Eurofresh Beats Recession With Variety

ROSEANNE HARPER

TINLEY PARK, Ill. – Eurofresh Market here met hard times head on with changes that actually brought more customers into its stores, officials told SN.

The two-unit independent prides itself both on the freshness and quality of its produce, and the immensity of its selection of imported goods. When other retailers were hunkering down, Eurofresh added variety in every department. The only thing it cut was its 68-foot dry grocery aisles.

“We made aisle breaks to open up [a view of ] the in-store bakery,” said Frank Fortini, manager of the company’s 62,000-square-foot store here. “Shorter aisles also made shopping easier, and gave us more ends for displays. We noticed that traffic went up, and so did sales."

Fortini also said the company made sure there were no out-of-stocks, and it ramped up customer service.

“We watched the shelves closely and we paid a lot of attention to our customers, encouraging associates to interact with them.”

Building sales during the recession was no mean feat for the independent, in a market that has the likes of Aldi, Super Wal-Mart, Super Kmart, Super Target, Meijer, and more than one Jewel store very close by.

“We have at least 10 big competitors within two miles of us,” Fortini said. For more on Eurofresh’s success story, check out the Fresh Market section of the 9/27 issue of Supermarket News.