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This case study of the strategy of the U.S. grocery chain, ALDI, shows how businesses can use a systematic process to develop and iteratively refine the core strategy powering their business model.”

The case describes how ALDI, the upstart entrant established a foothold, a strategy stumble by Walmart, the market leader, provided the newcomer with an attractive opportunity to expand its competitive reach into more upscale neighborhoods.

Aldi is continuing to build a business model that allowes it to price its products at an order of magnitude below other grocers and also develop a reputation for private label quality that has ultimately enabled it to challenge leading discount grocers.

Some analysts expect a significant number of supermarket war casualties–more grocery store bankruptcies and liquidations over the next few years.

ALDI has begun a campaign to offer its customers more value at even lower prices. Other foreign entrants sense their moment has arrived to leap into the fray now that giant Walmart finally seems open to attack. Amazon is experimenting with grocery selling. Recent chain store news headlines tell the breaking story: “Supermarket Wars!”

This paper focuses on the role of manufacturer brands for resellers within retail channels. This topic is important because of the strategic value of manufacturer brands and the increasing influence of resellers within channels of distribution. Much of the branding research emphasizes a customer-brand knowledge perspective; however, emerging perspectives suggest that brands are also relevant to other stakeholders including resellers. In contrast, channels research recognizes the manufacturer sources of market power, but does not consider the impact of manufacturer “push and pull” strategies within channels. Existing theoretical frameworks, therefore, do not address the reseller perspective of the brand. As a result, the research approach is a multi-method design, consisting of two phases. The first phase involves in-depth interviews, allowing the development of a conceptual framework. In the second phase, a survey of supermarket buyers on brands in several product categories tests this framework. Structural equation modeling analyzes the survey responses and tests the hypotheses. The structural model shows very good fit to the data with good construct validity, reliability, and stability. The findings show that manufacturer support, brand equity, and customer demand reflect the manufacturer brand benefits to resellers. A key contribution of this research is the development of a validated scale on manufacturer brand benefits from the point of view of a reseller. This research shows that the resources that relate to the brand, not just the brand name itself, create value for resellers in channel relationships.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether the influence of shopping experience on consumer satisfaction shown in non‐food retail sectors has a similar effect in food retailing, specifically with large‐scale grocery retailers. The paper also investigates differences in shopping experience and its effect across different retail settings.

An empirical study of a customer satisfaction database combining satisfaction with store attributes across several large‐scale grocery retailers in the specialty, traditional, and discount sectors. Hierarchal regression is used to meaure the effect of a composite shopping experience index on overall satisfaction, after controlling for basic economic factors of food shopping such as product quality, assortment, availability, and prices.

There was support for three hypotheses, suggesting that: food shopping experience effects overall consumer satisfaction for grocery retailers; shopping experience varies across different grocery retail settings; and the effect of food shopping experience on consumer satisfaction varies across grocery retail settings.

Data report a single point in time and aggregate measures. Guidance is provided for food retailers wanting to further develop shopping experience to impact consumer satisfaction.

The paper gives important empirical support for the influence of shopping experience on customer satisfaction for large‐scale grocery retailers and across various retail settings.

Little has been written about the evaluative aspects of new product decisions within the broad reseller market. Reports a study, prior to which no known information existed about New Zealand retail grocery buyers′ evaluations of new products, procedures followed or importance attached to various criteria as pertaining acceptance or rejection decisions. Fourteen in‐depth interviews with management and buyers, and a subsequent mail questionnaire to 47 potential respondents involving their assessment of the importance attached to criteria in accept or reject decisions were undertaken. Results suggest the application of both “hard” and “soft” core sets of criteria which embody the evaluation of product, supplier and presenter. These criteria are applied to as many as 2,000 products per year, most of which are at the “duplication” end of the new product continuum. Ranks of criteria, and hence assumed central importance, vary depending on the treatment applied, though not a great deal of variation between buyers is suggested. While this may be the case, the company one represents and the use or non‐use of a ranging committee seemingly play a determining influence.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role that retailers play in innovation in the food sector.

Analysis is based on interviews with retailers and food suppliers from Belgium, Denmark and the UK.

The findings show that in different ways retailers act both as caretakers of consumer interests and as barriers to innovation. Retailers are not interested in new technologies per se, but whether new technologies and the products made using them provide clearly identifiable benefits to consumers. These products must carry minimum risk for the retailer and there is a clear need for benefits to be communicated in commercial rather than technological terms to both retailers and consumers.

The main limitation is that the study is based on interviews with retailers and suppliers in three countries.

Food suppliers developing new products based on novel technologies need to identity and communicate clear benefits to consumers if their products are to be adopted by grocery retailers.

This paper extends the understanding of the important role that retailers play in the diffusion of new innovative food products, services and technologies to consumers.

This paper presents a novel analysis of the UK food supply chains (FSC) within selected food product categories to reveal the drivers and changing patterns of the UK FSC structures. It demonstrates how the dynamics of different food sectors are changing and how structural changes are affecting the activities of actors within the FSC – an area which is not significantly addressed in the academic literature.

The study uses a sector mapping approach to analyse food product supply chains, associated industrial actors and institutional support players. Data sources include publicly available industrial reports, literature reviews and case studies involving semi‐structured interviews with key industrial players. The methodology involved an examination of relevant literature and government statistics to inform a set of “basic” maps detailing the structure of the UK FSC. Key actors were subsequently identified and interviewed and the data were combined with the “basic” maps to create a set of “current” maps of the structure of the UK FSC. A textual analysis of the data from interviews was then used to identify key trends and structural changes occurring within the UK FSC. These changes were used to inform a set of “future” UK FSC maps. Finally, the data from the interviews was analysed to identify key trends in UK FSC.

Use of a novel approach establishes the linkage between primary stakeholders, secondary stakeholders, supply‐chain processes, value chain activities and key industrial players in three product categories – dairy, fruit and vegetables and staples. Key findings include trends of consolidation of upstream actors, retailers moving into processing, Changing product architecture, demand for higher visibility and greater visibility driven by consumer demand for provenance.

This paper brings together fragmented literature from multiple sources, government statistics and data from key actors in the UK FSC to form a picture of the structure of the UK FSC. Where before, literature on the structure of the UK FSC was fragmented and outdated, this paper contains an up‐to‐date model of the current structure of the UK FSC that has been validated in accordance with expert opinion. Furthermore, this paper shows how the dynamics of different food sectors are changing and how structural changes are affecting the activities of actors within the FSC.

Examines the key criteria in choice of suppliers in the grocery trade. Identifies factors highlighted by existing studies – inter alia consumer value, tactical considerations, introductory marketing, prices and economic conditions and distribution channel requirements. Uses a survey of cash & carry and multiple buyers and the example of potato crisps as a basis for the article. Outlines the stages of the postal survey. Analyses results of questions asked in the survey – inter alia who makes the buying decision, reasons for stocking more than one brand, and reasons for choosing a particular supplier. Concludes that manufacturers must clearly identify where the supplier decision is made, and suppliers must continually monitor satisfaction amongst customers in a highly competitive market.

Presents a case on Danish potted plants distribution. The company, GASA‐Group Denmark, is the dominating distributor of Danish potted plants to all of Europe with a total turnover of approximately DKK2.8 billion. The company’s management is planning a long‐term strategy, and the paper describes the strategic challenges to be met, and the available basis for decision. As the company is owned by the Danish market gardeners, it is important that the company decides whether or not to release itself from this group of suppliers. Another important problem is if the company’s basis of existence will decrease because of the customers’ and the suppliers’ structural development

Innovative products usually experience highly unpredictable and variable demand. This is especially valid for the volatile and seasonal toy industry, which produces high obsolete inventory, lost sales and markdown. In such a volatile industry, what supply chain management (SCM) practices are applicable and effective? This study seeks to explore SCM practices, and identify practical and theoretical gaps in toy supply chains.

This article includes a longitudinal and in‐depth case study during the past year in an international toy manufacturer, which includes qualitative semi‐structured interviews and questionnaire with 11 main European toy retailers.

The study concludes that there are three main SCM practices for toy retailers in terms of ordering behaviours (one‐off, JIT, and mixed model), and one dominated SCM practice for toy manufacturers (traditional mass‐production or push‐models). These low‐responsive practices in the toy supply chain are not caused only by slow knowledge diffusion. SCM know‐how is not yet capable of managing such levels of volatility and seasonality. Therefore, explanations of these theoretical gaps and what new theories are required for such extreme volatility and seasonality are proposed.

It reveals actual SCM practices in a volatile and seasonal supply chain, such that theoretical and practical gaps are identified. Also, it proposes a model to match manufacturing SCM‐practices with retailer SCM‐practices.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of the introduction of private label (PL) foods upon the governance of the food supply chains.

The authors conducted a multi-case study research examining the launch and development of PL cheeses in four large national-wide retail chains. The paper focused on the category of Products of Designated Origin (PDO) cheeses, including the popular feta cheese. Data collection involved semi-structured interviews and secondary sources of information. Data analysis involved single-case and within-case analyses.

There is a strong motive to launch and develop PL cheeses due to increasing consumer demand. Retailers choose suppliers based on criteria such as: compliance to quality assurance standards, modernisation of processing facilities, implementation of legislation, credibility, experience, and reputation. Retailers use contracts and prefer small suppliers than medium-sized companies. Supply chain governance turns from market to hierarchy status, which performs better in terms of supply chain cost, food quality, and consumer satisfaction. The structure of food industry is also affected by pressure put on medium-sized food companies.

The paper is based on a multiple case study design that does not provide static generalisations, yet it offers a stepping stone to building new theory about supply chain governance, how it evolves and its effects on supply chain performance.

The introduction of PL cheeses favours small and dynamic cheese processing units willing to adopt retailer standards and prices over larger units, which poses a real threat to the survival of regional-wide food companies.

Few studies have examined how supply chain governance evolves and what triggers a change in governance structures.