Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
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r e T a i l i n g T o d a y Edens. That is not the case today. Grocery chains are wary of arriving ahead of empty rooftops. "We continued our new development program through the downturn but clearly focused on areas where the population base was already there," said McLean. Edens opened the Trader Joe's–anchored Shops at Stonefield last year in Charlottesville, Va., a market with an established trade area. The urban in-fill goes hand in hand with another trend in the sector: shrinking footprints. "All of the growth concepts that I see in the grocery world right now are about smaller-footprint grocery stores sized 30,000 square feet or less," said Brown. The most notable example of this downsizing has been Walmart's. Most of the Walmart new store growth involves its smaller concepts. Walmart Neighborhood Market units measure about 30,000 square feet, and the rela- tively petite Walmart Express is even smaller yet, at only 15,000 square feet. Walmart is using those smaller stores to move more quickly into urban markets by locating in second-generation space. These smaller formats will bring bring even more competition to the grocery business, competition that will be particularly tough for some. Walmart is now expanding into Chicago, where Dominick's has been dominant. "They are going to go in and possibly change the game overnight," said Brown. Several trends are influencing not only where grocery stores are being built and how many, but also the sorts of customer experiences the chains deliver. For one thing, grocery chains are focusing on their own points of differentiation, McLean says. Grocery sales have stayed fairly consistent even through the recession. Now, as the economy im- Grocery sales have stayed fairly consistent even throughout the recession. Now, as the economy improves, chains are seeking ways to capture more of those dollars. proves, chains are seeking ways to capture more of those dollars — by offering prepared or organic foods, for instance, or value-priced house brands. Some have introduced or expanded in-store cafés, bakeries or meat counters, or cyber attack it can happen to you join us and our guest speakers legal experts Drinker, Biddle & Reath LLP at RECon 2013 Learn why cyber liability insurance is important to business profitability Tuesday, May 21 • 2-4 p.m. Discussion You are cordially invited to speak with the experts at a cocktail reception immediately following the discussion from 4 -6 p.m. Please scan or visit RSVP required RSVP.dpipino.com DPIPINO.COM : 800.726.8177 BOARDMAN : INDIANAPOLIS : MIAMI 52 SCT / M a y 2 0 1 3