Progressive Grocer, a leading supermarket trade magazine, has named Matthews-based Harris Teeter its Retailer of the Year.
In announcing the award, Progressive Grocer praised Harris Teeter's performance. "We are extremely impressed by Harris Teeter’s overall
excellence as an employer and merchant, as well as its abiding
commitment to excellence in customer service and satisfaction and its aggressive stance
to expand its geographic footprint into new marketing territories, all
of which are certainly no easy feat in the present retailing climate," said editorial director Meg Major, in a statement.
She
also said Harris Teeter's "customer-focused culture, which has been at
the forefront of the
company’s exemplary performance through the years," was another reason
for the award. Harris Teeter will be featured on the cover of the
October issue of Progressive Grocer.
And in other supermarket news, Austin-based Whole Foods is going to triple its store count, aiming for 1,000 total locations.The retailer will be opening more locations in smaller and underserved locations (maybe a couple more stores in Charlotte?).
“We’re accelerating growth,” co-CEO Walter Robb told Bloomberg News. “That’s going to
take us places we have not been to before.” The retailer is on track for about $11.7 billion worth of sales this year.
At least one consultant told Bloomberg he questioned the strategy. “How successful are you going to be when you’re in a
neighborhood that skews toward more middle-class or to people
who shop more at a Save-A-Lot?” said Jack Horst, of Kurt Salmon. “Maybe they don’t need five different kinds of kale.”
Good for HT -- been shopping there since before they were even known as HT and they've always been the classiest grocery operation around, with the cleanest stores and nicest employees. They've shown they can continuously adapt to changing customer tastes and needs and are still growing. One of the first questions any loyal HT shopper asks when considering a place to live is "Where's the closest HT?".
ReplyDelete"...maybe they don't need five different kinds of kale"?
ReplyDeleteArrogant. Maybe he should get out and see that people are shopping at places like Sav A Lot because they can barely afford food. More stores should mean more competition and lower prices. If I can get healthier options with my lower prices, great.
Bravo HT! Good for them. Always loved HT...better than WF anyday...for real people.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous @ 8:41am: I believe you misunderstood the comment. The consultant questioned Whole Foods strategy of expanding and possibly entering markets that probably cannot afford to shop at Whole Foods. Kale, though healthy, is not an item most people buy; but at Whole Foods you can find five or more varaties of the stuff. So the consultant was lambasting Whole Foods, not Sav A Lot customers.
ReplyDeleteHarris Teeter we miss you here in Gastonia! Lowes Foods is nice but they're not HT... please consider coming back!!!
ReplyDeleteHarris Teeter doesn't even come close to comparing to Wegman's. I miss Wegman's so much down here in the South.
ReplyDeleteAs a Publix Supermarket employee, congrats HT.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, HT is becoming a monopoly around here. Quite a rip off too! Not worth it to shop there for staples - meat and fish are ok. But regular groceries and produce are ridiculously high!
ReplyDeleteWe prefer HT. We can't avoid Wal-Mart completely because of location. HOWEVER, HT, you are making it hard to continue loving you. You've charged us the wrong price THREE weeks in a row! Your "promotions" are getting too complicated for your employees to figure out. They are paralyzed when something goes wrong and the cash register can't tell them what to do. All I ask is that you restore my confidence.
ReplyDeleteHT isn't that great . It's great to people that haven't been to Publix or another similar competitor . Publix has way better prepared foods, subs and bakery items. Publix is also a top 100 employer. I'm not a Publix employee, just a FLorida transplant and missing the best grocer (and I lived all over the country!).
ReplyDeleteShopping at Wegman's is OK, but they definitely have the BEST deli and resturant that I miss so much.
ReplyDeleteHT definitely is the best place to shop for groceries. Yes, they are extremely pricey, "BUT" if you use coupons they are the most economical.
Publix is good for shopping, but HT still beat them.
Thanks a lot for publishing the new good stuff for us. I’ll really get the great advantage from your good stuff.
ReplyDelete