Weis' price freeze program would come under pressure if food cost inflation fails to alleviate.
Convenience stores are generally not attractive businesses. Gasoline can account for a substantial proportion of sales while generating only a small portion of gross profits.Fuel is a commodity. Consumers' sensitivity to retail fuel prices means Casey's can't price its fuel higher than competitors,
Safeway lacks a relevant pricing strategy, since it lost customer traffic to low-cost operators during the recession but has yet to gain traction with the higher-end type of consumers like at Whole Foods, where comparable sales have bounced back strongly in the recovery.Higher gasoline prices could
Gaining traction on the East Coast is an important initiative at Core-Mark.
The natural food niche market is substantially less competitive than the general grocery market.
Kroger has least relative downside risk to sales, EPS, and cash flows from food and fuel inflation.
Shares undervalued, but given the low margin of safety its best to wait for losses to subside.
Whole Foods has a much wider customer base than it had during past economic downturns, and its top line is proving to be much more sensitive to economic conditions.Unlike low-price leaders such as Wal-Mart, Whole Foods dominates because of its brand image, which is trickier to manage and less
Operating in the middle of the high-low spectrum of the supermarket industry is difficult, with consistent pressure on pricing limiting margin expansion and keeping returns on invested capital at modest levels.Operations outside the U.S. have been a mixed bag in the past. While Greece is solid,
Safeway has a renewed focus on price.