[Serious Conversation]

I was in FL for the third time this year on vacation. This time, I wanted to visit local grocers to get a feel for day to day life and food prices. Amusingly enough, about all I could find was Publix around Tampa and southwest FL. Here in Indiana, we have Marsh, Kroger, Earthfare, Fresh Thyme, Fresh Market, Whole Foods, Meijer (hypermarket competing with Target/Walmart), Trader Joe's, Sam's, Costco, Walmart, and a Super Target. Grocery prices are very reasonable, selection is good.

In FL, about all I could find outside of Publix was Walmart and the occasional Target or wholesaler. Considering southwest FL is densely populated, I found this strange. The grocery market seemed to be damn near monopolized and woefully underserved.

[BNBR]

Depends on the area.

Within a 5 minute drive I have:

Publix, Winn Dixie, Fresh Market, Whole Foods, Target, Walmart, Doris, Aldi, Trader Joes, Costco, Sams, BJ's, about 10 farmers markets, Nutrition Smart, Sedanos, Food Town, Bravo, tons of oriental and indian markets, italian markets (fresh pasta, etc.), and the list goes on.....

No, we are about as far from "underserved" as you can get

I'm in Broward County. Did you try "Google." I don't mean to be rude, but I typed "Whole Foods" into Google Maps in Tampa and found a bunch of locations. Same with "Fresh Market" and "Trader Joes"....

[chopchop0]

Agree with bnbr, very area dependent.

In Dr Phillips, a nice suburb of Orlando, you have a trader Joe's, whole foods, fresh market, publix, publix greenwise, Chamberlains natural market and Wal-Mart supercenter grocery within a 5-10 min drive.

As for southwest fl,,I know sarasota got one of the first trader Joe's in the state and also has a whole foods

[gypsychic]

Originally Posted by chopchop0

Agree with bnbr, very area dependent.

In Dr Phillips, a nice suburb of Orlando, you have a trader Joe's, whole foods, fresh market, publix, publix greenwise, Chamberlains natural market and Wal-Mart supercenter grocery within a 5-10 min drive.

As for southwest fl,,I know sarasota got one of the first trader Joe's in the state and also has a whole foods

Agree with all the above. I am in Sarasota, and we are now getting a SECOND Whole Foods. So we have NUMEROUS very nice Publix stores, Whole Foods (soon to be two), Fresh Market, Trader Joes, Wal-Mart Neighborhood, private market Morton's, Winn-Dixie, ALDI (Bradenton), Super Target, Sam's, BJ's, Costco and those are just the chains. We have numerous smaller or private markets like the new Amish (large) grocery and produce store. For a small city, it pretty much has it all. When I lived in Lakeland, the choices were FAR fewer. So it really depends where you are.

[DanielAvery]

The OP might want to read/look up the older thread in this area about Publix (something like "Publix--your thoughts?" or something similar) where several of us bemoan the fact that despite Publix being a good chain, we wish there was more supermarket competition like the OP mentions. I got used to having a long list of options when I lived in south Georgia, so I can sympathize.

[beachmouse]

Many other big grocery chains have tried to break into the Florida market over the years only to retreat a decade later with their tails between their legs and many millions poorer. Publix is effectively a category killer in the nice but not gourmet grocery segment and if you try to compete directly with them, you're going to get creamed by their good customer service, optimized supply chains (takes a lot to get a semi truck from the Georgia state line to Miami-Dade), and willingness to figure out the needs of their customer base, who comes from all points on the globe, and will actually be pretty loyal if they know they can find 27 different types of cornmeal, or Taylor pork roll, or five types of guava preserves at their local store.

The other grocers that make it down here go around Publix's footprint and tend to be more upscale (Fresh Market, Whole Foods) specialty products (Trader Joe's) or discount (Walmart, Aldi). And then there's Winn-Dixie, which I don't get because they seem to have Publix prices and Walmart ambience, but at least they seem to have the logistics and supply chain aspects of the biz all nailed down compared to outsiders trying to enter the market here.

[smarino]

I think Publix has a monopoly, in kind if not in fact. Down the street here in St Pete, and this is just absurd, there is a huge Publix on one side of the road, and ANOTHER Publix on the other side of the road, right across from each other. They're both simply packed w/ yuppies and Canadian snowbirds, and the Winn Dixies, SavaLots, and Walmarts get the pickup truck crowd. It's totally polarized. The Fresh Markets and Trader Joes get the yuppie spill off. There is a Rolling Oats somewhere too.

When we lived in Galveston, a tiny place really, there was a Super Walmart, a Randalls, a Krogers (the best of the bunch), and an Arlans all within a small radius. It was great to have that sort of selection because they all carried different things. Publix is OK, but they're all pretty much the same.

[Serious Conversation]

Originally Posted by smarino

I think Publix has a monopoly, in kind if not in fact. Down the street here in St Pete, and this is just absurd, there is a huge Publix on one side of the road, and ANOTHER Publix on the other side of the road, right across from each other. They're both simply packed w/ yuppies and Canadian snowbirds, and the Winn Dixies, SavaLots, and Walmarts get the pickup truck crowd. It's totally polarized. The Fresh Markets and Trader Joes get the yuppie spill off. There is a Rolling Oats somewhere too.

When we lived in Galveston, a tiny place really, there was a Super Walmart, a Randalls, a Krogers (the best of the bunch), and an Arlans all within a small radius. It was great to have that sort of selection because they all carried different things. Publix is OK, but they're all pretty much the same.

That was my impression too. Outside of a few upscale places, it was basically all Publix.

[BNBR]

I'm not sure I understand why you would want more mid-range grocery stores? Most shoppers kind of do one or the other. Either you go to Winn Dixie, Albertson, or Publix. And that's it. Publix is the best of the bunch and the others went away. Would you really go to Publix, then to another brand grocery store that sells the same stuff? You have too much time on your hands.

But it's also very inaccurate to suggest Publix has a monopoly here. Within 5 minutes I have a Target, Wal-Mart, Publix, and Winn-Dixie. All of them hit the mid-range grocery experience. Is 4 different grocery stores not enough? Goodness.

We have plenty of "low scale" and "up scale" places also.

[kyle19125]

There seems to be confusion with some in regard to competition with Publix and the apple to orange comparisons being used. There really isn't any direct competition in the "traditional grocery" sector outside of the sporadic presence of Winn-Dixie stores. Target and WalMart are big box stores with obvious differences, and niche options like Whole Foods, Trader Joe's or Fresh Market cater to those who want either organic and/or more upscale offerings. Other areas of the country have all of those varying components with big box stores, natural foods grocers and discount operations like Costco and BJ's along with at least a few different "traditional grocers" like Kroger, A&P, Safeway, Harris Teeter or Giant. Here in Florida it's about 90% Publix in that regard which pretty much defines the word monopoly.