HEB Going Downhill ??? (Houston, Dallas, Austin: house, to buy, price)

[Ivory Lee Spurlock]

I'm less than 10 minutes from 4 HEB's and there are 3 that I usually go to the most: I usually go the HEB on Congress and Slaughter, Slaughter and Manchaca, and Wm Cannon and Brodie.and they all seem to be pretty well stocked. A few months back it seems like there were meat snd egg shortages but there seems to be plenty of both now, although the price of both seem to be higher, but I think that's a nationwide thing and not unique to HEB. Far as grocery stores, I don't think you can beat HEB. I think they've only improved as time has passed on and as other grocery chains unable to compete have left the area.

[CarnivalGal]

Originally Posted by DabOnEm

HEB has been in Houston over 30 years at this point so Houston is no longer an emerging market for them (over 20 stores). Now DFW, that's an emerging market as they just opened their first full line supermarket HEB store there last year (after building several Central Markets the years before). They probably arent putting much focus in Austin as they try expanding into the crowded DFW grocery market after successfully winning over Houston's (HEBs are by far the most packed supermarket in Houston...like neck and neck with Walmart). All those products you see missing maybe we diverted to DFW shelves instead.

HEB still only has 20 stores in Houston. There's 28 in Austin. Houston in ~3 times the size of Austin, but has fewer stores there. There are also 35 Krogers in Houston. So, no, it hasn't taken over Houston like it has Austin.

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by CarnivalGal

HEB still only has 20 stores in Houston. There's 28 in Austin. Houston in ~3 times the size of Austin, but has fewer stores there. There are also 35 Krogers in Houston. So, no, it hasn't taken over Houston like it has Austin.

thats so weird you would think they are everywhere.

[DabOnEm]

Originally Posted by CarnivalGal

HEB still only has 20 stores in Houston. There's 28 in Austin. Houston in ~3 times the size of Austin, but has fewer stores there. There are also 35 Krogers in Houston. So, no, it hasn't taken over Houston like it has Austin.

I never said it had taken over Houston like they did Austin, but Houston is not an "emerging" market for them. They actually have more than 40 stores in the Houston area (20 is just Houston city limits), so yeah at this point Houston is an established market for HEB. An emerging market for HEB is DFW where they have just two open HEB supermarkets, with a handful more under construction.

[CarnivalGal]

Originally Posted by DabOnEm

I never said it had taken over Houston like they did Austin, but Houston is not an "emerging" market for them. They actually have more than 40 stores in the Houston area (20 is just Houston city limits), so yeah at this point Houston is an established market for HEB. An emerging market for HEB is DFW where they have just two open HEB supermarkets, with a handful more under construction.

28 is just Austin city limits as well, not Austin area, so apples to apples comparison. (there's actually more than 50 store in the Austin area, if you want to use that number). I agree that DFW is an emerging market for them. But they have also in recent years made a push for more stores in Houston and to take a greater share of the market there.

[ipott]

Originally Posted by CarnivalGal

Bee Cave is the best HEB of the ones on my regular rotation, but it's still not great.

Four Points HEB stopped carrying Grass Fed beef altogether, which really chaps my hide. They have the vacuum packed kind, but that tastes awful. Other locations still carry it, but this one (that's also closest to my house) has none. But, hey, thank God they just added that home decor section last week!

I used to love HEB, but I find that I just leave frustrated now.

I stop by the Randalls in Steiner on my way home now, since that's where I live. It's really not much more expensive than HEB on a lot of things. I agree that the meat and fish sections aren't great, but I rarely buy those things there. But they have a lot of the things that HEB has decided to just not carry anymore or has never carried.

We used to go to four points HEB a lot but we have stopped. Randalls at Steiner is not bad, and the prices are decent if you have their rewards card and good enough for your day to day needs

[ParaguaneroSwag]

Originally Posted by DabOnEm

I never said it had taken over Houston like they did Austin, but Houston is not an "emerging" market for them. They actually have more than 40 stores in the Houston area (20 is just Houston city limits), so yeah at this point Houston is an established market for HEB. An emerging market for HEB is DFW where they have just two open HEB supermarkets, with a handful more under construction.

I think that what CarnivalGal is trying to say is that Houston has a much more competitive grocery store scene. So in order to maintain their success in Houston, they have to keep quality or else they’ll lose market share to some of the many other established grocers in Houston.

[DabOnEm]

Originally Posted by CarnivalGal

28 is just Austin city limits as well, not Austin area, so apples to apples comparison. (there's actually more than 50 store in the Austin area, if you want to use that number). I agree that DFW is an emerging market for them. But they have also in recent years made a push for more stores in Houston and to take a greater share of the market there.

For sure they had a recent suburban expansion in Houston in the late 00s/early 2010s, but they expanded in many suburban areas in the state around that time trying to capture all the newcomers. Hopefully they show your Austin stores more love and get those shelves stocked. Is HEB the only store there with this issue?

Originally Posted by ParaguaneroSwag

I think that what CarnivalGal is trying to say is that Houston has a much more competitive grocery store scene. So in order to maintain their success in Houston, they have to keep quality or else they’ll lose market share to some of the many other established grocers in Houston.

Yes I alluded to that when I mentioned how they are putting more focus on DFW stores after they have won over Houston, which might be one reason why Austin has bare shelves.

[CarnivalGal]

Originally Posted by DabOnEm

Is HEB the only store there with this issue?

Yes. And in my area, HEB is also really the only store. We have a Target, but they don't have a grocery. And we have a Randalls, but it's a smaller one. HEB is basically a monopoly in a lot of parts of the Austin area (and San Antonio).

[whereiend]

I'm pretty sure that individual HEB stores are run fairly independently of each other. That's why products in each story vary a lot based on the location. Personally I don't buy some kind of strategy of neglecting one market and focusing on others. I'm not sure if I agree that HEB quality has declined in Austin, but if it it has I think it's probably more that the stores are just overcrowded like many things in Austin because the city has grown very fast and the market hasn't had time to catch up.

I live somewhat close to the Mueller HEB and there is definitely nothing "wrong" with that HEB. It's extremely nice, going there is just a nightmare because of how ridiculously crowded it is at all times. They just built that 5-6 years ago and they already need another a mile or two away.