New Grocery Chain Comes to Town

[inteller]

reasors better get very scared.  Harps will put them on the defensive very quickly.

[TulsaSooner]

There is a Harp's in Gore too.  []

[perspicuity85]

It will be hard for Harps to compete with Neighborhood Market.  In Northwest Ark, Harps has a lot of consumer loyalty because they are a household name-- not the same story in Tulsa.  Neighborhood Market will win the price-comparison battle, having the advantage of Wal-Mart scale buying.  Harps will have to focus on heavy customer relationship building and fresh meat and produce (Wal-Marts typically lack in fresh meat and produce in my experience.)  Harps, like Wal-Mart sells pre-cut meat, meaning they do no actually have in-store butchers, all the meat cutting/packaging is done earlier in the distribution channel.  They might want to explore hiring an in-store butcher staff for this Tulsa store, and maybe start some heavy marketing of fresh meats.  Maybe even partition off the deli to make it look like a specialty meat market or something.

The average gross margin for grocery stores is only 2%.  Wal-Mart's stretches their gross margin (for foodstuffs) to just under 3%, and puts a lot of people out of business.  You can't beat Wal-Mart at the pricing game, but you can chip away at them by differentiating yourself.

[Vision 2025]

quote:Originally posted by TeeDub


There is a Harps in Locust Grove and another in Salina...

At least I think so.

I don't know about Locust Grove, but there is one if Grove and it is a good store going head to head with Megga-Mart.

[mrB]

quote:Originally posted by perspicuity85

...  Harps, like Wal-Mart sells pre-cut meat, meaning they do no actually have in-store butchers, all the meat cutting/packaging is done earlier in the distribution channel.  They might want to explore hiring an in-store butcher staff for this Tulsa store, and maybe start some heavy marketing of fresh meats.  Maybe even partition off the deli to make it look like a specialty meat market or something...

From Harps' website
Meat
Each Harps location has a butcher on-site in the Meat Department for guaranteed quality and freshness. Our meats have no solution added and are low in sodium for a healthier you. In addition, we carry Farmland all-natural pork, Tyson chicken, and Smart Chicken.

"Ask Our Butcher For Special Cuts"

quote:Originally posted by perspicuity85

...It will be hard for Harps to compete with Neighborhood Market. In Northwest Ark, Harps has a lot of consumer loyalty because they are a household name-- not the same story in Tulsa. Neighborhood Market will win the price-comparison battle...

Household name in Arkansas? Like Wal-Mart isn't?
What current Tulsa grocer was here 10 years ago? Homeland? With one store now! If you want a can of Pork and Beans, Wal-Mart Neighborhood Mkt. has 2 brands. If you want a selection of brands to choose from you go to Reasors or in the future Harps.

"We're one the first companies competing with Wal-Mart that's managed to show consistent growth," said Collins,[Roger Collins, President, CEO and Chairman] pointing out the privately held company's stock has quadrupled since 2001. "We know how to succeed in Wal-Mart's shadow."

[TheArtist]

My impression of Harps is that they are more likely than Wal-Mart to go into uderserved, tougher market areas. Which is good, except they do have higher prices in those locations. Mostly because they know they got ya lol. Who knows, they could indeed put a smaller store into the North Tulsa or downtown area.

[perspicuity85]

quote:Originally posted by mrB

quote:Originally posted by perspicuity85

...  Harps, like Wal-Mart sells pre-cut meat, meaning they do no actually have in-store butchers, all the meat cutting/packaging is done earlier in the distribution channel.  They might want to explore hiring an in-store butcher staff for this Tulsa store, and maybe start some heavy marketing of fresh meats.  Maybe even partition off the deli to make it look like a specialty meat market or something...

From Harps' website
Meat
Each Harps location has a butcher on-site in the Meat Department for guaranteed quality and freshness. Our meats have no solution added and are low in sodium for a healthier you. In addition, we carry Farmland all-natural pork, Tyson chicken, and Smart Chicken.

"Ask Our Butcher For Special Cuts"

quote:Originally posted by perspicuity85

...It will be hard for Harps to compete with Neighborhood Market. In Northwest Ark, Harps has a lot of consumer loyalty because they are a household name-- not the same story in Tulsa. Neighborhood Market will win the price-comparison battle...

Household name in Arkansas? Like Wal-Mart isn't?
What current Tulsa grocer was here 10 years ago? Homeland? With one store now! If you want a can of Pork and Beans, Wal-Mart Neighborhood Mkt. has 2 brands. If you want a selection of brands to choose from you go to Reasors or in the future Harps.

"We're one the first companies competing with Wal-Mart that's managed to show consistent growth," said Collins,[Roger Collins, President, CEO and Chairman] pointing out the privately held company's stock has quadrupled since 2001. "We know how to succeed in Wal-Mart's shadow."

This depends on how you define "butcher."  I'm talking about someone that stands behind the steak/seafood glass case and wraps items for individual customers.  Harps' "butchers" are just technicians that shave the lunch meat into customers' desired quantities.  That's a big difference in the butcher trade.

As for the Wal-Mart comparison, yes, of course Wal-Mart is a household name in Arkansas, but Harps has traditionally occupied smaller markets per store than Wal-Mart.  In Arkansas, Wal-Mart is your local mega-store, but Harps is your corner grocer.  In other words, Harps as a physical store is more intensively distributed than Wal-Mart.  Historically, many small towns in Arkansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma had Harps, but not Wal-Mart.  Harps consumer loyalty dates back to times before Wal-Mart carried full-scale food products.