25Stores to Visit Before You
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2255STORES TO VISIT BEFORE YOU die GREAT SUPERMARKETS, FROM AUSTIN TO AMSTERDAM By Pete Russell and Ron Margulis Rotterdam’s Markthal GOING ON A TRIP SOON? IF SO, SURELY YOU’LL tap water and a vegetable butcher. Co-op (Duchess Kate’s a customer). The retail- visit a few local food stores. Call it an Danmark uses the store to pilot products er’s newest outlet, opened in September, addiction or just part of the job, every- that later land in its other banners. Best may be its best. Situated in King’s Cross, one in grocery checks out stores when time to visit: weekdays at 2 p.m., when with its 67 acres of homes, of ces and they travel. So, which are the must-see Danish broadcaster TV2 does a cooking shops in central London, the store fea- stores? We surveyed a dozen global show from the store oor. tures a strong food-to-go offer, wine bar grocery magazine editors, food-retail ex- and a cooking school where the local perts and retail analysts from rms such MARKTHAL of ce crowd can take part in lunchtime as IGD and Kantar. Here are 25 stores for Rotterdam, the Netherlands cooking sessions. All in all, a superb job your bucket list. None of the world’s public markets is as “demonstrating Waitrose’s quality cre- bold as the horseshoe-shaped Markthal. dentials,” notes Gavin Rothwell, retail Opened two years ago, it’s been dubbed insight manager at IGD. S EUROPE N the “Sistine Chapel of produce.” Massive A M E L L MAD COOPERATIVET images of fruit tumble across a vaulted ALBERT HEIJN XL O H M (CENTRAL STATION) ceiling overlooking 96 food stalls. The Eindhoven, the Netherlands I W ; G I Copenhagen, Denmark 11-storey structure houses more than If this store were a movie, critics would I F E N Rail travellers won’t have trouble nd- 200 apartments, whose residents simply give it two thumbs up. “Among the ve I S ; O ing this 8,600-sq.-ft. shop. It’s inside go downstairs to shop. best supermarkets currently trading in R R O P Copenhagen’s Central Station mall. Europe,” Kantar Retail analyst Bryan L E H C Opened last March by Co-op Danmark, (KING’S CROSS) Roberts crowed after a tour. Opened I WAITROSE M : S its design mixes neon lights, marble London, England last February by big Dutch grocer Albert E G A M I walls and industrial shelves. Selection Britain’s upscale grocer Waitrose is be- Heijn, merchandising units are a combi- Y T T E includes healthy and organic meals, free loved by average blokes and royals alike nation of wood frames and barnboard, G 18 January/February 2016 Canadian Grocer cgro-08-Feature-25 Stores [Print].indd 18 15-12-04 1:01 PM while neon lights pull the eye to key will get you into Tesco Erith. It’s a “dark neat twist: a coffee stand where baristas departments such as cheese and a tapas store” used by Britain’s largest grocer to expertly quiz customers about their java bar. The effect is traditional and modern fulfil online orders–up to 4,000 a day quaffing preferences, then mix coffee at the same time. Or, as Roberts notes, thanks to robots that pick items, then beans for a unique sample that can then “nearly flawless.” whiz them in totes down conveyor belts. be purchased, whole bean or ground. Human pickers still help in the frozen CRU section. It’s the Willy Wonka of super- SPINNEYS, Beirut, Lebanon Overijse, Belgium markets: fascinating, but a little terrify- Many grocers provide shoppers with a Belgian grocer Colruyt is a soft discount- ing to think of as the future of food. place to sit and relax. Spinneys’ Achra- er, known for austere environments and fieh Street store goes one better, offering low prices. So big surprise last year when its top loyalty cardholders a private AFRICA/MIDDLE EAST it unveiled Cru, dedicated to fresh food, lounge to enjoy a coffee, read the paper coffee, wine and craft-food vendors. Cru WOOLWORTHS WATERSTONE or watch TV while their purchases are (“raw” in French) resembles a covered Somerset West, South Africa put together. Founded by a British army market with locally baked breads and Fifty kilometres from Cape Town, Wa- officer stationed in Egypt in the 1920s, produce that varies with the season. But terstone is Woolworths’ flagship store Spinneys bills itself as the largest retailer it’s not all old school. Tablets on shop- and winner of the 2014 best world- in the Middle East and North Africa. The ping carts let customers scan and pay. wide supermarket design award by the Achrafieh store covers Association of Retail Environments. 53,000 sq. ft. on three Clockwise from top: Mad INTERSPAR HOFLADEN (SILLPARK) Among the standout features: a 107-foot floors with groceries, Cooperativet; Innsbruck, Austria entryway, store-within-a-store setup and household appliances, Waitrose; Attempts to reinvent the staid European rustic display units of reclaimed wood. A wine and cigars. Albert Heijn XL hypermarket have been mixed. Tesco’s eatery-laden Extra, in Watford, England, got mostly positive reviews. Carrefour’s Lite Brite-inspired Planet in France EUR floundered. Watford is worth a look- see, but we also recommend Interspar Austria’s first crack at hypermarket reinvention in 17 years. Opened in Innsbruck in October, the 38,000-sq.-ft. store has a conventional supermarket feel, plus enticing extras such as a 1,000- item spice department, including some from Kloster Gut Aich, a famed Austrian monastery. The store’s farm shop carries products from Innsbruck-area vendors. JUMBO FOODMARKT Breda & Amsterdam, the Netherlands To hear the experts talk, you’re best to book a flight right now to see Jumbo Foodmarkt, either in Breda or Amster- dam. It contains “the best foodservice counters in the history of modern retailing,” says Kantar’s Roberts, with superb merchandising, adjacencies and graphics throughout. Amid a fixture of tomatoes, for instance, Roberts found chilled mozzarella. In the centre store, S N A yellow goalposts around sections of M E L L O aisle fixtures drew customers closer. All H M I this from a chain that only a few years W ; G I I ago was known as a mediocre, everyday F E N I low-price player with 3% Dutch food S ; O R retail market share. Today, Jumbo is the R O P L country’s second largest with 14%. E H C I M : S E , London, England G TESCO ERITH A M I A visit to any store on this list is as easy Y T T E G as a plane ticket and passport. Neither January/February 2016 Canadian Grocer 19 cgro-08-Feature-25 Stores [Print].indd 19 15-12-04 1:01 PM USA CAN ASIA past few years at guring out how to put OLE Left: Loblaw’s CANADA stores into tight urban spaces. It s brilliant Shanghai, China MLG eatery; beer time at Whole LOBLAWS (MAPLE LEAF GARDENS) basement Maple Leaf Square store, which It was just a few Foods Austin; Ole Toronto opened in 2010, had to contend with years ago that China food hall in China Make no mistake, Loblaw’s comeback 60 pillars supporting the tower above. surpassed the U.S. after a decade of mediocrity starts with More recently, a Market store was neatly as the world’s biggest grocery market. this store’s delightfully messy mix of squeezed into Imperial Oil’s former head As China’s middle class grows, it’ll be hot-food stations, deli, patisserie and of ce. Longo’s best attempt at urban ac- fascinating to watch the local super- more amid colourfully painted walls and commodation is its Leaside store, situated market scene develop. One store to memorabilia from the Gardens days as in an old locomotive repair shop. The check out is CR Vanguard’s Ole, with a hockey shrine. Many elements, from retailer made the most of the red-brick its outstanding store design, colourful bold signs to the radiant orange oor, building with 40-foot-high ceilings. decor and eye-catching food photos. The have since gone into other Loblaws, but Don’t forget to go make the trip up to selection focuses on brands from around this one, opened in 2011, is the master- the mezzanine, where a licensed Longo’s the world. New avours are strongly piece. A minor miracle: there’s finally a restaurant awaits. promoted within and there’s an in-store winner in Maple Leaf Gardens. bakery, a wine vault and demonstration kitchen used on weekends to display ASIA IGA DES SOURCES products to shoppers. Cap Rouge, Que. JASON’S (ORCHARD) Is it a museum or a supermarket? Hard Singapore CENTRAL FOOD HALL to tell. The 43,000-sq.-ft. store’s impos- Jason’s is a one-off store by owner Dairy (CHIDLOM) ing façade of grey stone and light- Farm aimed at selling gourmet prod- Bangkok, Thailand R A C U stained pine is meant to blend in with ucts. “Knockout counters and a wide Central Food Hall is a delightful mix of C A E D the surrounding forest. Inside, abstract range of premium grocery products are international avours and brands that’s O A P art hangs on walls and from the ceiling available,” notes Nick Miles, head of located in the centre of Bangkok. The O T U N while stylish light fixtures are custom- Asia-Paci c, international research at food hall regularly runs international I M ; E ized for each department.