The very first Walmart supercenter opened near St. Louis in 1988 and the mega-retailer maintains a huge Midwest footprint, including the increasingly produce centric Sam’s Club format. Costco competes with Sam’s in our featured cities—Cleveland, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, St. Louis, and Des Moines—and Minneapolis-based Target is increasing fresh offerings here as well.
Other retailers like Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods are present throughout the Midwest, while Michigan-based Meijer is in the Ohio, Wisconsin, and Indiana markets and expanding its footprint. The chain opened its twelfth Indianapolis supercenter in June, where the competition continues to heat up.
Discounters and distribution centers create changes
Discounters, notably Aldi and St. Louis-based Save-A-Lot, are established in all six cities, and they compete with not only Walmart, but the smaller format stores. In St. Louis, Aldi stores move produce labeled by repackers from the city’s Produce Row.
Delivery to distribution centers, however, is more common these days.
“All of our retailers have always had distribution centers and our business model of supply chain management is that we deliver from the grower to the distribution center,” explains Capital City Fruit’s Comito.
Going head-to-head in the metros
In Iowa, employee-owned Hy-Vee is a dominant player in Des Moines, where it competes with Iowa-based Fareway Food Stores. Kroger is the major supermarket chain in Indianapolis, Cincinnati, and Milwaukee (under the Roundy’s banner), while Giant Eagle is established in Cleveland, competing with the local independent Heinen’s Fine Foods.
In 2015, Giant Eagle entered the crowded Indianapolis market; the city is already the headquarters of Marsh Super- markets, which operates under the Marsh and O’Malia’s banners in Indiana and Ohio, including Cincinnati.
Schnucks and Dierbergs go head-to-head in St. Louis, with both aggressively merchandising Midwest produce in-season. The Supervalu Shop’ n Save banner operates in the St. Louis metro area, and in both Missouri and Illinois.
Pricing and new options
Although our featured cities are all in the Midwest, they can vary greatly in demographics and income levels, which in turn affects the number and type of retailers who are attracted to the area.
