Whole Foods To Open 7,000 Square Foot Stores

[veteran+]

Looking at this WFM concept, it is so small and so limited that it is not even really comparable to Fresh & Easy. It is a health food convenience store. It is less than half the size of F&E.

As far as small format stores go, yes the market got really excited about them and everyone wanted to open one.

Here's what they all missed: while they were making a lot of noise about their flashy formats like F&E, meanwhile true small formats Trader Joe's and Aldi were multiplying like rabbits.

Although F&E imploded along with Marketside, etc. the TJs/Aldi duo was the success they wanted to be. Until 1996 Trader Joe's was primarily in California, now they have more stores in the East than the West. Aldi grew from East to West and is still adding store count on the West Coast.

So small format is not a fad but instead is here to stay, and it is completely dominated by Trader Joe's and Aldi. They are the successes all of the defunct stores named above wish they could be.

Aldi and Trader Joe's were successful because they offer/offered a unique product mix that just wasn't seen elsewhere. You weren't getting a sub-standard 15,000 square foot grocery store, you were getting a new experience that offered a fresh spin on the traditional grocery store with some exclusive products, interesting finds, and good deals. And by the time they were expanding in the 2000s they spent decades tweaking their merchandise mix, building up a solid supply chain, and building up a following.

As it stands, no one really wants 7k square foot stores that are just the same as their larger stores but less stuff.

Fresh and Easy was absolutely intended to be a fresh spin on the traditional grocery store. Their products were unique and different. The problem was that they were so arrogant they built up infrastructure before opening which meant that they couldn't possibly make any money until they had a thousand stores or more. Then they picked mostly terrible locations. But as for being unique and different, I think they were way better than Aldi on that front. Aldi is a mostly boring sub-par mini grocery store, with just enough occasional special buys to spark some interest.

I agree!

Remember one of the big leaders was recruited from Trader's (Paul M.).

When he tried to suggest they were going in the wrong direction, Tesco began to silence him and he resigned. When he left the decline was swift!

[buckguy]

As it stands, no one really wants 7k square foot stores that are just the same as their larger stores but less stuff.

There are two "natural foods" chains in the DC area that are exactly this--one is Yes! Organic which is exclusively in DC except for one in the suburbs and MOM's (Mom's Organic Market), which until recently was in the suburbs but is opening a store in DC. MOM's must have private equity money because they've been expanding into other areas (Philly and suburbs, suburban NYC and suburban Boston. Both chains have been expanded over the past 20 years--only Yes! has had any closures along the way, but they've been around for over 50 years. I'm sure Whole Foods has noticed them along with the more conventional small store chains.

[Bluelightspecial]

Don't know if this was posted before, but it looks like they will call these "Whole Foods Market Daily Shop"....first one in NYC at 1175 Third Ave

https://connect.regencycenters.com/blog ... =lcp-19498

[ClownLoach]

Don't know if this was posted before, but it looks like they will call these "Whole Foods Market Daily Shop"....first one in NYC at 1175 Third Ave

https://connect.regencycenters.com/blog ... =lcp-19498

Yes, they used the same name previously at the small format closed several years ago.