H-E-B - Gets top US grocer spot - Can Illinois get them to come? (Chicago: purchase, closing)

[damba]

I don’t believe the OP is in the slightest way familiar with how slim grocery store profit margins are.

[pvande55]

Originally Posted by damba

I don’t believe the OP is in the slightest way familiar with how slim grocery store profit margins are.

However, it is a steady business due to the obvious need to eat. A furniture store might have a higher profit margin, but doesn't do much business when nobody is moving or upgrading. I think, though, that having a store or two in IL would be inefficient, being so far from its HQ and distribution facilities. That said, I was in Texas and visited one. Quite impressive for a grocery store. And how about their slogan, "Here, Everything's Better!"

[kitty_nina1]

I have lived in Texas and in Georgia, and I agree HEB is the best all around. There are *some* Kroger stores which are as good as HEB, but they are very few and seem to be neighborhood specific. Publix is overpriced with limited selection. I don't now how one can even compare Publix to HEB. Publix used to be better until they raised their prices to be on par with Whole Foods and cut selection/variety several times over. As I walk their wide isles and bare bakery/meat departments I wonder how they stay in business. It is not the store to do your grocery shopping in. It is rather a store to pick something up that you need in a pinch overpaying for it three fold.
I love going to Marianos here in IL as it reminds me of Kroger. I found Jewel Osco to be rather pitiful in quality, cleanliness and selection. I rarely if ever go there. I do love lots of ethnic markets here (Garden Fresh Market and Market Fresh), and this is where I shop primarily. I don't think HEB will ever move to IL as people here do not seem to need a big supermarket already being in the habit of going to different places for different things and because it is just not cost efficient to bring a chain all the way up north bypassing the states in the middle.
Rent is expensive here, and a giant HEB won't be financially feasible to open. IL is not a place for HEB. It thrives in big suburban towns. We had another great store in TX called Sprouts (formerly known as SunHarvest), and now that they've moved into Georgia I'll tell you they will put places like Whole Foods out of business. There are Sprouts in CA, too.
I do miss HEB though. I could always run out and get fresh fish/meat/chicken for dinner and just put it in the oven. I always knew I could count on selection and quality. Not the case with any of the neighborhood supermarkets.

[cobolt]

The other interesting thing about how HEB runs their stores is they have their demographic nailed down. The HEB on my way to work is in a neighborhood that is racially mixed Hispanic and Asian with some African American, and you will see more of those types of products (specialty Asian soup mixes, etc) than you would at the HEB a few miles down the road in a more upscale area. That HEB has a larger selection of vegan products, foo foo type stuff (expensive cheeses and such). Then there is an HEB that is close to an area in San Antonio that is predominately Jewish and it has the largest Kosher selection of products rather than just a section of the aisle as the other HEB locations do. You can drive around the city and still get what you need at any of the HEB locations, but going to different neighborhoods will get you some items that other locations don't carry, and that is kind of neat to explore.

[genesiss23]

Wisconsin's Woodman's is adding stores in Illinois. They expand very slowly though.

[KerrTown]

Mariano's is owned by Kroger, but it's a poor imitation of upscale Whole Foods. A Texas-sized Kroger Signature/Marketplace (which have gas stations to spend the fuel points) will work in the suburbs to beat the tired Jewel stores.

Apparently Chicagoans want it classy and H-E-B (at various levels) would be too basic as the decor resembles Walmart with hype. I wish I had a Meijer in Texas since it's similar to shopping at a Super Target.

When I was visiting a couple of years ago, on entering a random Jewel store, it was really dirty, dated, and claustrophobic. I was glad that there was a basic Kroger in Ottawa where I spent the second week.

[damba]

Originally Posted by KerrTown

Mariano's is owned by Kroger, but it's a poor imitation of upscale Whole Foods. A Texas-sized Kroger Signature/Marketplace (which have gas stations to spend the fuel points) will work in the suburbs to beat the tired Jewel stores.

Apparently Chicagoans want it classy and H-E-B (at various levels) would be too basic as the decor resembles Walmart with hype. I wish I had a Meijer in Texas since it's similar to shopping at a Super Target.

When I was visiting a couple of years ago, on entering a random Jewel store, it was really dirty, dated, and claustrophobic. I was glad that there was a basic Kroger in Ottawa where I spent the second week.

Jewel is looking tired, that’s for sure. Thankfully some parts of Chicagoland have better options.

[atler8]

Chicagoland's grocery options might do well to see the arrival of West Des Moines, Ia.-based Hy-Vee into the market.


The store locator link below has 3 pages of stores listed in Illinois & they are in the nearby Madison, Wi. market too.

Hy-Vee is expanding it's reach so an expansion into metro Chicago may be in the cards.
As for example, their move into the Twin Cities market has been extremely well-done & received.


Someone earlier on mentioned Festival Foods out of Wisconsin. I'd agree with that suggestion too, if only for their quality of customer service & their deli & bakery options.


https://www.hy-vee.com/stores/store-...lse&chef=False

[jcp123]

I don’t get the HEB thing - felt like just another grocery store to me, neither good nor bad - but I don’t see it skipping a bunch of states and going to Illinois next.

[damba]

Originally Posted by atler8

Chicagoland's grocery options might do well to see the arrival of West Des Moines, Ia.-based Hy-Vee into the market.


The store locator link below has 3 pages of stores listed in Illinois & they are in the nearby Madison, Wi. market too.

Hy-Vee is expanding it's reach so an expansion into metro Chicago may be in the cards.
As for example, their move into the Twin Cities market has been extremely well-done & received.


Someone earlier on mentioned Festival Foods out of Wisconsin. I'd agree with that suggestion too, if only for their quality of customer service & their deli & bakery options.


https://www.hy-vee.com/stores/store-...lse&chef=False

Meh. They can’t compete in Chicago.