Retail Watchers

Like the title reads. This one is only 4 miles from me. I'm surprised at this one, as the Janise family has worked hard to run this store. It seriously looks like Harps wants to move south, after a few other recent purchases (like The Markets of Natchez, MS which also took them into Mississippi and Louisiana for the first time).

https://www.theshelbyreport.com/2023/07 ... 7b9fa19141

wnetmacman wrote: ↑July 14th, 2023, 8:01 am Like the title reads. This one is only 4 miles from me. I'm surprised at this one, as the Janise family has worked hard to run this store. It seriously looks like Harps wants to move south, after a few other recent purchases (like The Markets of Natchez, MS which also took them into Mississippi and Louisiana for the first time).

https://www.theshelbyreport.com/2023/07 ... 7b9fa19141

Harps has a strange geographical footprint.

Most of their stores are centered around NW Arkansas (and SE Kansas, SW Missouri, and Western Oklahoma). Then they have a single random store in the Kansas City metro area (DeSoto, KS) and the rest of their stores are in Louisiana and Mississippi.

I'm trying to figure out that DeSoto, KS store out.

On the one hand it's in an exurban suburb of Kansas City (about 10 miles from the nearest supermarket which is a Price Chopper (AWG)).

Harps is an AWG supplied chain so they're getting served by the nearby AWG warehouse (like almost every other supermarket in the Kansas City area that isn't Hy Vee, Aldi, Target or Walmart). On the other hand it would make more sense for one of AWG's franchisees in the Kansas City area to operate this store versus Harps (whose next nearest store is 2.5 hours away).

Harp's has had a fair amount of growth over the years. I think when AWG-supplied stores decide it is time to retire/sell, Harp's is often a potential buyer if it is within their geography, so pushing the edges of that geography is likely what happened here. This is also why Homeland OK has one store not far from Dallas and some stores in Alabama or somewhere- AWG placed the stores with them. Harp's doesn't run a bad store but they aren't as good as the average Price Chopper around Kansas City (their newer stores are close but not quite there). Harp's is a little better than Homeland overall (seems to have better prices and stores tailored to local areas better).

Harp's is one of the only other parties who has been able to sell food in Bentonville long term, so either they are lucky or they do know how to compete.

storewanderer wrote: ↑July 15th, 2023, 1:13 am Harp's is one of the only other parties who has been able to sell food in Bentonville long term, so either they are lucky or they do know how to compete.

On their website, they used mention knowing how to compete with Walmart; they do what Walmart doesn't. Here's an article from Kim Eskew, the CEO:

https://talkbusiness.net/2019/03/harps- ... t-walmart/

wnetmacman wrote: ↑July 17th, 2023, 8:42 am

storewanderer wrote: ↑July 15th, 2023, 1:13 am Harp's is one of the only other parties who has been able to sell food in Bentonville long term, so either they are lucky or they do know how to compete.

On their website, they used mention knowing how to compete with Walmart; they do what Walmart doesn't. Here's an article from Kim Eskew, the CEO:

https://talkbusiness.net/2019/03/harps- ... t-walmart/

I always enjoy the common sense talk out of the middle US grocery operators.

Too many operators who haven't made it focused on the wrong things that never made sense, or got way too greedy on price.

Janise's announced Monday that they will close Monday, July 24, and reopen as Harps on Friday, July 28.