The Grocery Retailing Industry Free Essay Example, 2000 words

Tesco is currently the largest grocery retailer in the UK and was founded in 1927. J. Sainsbury plc owns Sainsbury s Supermarkets, currently the UK s third-largest retailer, and was founded in 1869. Sainsbury s was the nation s biggest supermarket and undisputed market leader, but a series of strategic missteps allowed Tesco to catch up in 1995. Sainsbury s and Asda, whose combined sales are less than Tesco s, are fighting for second place. The grocery retailing market is described as mature, characterised by a stable population with a limited growth rate of food consumption even though trends vary between food types with the change in demographics (increasing number of single-person households) and customer preferences (increasing awareness of health issues), decreasing food expenditure patterns (more people are eating out), and tight government-drafted planning restrictions that limit new stores. Grocery retailers compete for market share by varying the prices and range of goods s old and the quality of customer service rendered at the point of sales. They also diversify into non-grocery products and services, shift to premium products, enlarge existing stores, and open high-street convenience stores to generate increased sales volumes and higher margins. Given the intense nature of business competition and their closeness to consumers, grocery retailers are doing all they can to manage their supply chains better, improving the sophistication of their sales information, distribution, and stock control systems for both own-label and private-label goods. We will write a custom essay sample on The Grocery Retailing Industry or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/page