Small-Format Food and Grocery Retailing in the USA and Abroad

Back to the future: Small-format food and grocery stores are "the original" format grocery store, and remain so even today in less-developed country's in the world. Pictured above is a circa early 1920's Loblaw grocery store. Loblaw today is Canada's number one food and grocery chain. Notice the signs on the store front: price, value and service remain just as important today as they did then.

From the Fresh & Easy Buzz Editor's Desk: Small-format food and grocery store retailing is "busting out all over" in the United States and throughout the world.

While there have always been small-format grocers, paticularly independents who invented the format, what makes it a sort of revolution today is that the world's largest chains--Wal-mart (Marketside), Carrefour (Carrefour Express), Tesco (Tesco Express and Fresh & Easy USA), SuperValu, Inc. (Sav-A-Lot), Aldi, Safeway Stores, Inc. ("The Market" format) and many others-- have created and are aggressively growing their small-format chains.

The food and grocery industry blog Natural~Specialty Foods Memo is currently running what it calls a "Small-Format Food Retailing Special Report", featuring a number of stories about small-format food and grocery retailing in the U.S. and globally.

Below are links to the current pieces the blog is running:

Small-Format Food Retailing Special Report: Global Small-Format Food and Grocery Retailing News and Notes

Small-Format Food Retailing Special Report: Waitrose to Create its Second Brand New Small-Format Chain This Year With Convenience-Oriented Format

Small-Format Food Retailing Special Report: No Frills, Small-Format Discount Grocer Aldi USA Preparing For Florida USA Store Launch

Small-Format Food Retailing Special Report: SuperValue's No Frills, Discount Sav-A-Lot Chain Looking For Big Growth in Two Eastern U.S. States

Wolfe's Market; A Case Study On Why Independent Grocers Continue to Survive and Even Thrive in the U.S. Despite Tough Odds