Nobody's Meal

摘要

Daniel wegman lives in fear. Thirty-nine of his 65 wegmans Food Markets are within 20 miles of a Wal-Mart Supercenter, now the nation's largest grocer. For every new Wal-Mart, typically two rival supermarkets will close. Worse, Wegmans is based in Rochester, N.Y., where food shoppers laid off by Kodak and Xerox are daily reminders of the fate of companies slow to react to changing markets. Wegman, 56, points to the Thai food station in his flagship Pittsford, N.Y. store. He says, "Unless you have a clear vision on how you are gonna compete with Wal-Mart, you need to get out of the business." Since 1992 the industry has suffered a net loss of 13,500 grocery stores, or 17% of the total, says Retail Forward, a consulting firm. But as casualties mount, Wegmans is expanding. Sales in 2003 will reach $3.3 billion, up 9% from a year earlier; Wegmans' operating earnings (before interest, taxes and depreciation) stand at 7.5% of revenues, compared with an industry average of 5%.