  Digitalvision Member Username: Digitalvision Post Number: 258 Registered: 11-2003 |
This is a great piece that was on Marketplace today about the British chain, Tesco. http://marketplace.publicradio .org/shows/2007/08/02/PM200708 024.html They're moving into Los Angeles, and I think that the city of Detroit should pursue them as a possibility. It's only a test in LA, but if they're willing to go into Compton, methinks they could be very open to coming to the C of D - maybe in an area like Lafayette Park, which is way nicer than Compton. The piece outlines well the issues of supermarkets in urban areas - and the lack thereof. | ||
Aiw Member Username: Aiw Post Number: 6333 Registered: 10-2003 |
Tesco's are very nice, however unless they adapt to the US market, they will fail miserably. European grocery stores are nothing like the ones on this side of the pond. Tesco's also relies heavily on organic food and produce, not sure if places like Compton will be willing to pay the premium pricing that comes with that... | ||
Urbanize Member Username: Urbanize Post Number: 2031 Registered: 02-2007 |
I was thinking more like the SE Food Chains (Food World, Piggly Wiggly, Publix, Food Lion). (Message edited by Urbanize on August 02, 2007) | ||
Digitalvision Member Username: Digitalvision Post Number: 259 Registered: 11-2003 |
Organic, european, etc. sounds perfect for the downtown/midtown urban crowd to me... You need to remember also that the prices in the urban shopping centers now are very high. I have seen what they talked about in the radio piece, where in urban areas a gallon of milk will be $4.00. People forget the premium many poor folks pay for sub-standard food - or in travel to go to the suburbs. As someone who buys organic foods, it's close to the same price as I used to pay when I went to markets in the 'hood. As to SE chains - I'm all about keeping options open, and you don't see those guys you mention clamoring to move in. If they don't want the business (which obviously, they don't as you don't see chains in the city), frankly, forget them and patronize someone who does. | ||
Meaghansdad Member Username: Meaghansdad Post Number: 16 Registered: 07-2007 |
Why would someone suggest that a new chain of grocery store pick LP as a potential location in comparison to Compton? If a store is going to locate in Compton, then why not revamp the selections and put the store on Warren/Conner, 7/Livernois, 8/Dequindre?? | ||
Digitalvision Member Username: Digitalvision Post Number: 260 Registered: 11-2003 |
I meant it as a comparison - if they'll locate in Compton, there are plenty of neighborhoods in Detroit much better than Compton and it should be a shoo-in. | ||
Dustin89 Member Username: Dustin89 Post Number: 82 Registered: 07-2006 |
And to expand on the above point: instead of putting any possible new supermarket in a patchy or depopulated Detroit neighborhood where it will likely fail (the welfare cycle, little dense population remaining) why not try to steer potential grocers to positive areas where success is a possibility? I'm not suggesting that people in the roughest or poorest areas of Detroit do not deserve a grocery store, but the road back to having chain retail services in Detroit will likely not begin with locating Detroit's lone chain grocer in an urban prairie, or an area with no retail at all. | ||
Meaghansdad Member Username: Meaghansdad Post Number: 17 Registered: 07-2007 |
Spoken like a true suburbanite. Those "urban prairies" that you speak of have more food dollars allocated to them than that of the inner ring suburbs based solely on that "welfare cycle" you mentioned. | ||
Urban_shocker Member Username: Urban_shocker Post Number: 281 Registered: 12-2003 |
I've actually found Compton much nicer appearance-wise than most of Detroit. Homes are better tended and property worth far more, although gang crime is obviously pretty severe. Can't speak to buying power by comparison, but my suspicion is the LA area would have a major leg up here too because of the huge pop. density advantage. | ||
Urbanize Member Username: Urbanize Post Number: 2032 Registered: 02-2007 |
Don't Forget, we can try to acquire some of the First Canadian Chains to enter into the U.S. if we make friends with stores such as Loblaws (a very nice market Chain in Quebec and Ontario). Also, Safeway is a decent chain that has been Expanding into the Midwest as of late. We could try and snag one of them. Then, let's not forget Albertsons either. | ||
Meaghansdad Member Username: Meaghansdad Post Number: 21 Registered: 07-2007 |
Property is worth more because of the STATE that Compton resides in. You Anti-Detroit lobbyists will use any info to skew perspectives to your advantage. Good political ploy! Detroit has an architecture that dates 100-150 years THATS STILL INTACT, with at its height, 2 million residents (1950??). Compton was designed to be a SUBURB OF LOS ANGELES. By the Way, compton has something in the neighborhood of 100K residents. Thats like comparing RoyalOakFerndale to Detroit. Good Job! I'll grant you that there is some extreme blight in pocketed areas of the city, but to compare Detroit to Compton...stretching it!! | ||
Iheartthed Member Username: Iheartthed Post Number: 1276 Registered: 04-2006 |
Can't speak to buying power by comparison, but my suspicion is the LA area would have a major leg up here too because of the huge pop. density advantage. LA? Dense? Seriously? | ||
Rugbyman Member Username: Rugbyman Post Number: 116 Registered: 06-2005 |
The Economist had an article about Tesco a few weeks ago. A quick commentary about that company and why it's very unlikely they'll be in this market in the near future: Their distribution network is similar to Trader Joe's model (I'm an employee of TJ's; everyone in the company knows ALL about shipping logistics now). The idea is pretty simple- build a huge shipping hub for all of your products and truck them in to each store in a massive semi. The difference is this: where TJ's buys a massive load of whatever they can from pretty much wherever they can to get a good deal, Tesco focuses on locally grown produce, milk, etc. to cut down on shipping costs and lower prices to consumers. In that sense, the two systems are very different: TJ's is cheap because they buy enough from a producer to supply their 275 stores; Tesco because it costs them pennies on the dollar to ship it to their distribution network vs. TJ's. The discount ends up being very similar on the margin. Why would they be unlikely to come to the Metro area (or, indeed, the midwest) anytime soon? Those logistics hubs are RIDICULOUSLY expensive to build and I'm pretty sure they're financing this adventure out of pocket, rather than relying on loans. So, start out West and expand as the market dictates. | ||
Swingline Member Username: Swingline Post Number: 875 Registered: 11-2003 |
quote:Yes, population-wise, the city of LA is about 15% more dense than the city of Detroit. If you compare the urbanized metropolitan areas to each other, LA has 50% greater population density. | ||
Aiw Member Username: Aiw Post Number: 6335 Registered: 10-2003 |
quote: I'm pretty sure there are one or two empty industrial buildings or warehouses that could likely be had fairly cheap in the area... | ||
Rugbyman Member Username: Rugbyman Post Number: 117 Registered: 06-2005 |
The building itself is actually a pretty small piece of the pie, in the grand scheme of things. Think of all of the trucks you have to purchase/lease, salaries to pay, buyers to pay to spend money finding and buying products, locating suppliers that can keep up with demand, then you can start to see why it starts being an expensive endeavor. Then you need the outlet density to support that cost. For instance, every TJ's in the Midwest is supplied out of Bollingbrook , IL. That's something on the order of 30-40 stores. Big startup money. | ||
Lt_tom Member Username: Lt_tom Post Number: 224 Registered: 06-2004 |
There is a large shopping center with a Target, etc. being built in south Compton (right near the 91 and the casino). Someone thinks the place has potential. |
