Photo — Meijer and Kroger dominate the grocery retail scene in Michigan. (The Packer staff)
A look at retail market share numbers in Michigan reveals big strength for Kroger and Meijer in the big cities of Detroit, Ann Arbor, Flint and Sagninaw.
According to The Shelby Report, Kroger led that market with 112 stores and 29.6% share in March this year.
Meijer ranked second, with 54 stores grabbing 25.2% of the market.
Spartan Nash (13.6%), Walmart (13.2%) and Aldi followed the big two in market share, according to Shelby statistics.
Both companies have recently been in the news.
Kroger announced in late August that it plans to completely phase out single-use plastic bags and switch to reusable ones at all of its 2,800 stores. The phase-out is expected to be complete by 2025.
Kroger also grabbed headlines with news of a pilot for driverless cars to deliver groceries in a Phoenix suburb this summer. Cincinnati-based Kroger Co. said it is partnering with Nuro, a company founded with engineers who worked on autonomous vehicles at Google.
Meanwhile, Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Meijer — which operates more than 240 supercenters and grocery stores in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and Wisconsin — also said in late August it will open a newly-designed convenience store and gas station in Grand Rapids, Mich.
The store includes an expanded assortment of fresh produce and protein-based snacks, wraps, fruit and organic items, as well as grab-and-go meals prepared locally by Superior Foods.
In western Michigan (Grand Rapids, Lansing, Kalamazoo, Traverse City), Shelby reported Meijer is the leader with a 40% market share from 57 stores, while Spartan Nash is second with 216 stores and a 27.7% share.
Following Meijer and Spartan Nash, Shelby reported other leading retailers in western Michigan were Walmart (16.8%), Kroger (3.9%) and Save-A-Lot (2.6%).
The big 28 million carton Michigan apple crop — up 40% from a year ago — will give retailers a great regional sourcing opportunity, said Craig Carlson, president and CEO of Carlson Produce Consulting LLC, Chicago.