The San Diego Union Tribune reports that Southern California’s major grocery chains seem to be engaging in a price war, as “Ralphs and Walmart recently lowered everyday prices on food in response to increasing competition for grocery dollars.” That competition is coming from the likes of “Fresh & Easy, Northgate Gonzalez Markets and big-box ‘super stores’ (that) are making inroads against union chains like Ralphs, Vons and Albertsons.”
The story notes that “price wars have happened before, most recently in 2009, when Vons, Ralphs and — to a lesser degree — Albertsons slashed prices as discounters Walmart and Target began selling more food. That effort eventually fizzled out.”
The Union Tribune writes that “Walmart hasn’t issued a formal announcement about its price drops but at an industry conference in March, an executive shared the plans to lower prices on food and consumables, saying that consumers would come for the food then fan out to make purchases in other parts of the store.”
The story notes that “price wars have happened before, most recently in 2009, when Vons, Ralphs and — to a lesser degree — Albertsons slashed prices as discounters Walmart and Target began selling more food. That effort eventually fizzled out.”
The Union Tribune writes that “Walmart hasn’t issued a formal announcement about its price drops but at an industry conference in March, an executive shared the plans to lower prices on food and consumables, saying that consumers would come for the food then fan out to make purchases in other parts of the store.”
- KC's View:
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The problem with a price war, IMHO, is that really can be no winner. It is just everybody driving prices lower, undermining the notion of value in favor of the concept of cheap, with nobody achieving a meaningful and sustainable advantage.
