Supermarket Blues

There’s a race among supermarket chains to become America’s grocer--first and biggest and most efficient in selling Jell-O, flour and pork chops from sea to shining sea. And that explains the recent flurry of supermarket chain consolidations. The latest activity in that area is the Cincinnati-based Kroger Co.’s effort to acquire ownership of Ralphs Grocery and Hughes Family stores.

Consumers can’t help but wonder whether the primary mission of good supermarkets--to provide quality food at fair prices--is in danger of being sacrificed to the bottom line. Face it, deal makers are not among the rank-and-file shoppers who plow through supermarket aisles in search of values. Number crunchers keep their noses in the books, not in fresh rosemary.

Ultimately, marketing decisions based solely on the bottom line will alienate shoppers. Consumers are acutely attuned to changes in quality, selection and prices, and are quick to spot gimmicks and shop elsewhere if dissatisfied. That’s one reason why the food chains face a new crop of competition.

Retailers such as Wal-Mart and others are moving aggressively and successfully into the food business. The answer from the supermarkets is to grow even bigger. Low per-item profits on food require high volume. And over the years supermarkets have added aisle after aisle of more profitable toiletries and nonfood items.

The explosion of buyouts and consolidations may seem distant from that bunch of rosemary, but there’s an important relationship. Many food chains were driven to mergers because they were not minding the store as closely as they should, having been sold in the 1980s to financiers rather than grocers. The mergers in part prompted industry leader Kroger, which managed to stay independent, to expand out West. The mid-America food giant will soon find out what fussy California shoppers demand.