TX, area: HEB is the top competitor (the hometown chain, based in San Antonio, TX) Walmart is number two Randall's (owned by Safeway) is number three There's not much else besides stores that have a single location like Fiesta Whole Foods is the dominant upscale (it's also based here ...

Fedex's strategy must be to build business for their shipping business, because as everyone is saying, they have a lot fewer customers that use the instore services. You could tell how things were going to go when they raised prices on computer use time right after the buyout. This cut back many cus...