Expert predicts grocery prices will drop with addition of Wal-Mart Supercenters
By KATHERINE ROSENBERG
Editor
With the planned introduction of two more WinCos, five Wal-Mart Supercenters, a SuperTarget and three Fresh and Easy Neighborhood Markets — and little population growth predicted — competition between Victor Valley grocery stores is getting intense.
“I suspect that we will see in the upcoming two to three years a very serious grocery store war,” said Joseph Brady, High Desert director of the commercial real estate group Colliers International Bradco.
But Ernie Gommel, and his daughter, Linda, of the Lucerne Valley Market and Hardware store suggest that while this type of pricing war can and does affect their store, at issue is much more than finances — it is the idea of community.
“(The store) is not economically viable, when assessed by conventional standards. It requires dedication of those who run it together with support from the community, based on the self-interest of the residents and their appreciation of the service,” Ernie Gommel wrote.
That unique position does not mean that the store will not be affected by the ever-increasing competition, Linda Gommel says.
“Prior to Winco, any place that Stater and Food 4 Less exist in reasonable proximity is already in a state of perennial price war. Winco has affected this to some degree, but a lasting effect remains to be seen. They don't accept credit cards. People have to bag their own groceries. It's laid out like a warehouse store. Some people don't care for those things and will return to their comfort zone. But ‘some people’ may not be of sufficient numbers for survival of any store, especially one like ours at the end of the line.”
Further, with the addition of the Wal-Mart Supercenters, spokesman John Mendez said, High Desert residents can expect to see prices drop at other major grocery stores.
“When you bring a Wal-Mart Supercenter into the equation, we introduce competition into that sphere,” Mendez said, describing what has come to be known as the “Wal-Mart effect.”
This includes affecting existing chain stores such as Vons, Albertsons and Stater Bros., which has the highest number of local stores, with seven in the Victor Valley. And of course, it affects the community store.
“Yes, the increased competition of Winco and Super WalMart erodes Lucerne Valley Market and Hardware's sales as locals respond to the siren call of ‘cheaper.’ Some use this store when convenient to them, forgetting that their support is needed to keep the store here,” Linda Gommel wrote.
And that support goes both ways, while community-oriented stores like the market tend to give back more to local residents, Ernie Gommel said.
“One of the great things about America is that the customer will always decide who the winner’s going to be,” Joseph Brady said, adding, ““Hopefully, at the end of the day, the consumer is the one that wins.”
To that, Ernie Gommel underscored his point of how chains treat people and how it is done in a small community: “We here at our store do not have ‘consumers.’ We have customers. A ‘consumer’ is an object. A ‘customer’ is a person.”