Martin’s Debut Boosts Competition
By BRITTANY HALE
HARRISONBURG, Va.-- For James Madison University (JMU) graduate student Rachel Perry, grocery shopping used to require stopping at three different stores: Kate’s Natural Products, Wal-Mart, and Food Lion or Kroger. Since she can't eat foods with the protein gluten, one-stop shopping has never been an option for Perry. Until now.
It’s been more than two months since Martin’s Food Market opened off East Market Street, and Perry, 22, welcomes being able to find all of her groceries in one store. “They have so many options for people like me who can only eat gluten-free foods, ” said Perry, who limits her diet because she has celiac disease. “ Now I can get my bread, pasta, vegetables and meat all in one place.”
But while customers may be enjoying the variety at Martin's, the competition is paying close attention to the new mega-store.
Stan Gains, manager at Kroger, said sales have been lower since Martin’s opened, even though the number of customers has stayed the same. “They’re [customers] just shopping at both places,” he said. “Martin’s is the new kid on the block and everyone wants to see what they have to offer.” Although Gains is not surprised by Martin’s popularity, he keeps an eye on the store. “[You] need to know what the competition is,” he said.
For many customers, store prices are the deciding factor when determining where to shop. “You have to price compare each item, not the whole store,” said Doris Slusser, who lives just outside of Harrisonburg. The variety of options at Martin’s keeps Slusser returning to the store. She said the produce, meat and natural food sections have the most choices. “There are many things at Martin’s you just can’t find anywhere else.”
Customers agree the colorful, welcoming and aesthetically-pleasing environment at Martin’s provides a more relaxing and stress-free shopping experience. “People shop here for quality and selection,” said John Price, store manager for Martin's.
Price, who worked for Giant Foods for more than 20 years, said the Martin’s in Harrisonburg is doing very well considering it’s a new store in a new market. According to Price, the closest Martin’s is in Staunton. When asked about the competition, Price seemed enthusiastic. “You have to break people’s habits,” he said. In any given town, shoppers become “loyal” to a certain grocery store and when a new store opens, breaking loyalties to older businesses is among the hardest tasks, he said.
But even though Martin’s wide selection seems as though it should worry smaller stores, Ralph Magri, owner of Kate’s Natural Products since 1993, said he's not concerned. While Martin's offers numerous natural foods, Magri's store makes most of its money from vitamins and dietary supplements, which, he said, few stores anywhere in Virginia provide. “Profit in this business is in the vitamins,” Magri said. So even though Kate's is located off University Boulevard, in the center of a town with numerous grocery stores, competition is not an issue, according to both Magri and his wife Maxine.