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Originally Posted by Simplicity
The situation isn't quite as dire as Riverman is making it out to be, but there is nothing lower-margin than the grocery business. When you're operating at 3-4%, all theft matters. It's the reason there aren't any convenience stores left in the inner city.
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What do you mean? There are many of them, ranging from 7-Elevens/Macs, to independents, to corner store type operations.
For all the talk you hear on CBC about downtown Winnipeg being a food desert, I'd say it's actually reasonably well covered by food stores ranging from supermarkets to corner stores. There is only IGA, Giant Tiger and a few small (but still useful) grocers right downtown, but there are several larger retailers that are on the periphery of downtown and at least one is within walking distance for many downtown residents... like Safeway in Osborne Village and on Ellice, Young's Foods, Extra Foods on Marion, and soon No Frills.
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And truthfully, the grocery market has changed in the past couple of years. Things have really tightened up on account of Wal-Mart, Giant Tiger, and the new Sobey's purchase of Safeway. In any case, I'll be really surprised to see how a discount grocer in an low income neighbourhood is able to swing it in this new super low margin reality...
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Let's not forget Notre Dame is a high traffic route and there are many people living in the area. Extra Foods did a pretty lousy job of reminding people it was there. Even a slight bit of No Frills marketing will make an impact.
As for the shoplifting, surely there must be a plan in place to deal with it. The old Extra Foods always had one uniformed security guard in view... maybe No Frills will step it up.