Shoppers Drug Mart has been steadily branching out to the grocery industry by naturally taking advantage of their convenient locations and it’s looking like a positive move so far. The project to remodel several stores and provide fresh produce to customers began in 2014 and has how escalated to 29 stores as of today.
Convenience is a big factor in the success of this new venture, because traveling out to Walmart can add a significant amount of effort to a trip a customer may just wanted to be quick and painles.
A large part of the food retail industry consumers will go out of their way for a low price and don’t have an issue taking advantage of convenience and sacrificing a few extra dollars. “More and more people are pressed for time,” notes Charlebois. Targeting the demographic that needs to save time means they stand apart from threatening companies trying to dominate like Walmart and Costco.
Retailers pushing for the number one spot have the capacity to do so, and it’s lighting a fire to the competition. Loblaw reported within the previous year its net profit dropped by nearly 15 per cent in the second quarter. Their solution has been to not only support Shoppers Drug Mart with fresh food, but open their own CityMarkets with the same idea in mind.
Loblaws and Shoppers Drug Mart success with their new plans won’t come easy but they are willing to take the risk. “Execution and scale, all of this stuff is going to be difficult for them,” says Kevin Grier, an independent food-industry analyst based in Guelph, Ont.
