By Kevin Williams
I wasn't in Connellsville to grocery shop, but whenever I travel, I like going into grocery stores. Some of you know, I was in the grocery business for several turns 15 - 20 years ago. I think the grocery business is like the newspaper business, it never really leaves you. And just how I still enjoy going around and looking at different newspapers, I also enjoy scoping out different groceries.
Connellsville, Pennsylvania is like a lot of communities, it has a dingy, dumpy, scrappy grocery and an affluent, upscale, opulent grocery. Honestly, I like both. I love an underdog and having a smaller, scrappier competitor in town keeps the big grocery from selling $9 bags of chips and $10 cases of soda. Competition is healthy. And from my experiences with both upscale and underdogs, you can move a lot of product at the underdog store, you just have to price it right. A pie that sells at $7.99 at the upscale store will mold on the shelf at that price at the underdog. So there's more margins to work with at the upscale store.
So, let's take a photo tour that puts into sharp relief the differences between the two types of stores. The first batch of photos is from CashSaver, a small chain of groceries and Martin's (not to be confused with Martin's Super Markets in Indiana). Martin's is part of the much larger Giant chain.
CASHSAVER
MARTIN'S
Across town, and seemingly a world away, is a more upscale grocery and the differences hit you right away.
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