The difference between San Antonio's marketplace of grocery options and that of Big Sister Dallas, is drastic. Dallas has one of the more competitive grocery markets in the country with big chains like Kroger, Albertsons, and Wal-Mart all grabbing at consumer dollars. Meanwhile San Antonio has only one mainstay grocery chain, H-E-B.
Sure, San Antonio has a Wal-Mart presence as well as a couple of Whole Foods Markets, but you would be hard pressed to find someone arguing that H-E-B doesn't reign supreme in the Alamo City.
What the two cities may have in common soon is large-scale grocer rivalries.
According to The Dallas Morning News H-E-B has been buying up a lot of land in Dallas potentially to start a several stores or to keep the prime property away from rivals. Up till now, Dallas has been the home of a the store's high-end Central Markets. The move would crowd an already packed town.
Wal-Mart is readying to roll out several new grocery-oriented stores here in San Antonio. According to The San Antonio Business Journal, the chain already has five "Neighborhood Markets" in town, with an additional 6 set to open this year. This is in addition to the 35 markets Walmart opened in small towns across Texas earlier this year.
With all these big moves will San Antonio see a price battle for customers? Most people remember that Kroger retreated from San Antonio years ago, what chance does Walmart have of gaining a foothold?
Guests:
- Katie Burke, Real Estate Reporter for The San Antonio Business Journal
- Maria Halkias, Staff Writer at The Dallas Morning News
- Philip Lempert, founder of supermarketguru.com, contributest to Forbes and The Today Show on consumer behavior
*H-E-B has been a corporate sponsor of Texas Public Radio in the past.
