Target Picks Up Incremental Market Share

Target Corp. has been able to increase its share of grocery sales by as much as three percentage points in some markets through the rollout of its PFresh remodels in 2011, according to the new market-share data from Metro Market Studies, Tucson, Ariz.

The data examine 10 markets in which Target added the most PFresh remodels in 2011, from Providence, R.I., where the company revamped nine stores to include the expanded grocery offering, to Seattle, where Target went from zero to 25 PFresh locations in the past year, picking up 2.1% of the grocery market.

The impact on other food retailers is difficult to ascertain from the data, and in many cases the traditional supermarket operators have been losing share to a variety of nontraditional operators, from Costco Wholesale Corp. to Whole Foods Market.

The data show Target moving up in the grocery-market-share ranking in every one of the 10 markets examined.

• Seattle (King, Pierce, Snohomish counties): Target made its debut on the Metro Market Studies grocery-share list this year as No. 12, with a 2.1% share. It operates 25 PFresh locations and no SuperTargets.

Kroger, with both its Quality Food Center banner and its Fred Meyer supercenters, is No. 1 in the Seattle market with 92 stores and a 23.8% share combined  — 14.1% for QFC and 9.7% for Fred Meyer. That compared with 14.8% for QFC in 2011 and 9.5% for Fred Meyer a year ago.

Safeway is the No. 2 player in the market, with 89 locations and 21.4% of the market, down from 22.4% a year ago, followed by Costco (13 stores, 11.8% share, vs. 11.7% in 2011), and then Supervalu’s Albertsons banner, with 40 stores and an 8% share, down from 8.3%.

• New York (Bronx, Kings, Nassau, New York, Putnam, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk, Westchester, Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union and Pike counties): Target nearly doubled the number of PFresh locations in this market — which includes nearly 19 million consumers — in the past year, rising to No. 16 in the ranking, from No. 35 a year ago. Its share grew to 1.7%, from 0.6%, with 51 PFresh locations vs. 28 locations in 2011.

Impact of Target PFresh Seen as Minimal

Despite closing a number of stores and losing 3.1 percentage points in market share, A&P and Pathmark together captured the most share in this market with 17.3%. Ahold’s Stop & Shop was close behind, with 135 stores and a 15.4% share, vs. 123 stores and a 13.8% share a year ago. Wakefern operators collectively (not counting non-ShopRite stores supplied by Wakefern) followed, with 14.3% of the grocery market.

• Phoenix (Maricopa, Pinal counties): Target already operated seven SuperTargets and captured a 1.7% grocery market share in 2011, but with 23 new PFresh stores, the company increased its share to 3.6%.

Kroger’s Fry’s banner was the clear leader with 91 stores and 26.4% share, even with a year ago, while Wal-Mart Stores, No. 2 in the market, slid to 17.8% share, from 18.3% after closing four small-format Marketside stores.

• Riverside/San Bernardino: Target jumped from No. 12 in the market a year ago with a 2% share to No. 8 in 2012 with a 4.5% share. It added 23 more PFresh locations to the one PFresh and six SuperTargets it had in the market in 2011.

Stater Bros. is far and away the market leader, with a 25.4% share and 98 stores, down from 27.4% and 100 stores a year ago. Kroger’s Ralphs and Food 4 Less combine for 55 stores and 12.5% share, down from 13.7% a year ago, while Costco gained some share at No. 3, with 10.7% vs. 10.5% in 2011. Albertsons captured 9.4%, down from 10.1% in 2011, and Safeway had 6.8% in 2012, down from 7.3% in 2011.

• St. Louis (St. Louis city and county, Bond, Calhoun, Clinton, Jersey, Madison, Macoupin, Monroe, St. Clair, Crawford, Franklin, Jefferson, Lincoln, St. Charles, Warren and Washington counties): Target debuted on the grocery market-share list at No. 8 with 22 PFresh stores and 3.2% share.

Market leaders are Schnuck Markets with 66 stores and 27.3% share, vs. 28.4% in 2011; and Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club combined with 23.6% share in 2012, vs. 23.3% in 2011.

• Houston (Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Brand, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, San Jacinto and Waller counties): Target moved up one spot in the grocery-share rankings, from No. 8 to No. 7, and increased its market share to 4.7%, vs. 3.2% in 2011. It already had 13 SuperTargets and one PFresh in the market, and added another 19 PFresh stores in the last year.

Target Executives Happy With PFresh Performance

Wal-Mart was No. 1 with 25.8% of the market (including Sam’s Club, up from 25.6% a year ago), followed by Kroger at 20.3%, vs. 21.2% in 2011; and H.E. Butt Grocery Co., with 19.9% in 2012 vs. 19% in 2011.

• Boston (Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk, Plymouth, Suffolk, Rockingham, Strafford counties): Target added 14 PFresh remodels, for a total of 22, to boost its market share to 2% here, up from 0.5% in 2011.

Stop & Shop is the market leader with 72 stores and a 23% share — the same as in 2011 — followed by DeMoulas Market Basket, which jumped to No. 2 with 44 stores and a flat 17.2% share, slipping past Supervalu’s Shaw’s and Star Market chains, which have 70 stores and 16.7% share, vs. an 18.2% share in 2011.

• Los Angeles (Los Angeles, Orange counties): Target boosted its market share to 3.5%, from 2.1% in 2011, with the addition of 12 PFresh locations, on top of 72 it already operated. It also has a SuperTarget in the market.

Kroger’s Ralphs and Food 4 Less banners, despite losing some share in the market, remained No. 1 with 20.6% share, vs. 21.5% a year ago. Safeway (Vons) and Albertsons also saw shares decline, from 12.7% to 11.5% for Vons and from 9.7% to 9% for Albertsons.

• Milwaukee (Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Washington and Waukesha counties): Target added 12 PFresh remodels here, for a total of 12, to boost its market share to 3.4%, vs. 0.4% a year ago.

Market leaders are Pick ’n Save, operated by Roundy’s Supermarkets, with 60 stores and 49.2% share, vs. 54.7% a year ago; and Wal-Mart/Sam’s Club, with 13%, vs. 13.6% in 2011.

• Providence, R.I. (Bristol, Mass.; Bristol, R.I.; Kent; Newport; Providence; and Washington counties): Target debuted on the grocery-share list at No. 10 with nine new PFresh remodels and 2.5% share.

Stop & Shop is the leader with 40 stores and 37.7% share, down from 38.8%; followed by Shaw’s, with 19 stores and 14.9% share, down from 16.1%.