Page 24 - ARUBA TODAY

Thursday 31 augusT 2017 BUSINESS
A24

What grocery shoppers want: Low prices, one-stop shopping

By JOSEPH PISANI week say what they want not plan to “lose on price.” Walmart, the country’s ers said the nearest Whole
AP Business Writer most of all is lower prices Target is spending billions largest grocer, is making it Foods was too far away to
NEW YORK (AP) — Don- and one-stop shopping. to remodel its stores and easier for customers to or- be a frequent stop.
na Brown visited a Whole Stores are competing highlight its grocery sec- der groceries online and And while other supermar-
Foods for the first time in kets have added aisles of
at least five months with organic and natural prod-
one goal: see how much ucts to mimic Whole Foods,
Amazon had cut prices. the chain still doesn’t sell
She did buy almond milk, some consumer favorites
yogurt and lunch meat, like Diet Coke, Bounty tow-
but doesn’t plan to quit els or other brands people
her usual grocers, Walmart want.
and HEB, where she says Brown said the “chichi
she finds bigger selections organic stuff” at Whole
and lower prices. Foods can’t replace her
“I am a comparison shop- Clairol hair color or allergy
per,” says Brown, a part- medicine.
time administrative assis- “I’m going to gravitate to
tant in Austin, Texas. Walmart,” she said.
Amazon made a splash Gail Johnson, a pharmacy
right away as the new technician from Cleve-
owner of Whole Foods, land, has never been to a
slashing prices Monday Whole Foods and doesn’t
on baby kale, avocados plan to, even after hearing
and ground beef. That about the price cuts.
attracted some custom- “Organic food is real high
ers, but whether shoppers expensive, but here there’s
who’ve found cheaper al- In this Monday, Aug. 28, 2017 photo, a man shops for avocados at a Whole Foods Market, in New regular food,” Johnson
ternatives will come back, York. The splashy price cuts Amazon made as the new owner of Whole Foods attracted some curi- said while browsing a
or those who never visited ous customers. But whether shoppers who found cheaper alternatives to Whole Foods will come movie rental kiosk near
will give Whole Foods a try, back, or those who never visited will give them a try, may help determine what kind of effect the the Walmart entrance.
deal has on how and where people do their grocery shopping.
may help determine what (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan) “They’ve got movies, li-
kind of effect the block- quor, beer, ice cream;
buster deal has on how fiercely to attract them. tion. Newer entrants from pick them up at the store. anything you want.”
people get their groceries. Traditional supermarket Europe, such as discount- Some shoppers say they’re Analysts at Citi and JPM-
Shoppers who talked with chain Kroger stressed ear- ers Aldi and Lidl, are open- concerned with Amazon’s organ Chase say they do
The Associated Press this lier this year that it does ing more U.S. stores. And growing power, while oth- expect the price cuts at
Whole Foods to make the
Brown-Forman posts sharp rise in 1Q profit chain more competitive
with rivals and attract more
shoppers.
By BRUCE SCHREINER Foreign markets account And Amazon said the
Associated Press for slightly more than half moves this week were just
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — of the company’s sales. the beginning. It expects to
Brown-Forman Corp. said The company also was lower prices on more items
Wednesday its first-quarter moving beyond difficult and will offer discounts to
net income rose sharply year-over-year compari- members of its $99-a-year
as the maker of Jack Dan- sons that had been influ- Prime program. More price
iel’s Tennessee Whiskey re- enced by its sale of the cuts may also help shake
ported strong sales growth Southern Comfort and Tua- the grocer’s “Whole Pay-
across its broad portfolio of ca brands to Sazerac. check” image.
brands. Brown-Forman reported Knocking a few cents
Buoyed by more favorable net income of $178 million, off some items won’t at-
foreign exchange trends, or 46 cents per share, in tract new customers since
the Louisville, Kentucky, A bartender begins to pour a drink from a bottle of Jack Daniels the first quarter ending July Whole Foods is known to
company raised its full- at a bar in San Francisco. Brown-Forman Corp. said Wednes- 31. That’s compared with be expensive, said Carol
year earnings-per-share day, Aug. 30, 2017, its first-quarter net income rose sharply as $144 million, or 36 cents per Major, a retired dental as-
projection to a range of the maker of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey reported strong share, a year ago. sistant who was sitting out-
$1.85 to $1.95. It reaffirmed sales growth across its broad portfolio of brands. Quarterly net sales minus side a Trader Joe’s in Phila-
its outlook for underlying (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma) excise taxes rose 9 per- delphia with two shopping
operating income growth invest against this oppor- est emerging markets, the cent, to $723 million. bags.
of 6 percent to 8 percent. tunity with ever-improving company said. Those sales The company pointed to She likes both stores, but
The growth was driven by prioritization, competitive- were flat in developed strong sales for many core “people who shop (at
continued gains for Jack ness, effectiveness and ef- markets outside the U.S. brands. Whole Foods) aren’t too
Daniel’s products, along ficiency,” said CEO Paul The strong dollar had been Brown-Forman also ben- worried about prices,” she
with sales growth for the Varga. a drag on Brown-Forman’s efited from strong growth said.
company’s key bourbon, Underlying net sales grew earnings in recent quar- among its super- and ultra- Rachel Manders, a stay-at-
tequila and vodka brands. by 5 percent in the U.S., ters, but the company said premium whiskey brands, home mom who was at a
“We continue to foresee while those sales surged Wednesday it benefited including Woodford Re- Whole Foods in University
growth potential for our by 19 percent in emerging from more stable foreign serve, Jack Daniel’s Single Heights, Ohio, on Monday,
brands, most notably in markets, led by double- exchange that spurred Barrel and Gentleman likes to stock up on pro-
American whiskey, and digit increases in Mexico improving consumer de- Jack. Those brands fetch duce there but goes else-
accordingly, we intend to and Poland, its two larg- mand in the first quarter. higher prices. q where for other goods.q