Lack of competition in SA market

[F10gear]

If I remember correctly, Sun Harvest is owned by Wild Oats which was recently bought out by Whole Foods. I'm not sure if they have any long term plans to rebrand those stores as Whole Foods, or to leave them as Sun Harvest.

Rockin' The TriCities, it actually the other way around. Whole foods is trying to acquire Wild Oaks, they already own Sun Harvest. As a matter of fact the are in the process of selling Sun Harvest to Smart & Final. Here is a link about it. MySA.com: David Hendricks (http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/columnists/dhendricks/stories/MYSA072107.01D.hendricks.2a4b0e7.html - broken link)

[austindoxie1972]

Regarding sports figures in local advertising -- I'm living in Northern Virginia right now and can testify that Cal Ripken is frequently seen on TV and billboards hawking everything from cable services to restaurants. I don't think this is an "SA thing." A variety of Redskins have appeared in local advertising, too.

[infinity & beyond]

Okay, so I think we all agree that while HEB is a great store, it never HURTS to have more options. I certainly hope in the near future SA can attract more competition, in EVERY sector.

[Paka]

I am sure PRAYING to see a Trader Joes in the 1604/Potranco area one day!

I would be TOTALLY GIDDY WITH HAPPINESS!

[hello13685]

wCat, the majority of people in TX were not born in TX? Is this true?

[TXRose]

Only halfway through the thread at this point - but a couple thoughts.

Those of us that remember when there were more grocery stores than HEB in this town also remember lamenting over our more expensive groceries when we shopped at those stores over HEB. There's a reason that those stores aren't here...if the market could have supported other stores, it would have.

And - it seems to me that the companies that use the spurs to promote their products are taking advantage of the spurs (and the influence/celebrity they yield) rather than taking advantage of the customer.

[TXRose]

Originally Posted by F10gear

Rockin' The TriCities, it actually the other way around. Whole foods is trying to acquire Wild Oaks, they already own Sun Harvest. As a matter of fact the are in the process of selling Sun Harvest to Smart & Final. Here is a link about it. MySA.com: David Hendricks (http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/columnists/dhendricks/stories/MYSA072107.01D.hendricks.2a4b0e7.html - broken link)

Thanks for posting this clarification. i was almost on my way to find the article when i saw you posted it.

I've lived in Philadelphia and they have a lot of their sports heroes promoting local businesses. Same in Kansas City, where my husband is from. I'm surprised that some of the other posters are encountering this in San Antonio for the first time.

[Insomniac]

On the topic of sports figures and local commercials, Hello, you may want to step away from your computer and your obviously agenda driven hyperbole and venture to the Miami area which had plenty of Dolphin and Marlin players hawking local products on TV and radio. The same for Denver when I lived there, John Elway's mug and name was stamped everywhere. Using popular sport celebrities to sell your product is not "small market" or "provincial" it's smart business, it's taking advantage of their name and image in the same way Hollywood celebrities are used to sell shampoo or hair dye.

[hello13685]

Good point, Insomniac, thanks for pointing out those non-Texas examples. That's what I wanted to learn

[F10gear]

You know this is very interesting stuff. So much passion on each side of the conversation. I think what we are seeing here is when the term small town is used, it meant to express a close nit community that guards itself from the negativities that some of the bigger cities are afflicted with (crime, traffic, rudeness, etc.),which I don't think any of us want. A place that holds on tightly to keep what it has grown comfortable with and used to (if it ain't broke, don't fix it). Where as some of us have moved from other cities to get away form the craziness, but miss the perks that come from those cites. If we could have the varieties that other major cities have without all of the negatives that it brings, we would all be satisfied...NOT! It just the nature of the human condition, we are never satisfied. We will always find something to complain about. There is no such thing as the perfect place...every place has it own baggage, you just have to decide what baggage you want to carry. Celebrity advertising really has nothing to do with it. JMHO