...Market Share Shift Intensifies: The shift in grocery market share from traditional supermarkets toward discounters, wholesale clubs and specialty formats has been ongoing for the last two decades. It will likely intensify over the next five years as discounters and specialty natural/organic formats continue to expand, while traditional supermarkets and independents see a reduction in store count. Consumers' willingness to split their shopping across formats will perpetuate this trend and reward retailers with the best prices/products. Competition Drives Supermarket Consolidation: Significant mergers among some of the largest supermarket chains have been driven by competitive pressures. The acquisition by a Cerberus-led consortium (Albertsons Companies Inc. [ACI]) of five grocery banners from SUPERVALU Inc. in 2013, and its acquisition of Safeway in early 2015 leave ACI as a major supermarket operator in the western U.S. Similarly, the pending merger of Royal Ahold (Ahold) and Delhaize Group...
