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If you look at the reaction that MOST Americans have had to European grocery stores, they have generally been pretty negative.
Carrefour - closed after opening four stores.
Tesco - shuttered Fresh and Easy
LIDL - Disappointing results in first few markets, reducing expansion plans
In Canada, Marks and Spencer closed down a decade ago.
ALDI has done pretty well BUT ... they still control less than 2% of the market share.
As for the article, I think that New York City stores with the real estate prices in the Metro are so atypical. However, when the media in this country is so based on both coasts, how can you really expect honest and balanced journalism since these fold NEVER get out to "flyover country."
M & S in Canada, never really had a real grocery section...just prepared foods. It was never a competition against actual grocery stores.
I could write a similar article and come up with a totally different answer. It's like stating the health of a country's population by choosing one person from each country.
Labelling the entire US from one NYC store is absurd. I've shopped in many shops in the US and they vary on quality. If you shop at any large chain, there are similarities, such as preponderance of junk food out front and centre, but not always. There are smaller chains that offer a better experience. Higher end mostly.
As to the OP's question, which is better. Well, it depends. I've posted this before, and the advantage that the EU has, and to a certain extent, Canada, is that certain hormones, or ingredients, like Bromate in Bread, are banned.
I generally find the quality of meat, cheeses etc to be better in the EU than the US. This is not to say you can't get it in the US, you certainly can, but overall in a regular grocery store, the quality overall seems lower.
Advantages the US has, if you can call it that is choice, but is it choice most people want? Do you really need 75 different sugary breakfast cereals? This exists in Canada as well.
The trouble with the question is that people in Italy, don't shop like Americans, nor feel they need to.
Some stores are a big deal in the U.S. here in my region we have a big box store called "Cub Foods" its open 24/ hours, people buy lottery tickets there, every location has a bank inside, plus you can cash checks, make money orders and buy bus passes.
Wal-Marts are the same plus more, like a little optical section. plus a little fast food joint inside mostly a Subway.
Stores like those are always very active and busy, people of all walks of life in there... a pretty fun experience.
When i went to the U.K ive only been to Tesco Express and Waitrose. Tesco Express didnt have much since it was just a small little store probably made for quick in and out errands.. Waitrose had everything you needed just not the same selection as the U.S (just not 20 different versions of everything) which made shopping way easier.
I've been to grocery stores all over the EU and in several states in the US and the food quality in the EU is overall much better. Like the article also mentions, prices are significantly lower in the EU too, generally much less than half of the US prices. There really isn't much else to say about this. I liked HEB in Texas though, quality seemed ok and prices not as excessive like Trader Joe's or Wholefoods.
Lol, Gristedes. That chain is the pits. Fairway is much better, Key Food can and is often cheaper, we have Aldi, farmer's markets, Trader Joes.
The article doesn't even do NYC justice. We also don't get taxed on our groceries (most of them anyways)
Fairway is the best!
It's odd that we're pointing to mini-chains in NYC, but choosing what's in some ways the worst of them, and then comparing them to a large national chain like Tesco (despite being a smaller country, it's still a very different operation from Gristedes).
I wish there were more Fairways in the city though there are good larger chain supermarkets like Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, and H Mart.
I disagree with you.
Considering the amount of recalls in Germany, the scandals from horse meat balls to unborn calves, chains eating the corner bakeries/butchers - it has turned into a discounter heaven with some pricey hip stores opening and closing. Produce in season only? As in the US and everywhere else - consumers drive the train and they are driving.
WalMart
Optical inside stores depends on state law. None in OK.
Alcohol sales
Depend on state and municipality. In some states you get everything, in some there are restricted purchase hours on Sunday (including restaurants), other have limited options such as low alcohol content beers and others simply do not sell alcohol. First world problem:>)
Quality
It depends on your check book. Discounter lettuce grown in Spain or Mexico in a green house versus locally grown (including the occasional fresh protein).
Choices
If you are overwhelmed by choices - know what you want. The choices are there because consumers want them and buy them.
For me it comes down to my needs, wants, budget. Do not need anything ready-to-eat, want fresh produce/meat/poultry/affordable wine, blow my budget every month. Here are some reasons - currently no option to hunt and stock 9-12 White Tail, wine prices TX-OK are almost double, I will not drive 35 miles to an iffy farmers market. Things have not changed much for me on 3 continents and 16 moves. Explore, experiment, talk to locals, make the best of it, laugh about it later.
Last edited by Threestep2; 01-25-2018 at 08:35 AM..
I wish I had taken pictures of the grocery stores in England--so clean, neat, and tidy. So well laid out. Such fresh produce.
Where I live, we have two grocery chains. One is probably a New England brand: Stop and Shop. The stores are "super sized" meaning it's a huge waste of space and extremely time consuming to find anything. I was in there yesterday trying to find a few things and it took forever. First thing inside the entrance is an intrusive and large display of cheap cakes, pies, and other pastries--not anything of quality that I would purchase. They have fake coloring, all sorts of artificial chemical preservatives, etc. so just a big negative when you walk into the store.
I wanted onions, milk, and a can of beans but it took a long time to find them because the store is massive and crammed with so much junk to distract you. Another thing: they intentionally place big barrels of stuff directly out in the aisle, hoping that when you smash into them with your cart, you will buy something! It's annoying to have to navigate around these displays and barrels, it slows you down, and I don't like feeling that I am being tricked into noticing this stuff.
The milk section is intentionally placed in the far back corner of the store, forcing you to walk a long distance and trying to manipulate you into buying more things as you are forced to traverse much of the store just to get to the milk. I get so annoyed that I intentionally buy nothing that I see on the way!
The onions were way off to the right in the produce section. The canned beans took a long time to find and I nearly had to try to find someone to ask. That would have required going way out to the front of the store to "customer service" and waiting in a line.
The entire center of the store was taken up by a gigantic Valentine's Day section that further divides the store, making you walk for what seems a mile just to get past it.
I think these super stores are the worst laid out stores I have ever seen and they are made that way purposely to fool us into walking around, seeing things that we don't need, and buying them. What's more, with so much space, they usually don't have what you are looking for!
Here is a picture of some grocery store in the UK--not a great example because it was a huge store too--but at least they section off the different areas. If you want produce, there is a produce area, if you want sandwiches (and they have beautiful, nutritious sandwiches in the UK grocery stores) you go to the sandwich area. If you want clothing--which I do not--at least it's upstairs and not interspersed with food, as if they are trying to get you to buy clothing when you only went in for a bottle of milk.
So this is a general view in the UK of a huge store but it was well laid out, neat and tidy, well lit, and if you want clothing it's not mixed in with food. I wish I had taken a picture of the neat and tidy aisles and the nice fresh food! This was in March 2017 somewhere in the south of England:
I love grocery shopping back in the US when I visit. The variety and quality of the food is abundant and excellent.
I was in Amsterdam last year for the nth time and was once again disgusted by the state of and lack of variety in the Albert Heijn.
We have western-style grocery stores where I live, but, everything imported is expensive, and choices are few.
Of course we have wet markets, and these are wonderful. But, if we are discussing shopping in grocery stores, I love our stores back home in the US.
I've shopped at Albert Heijn and never felt disgusted. Some stores are small, but they had everything I was looking for.
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