Aldi is now in Texas... Is HEB shaking in their boots?

[elnina]

Originally Posted by BigDogsTX

HEB is opening a new concept in Houston which looks like its their answer to Aldi...

It's called Joe V's Smart Shop and they seemed to have copied Aldi's ideas of selection limited to the most purchased items and Staff thats trained on multiple positions.

Joe Vs Smart Shop

Pretty far out. Outside Loop 8 north...

[BigDogsTX]

It does not matter where the location is, if they are putting the effort into developing an effective response to Aldi it could be anywhere. Smaller grocery stored are the fastest growing segment in the grocery industry and HEB is lagging... HEB isnt stupid and they have probably spent the last few years learning the tricks of Aldi and Fresh Express, the 2 fastest growing markets in the country.. both small groceries. It's also a market type that fits well in urban areas that have seen retraction in recent years from the big chains. Its a way to bring back fresh groceries to areas left behind and tap a lucrative market.

[elnina]

I just said that the location is a bit... far out. The concept in response to Aldi is great! Me regretting the location is just a hint that I, and probably many others will not venture that far out from the city to save a buck or two.
I think that the location does matter.

[naxxan]

these new joe vs wont be much i believe. they are going to focus more on lowest possible price than anything else. the partners will be cross-trained in all depts but there will only be a staff of roughly 80 people per store so coverage will be an issue. also selection will suffer greatly, they will only have 5000 skus in the store and all of the cheapest they can get. cheap has its appeal but this sounds more like a tonnage store set up to move as much as possible. if heb just took the outlay of these stores and cross-trained partners across the board, the raise in customer serice would bring in way more profits.

[Bo]

Wondering if the OP had some insight into upcoming HEB announcements. HEB just announced a new store brand, Joe V's, that sounds a lot like Aldi.

New H-E-B concept is discount-minded | Business | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

Joe V's is a no-frills operation, resembling a warehouse from the outside.


Smaller than a full-size H-E-B, Joe V's will carry about 9,000 items, compared with a traditional supermarket, which has about 37,000.

[sapphire]

Haha:

"......Joe V's was not created in response to Aldi, Perez said...."

Suuuuuuure, Mr. Perez.