Publix Supermarket Opening In Ballantyne!
Are Supermarket "Wars" Coming?
Publix Opening at Ballantyne Town Center: February 26, 2014
Publix is opening its first store in the Ballantyne area of Charlotte, North Carolina tomorrow, February 26th. With Harris Teeter (recently acquired by Kroeger) holding a commanding market share in the Ballantyne area with some four large "super" stores, does this mean supermarket wars are coming to the Ballantyne area?
Publix has a major expansion going in the Charlotte metro area with two stores in Fort Mill and Indian Land, South Carolina (on the Charlotte and Ballantyne borders) that opened over a year ago, the Ballantyne Town Center store opening tomorrow, and plans for five more stores to open in the Charlotte area in 2014 in Mint Hill, south Charlotte, Cornelius, Rock Hill. On the heels of six store openings in 2014, six more stores are planned for 2015.
Will Publix Opening In Ballantyne Start A Supermarket "War?"
So does this mean we'll start seeing supermarket wars coming to the area soon? I remember when Publix opened its first store in Indian Land, SC just a few miles south of the Ballantyne area, a number of the closest Harris Teeter stores began offering 10% discounts to seniors on Thursday (versus their normal 5%). Boy did I love that until they went back to 5%. (Publix also offers a 5% discount). I'm personally, hopeful to see an increase in the senior discount at Harris Teeter.
Also, after Publix opened in Indian Land, South Carolina, a number of the Harris Teeter stores closest to the new Publix store began offering super coupon discounts doubling $1-$2 coupons on Wednesdays. Boy did I love that too until they stopped and went back to their standard double up to 99 cents. Maybe we'll see this come back at least for a while in the Ballantyne area? I'll stay hopeful. And it's hard to beat the Harris Teeter e-vic coupons and Friday coupon specials. I look for those in my email box every Wednesday and Friday morning.
To-date, my personal experience with Publix is that that their prices are somewhat higher than Harris Teeter's prices, selection is smaller as the stores are smaller, and they don't double coupons except up to 50 cents. In Indian Land and in Fort Mill, Publix had less immediate competition from Harris Teeter in terms of market saturation by Harris Teeter. With much higher market penetration by Harris Teeter in a highly defined area, maybe Publix will start expanding their coupon and discount programs.
First Signs Of A Supermarket "War"
What was my first sign of a possible supermarket war? Well, last week I received four $10 discount coupons from Harris Teeter for four weekly purchases of at least $50. If you know that margins in the grocery business (which I do, having worked in it for almost 10 years), a 20% discount is huge! I hadn't seen these types of coupons in a very long time. Yesterday, I received a coupon from Publix for $5 off of a $30 purchase--a one-time 16% discount versus Harris Teeter's 20% discount for four weeks.
My plans? Tomorrow morning, with my $5 coupon clutched tightly in my hand, I'll go check out the new Publix store in Ballantyne. (Having spent a decade in this business I can't resist the clarion call of a new supermarket!) Then, on Thursday, with my $10 coupon clutched tightly in my hand, I'll go out and use my $10 discount and my 5% senior discount for my weekly shopping. Oh wait... maybe by Thursday Harris Teeter will go back to a 10% senior discount!
Are supermarket wars coming to the Ballantyne area? I hope so! But even if supermarket wars don't come to pass, more choice is a good thing as far as I'm concerned.
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