Photo by Ashley Nickle; Graphic made by Brooke Park using Infogram
Stop & Shop dominates the Connecticut retail market, and the competition is not even close.
Owned by Dutch parent Ahold Delhaize, Stop & Shop in 2019 boasts a market share of 42.6% and 115 stores in the Connecticut/Massachusetts/Vermont market, according to Shelby Market data. The defined market region includes Hartford, Conn.; Springfield, Mass.; and Montpelier, Vt.
In second position in the Connecticut market, Bozzuto’s has 129 stores and a 17% market share.
According to the firm’s website, Bozzuto’s Inc. is a family-owned total service wholesale distributor, established in 1945. Based in Cheshire, Conn., the company provides goods to independently owned retailers in the New England region.
The complete 2019 leader board for the Connecticut/Massachusetts/Vermont market, according to Shelby, includes:
Retail developments
Ahold Delhaize recently announced it will extend its commitment to cut food waste in its brands’ operations.
The reduction, according to a news release, is in line with the global goal of reducing food waste by 50% by 2030.
The chain will also initiate partnerships with its suppliers to further reduce food waste, according to the release, and further builds on the company’s 2016 commitment to reduce food waste by 20% by 2020.
Price Rite Marketplace grocers, a brand of New Jersey-based cooperative Wakefern Food Corp., launched a re-branding initiative last year in Pennsylvania and Connecticut, and the Baltimore Sun reported Nov. 1 that the banner unveiled a new store concept in that city that features a brighter appearance, more organic and private-label items, and a designated section highlighting special deals.
The Oct. 31 CNN Business online news site reported that grocery retailers are starting to build “dark stores” to serve as fulfillment centers.
Online grocery shopping and home delivery is hard for supermarkets to get right, said New York-based retail expert Bob Phibbs, owner of the consulting firm The Retail Doctor.
Evidence of that, he said, was Amazon’s recent move to lure more online Whole Foods grocery shoppers with free delivery for Amazon Prime members.
Phibbs said Target and Walmart are having good success with the business model of shoppers buying online and then picking up at the store, and that model may see further growth by other retailers.
CNN Business recently reported Stop & Shop is constructing a 12,000-square-foot fully-automated fulfillment center in the back room of a store in Windsor, Conn., to be used for deliveries in the Hartford area. Peapod is Stop & Shop’s online delivery service.
The number of brick-and-mortar grocery stores in Connecticut may be under pressure.
In October, Countytimes.com said that Wayne Pesce, president of the West Hartford-based Connecticut Food Association, thinks that a currently saturated market and a recent increase in the state’s minimum wage to $11 could discourage any new stores and perhaps lead to some store closures.