If you have ever had the experience of taking a person from a third world country into a supermarket for their first visit, you probably have noticed the same reaction that I have: An expression of total wonderment. Coming from a country where an inquiry about bread might well be answered, “Sometime next week . . . maybe;” now confronted with as many as 60,000 items from which to choose could be nothing less than mind-boggling.
I have a friend, native Chinese, but in this country all her adult life, who was in charge of escorting a group of Chinese engineers to a supermarket who were in the United States for training. She told me that she had a very hard time convincing them that it was all right to put whatever they wanted in the shopping cart. They kept looking around thinking someone must be checking on them.
To be sure, there are countless numbers in America who don’t have the means to walk through a supermarket and choose without being concerned about the cost. Too many of us, I suspect, take for granted that whatever we want will be available. And we can afford it. On rare occasions, there may be an empty spot on the shelves but it will be filled almost immediately.
Talk to the manager of such a store and you will be amazed at the sophistication of inventory control. Every item checked out sends a message to the storage area for re-supply of the shelf, then back to the warehouse for more delivery, then back to the wholesaler for replenishing, and probably to meat packer, for example, that another steak has been sold. I don’t think the cow in the feedlot gets a memo but soon enough that journey will begin.
When you look at the Sell By date, it’s easy to see how that works; some products, like paper towels, will last forever; canned goods may be useable for several years, but what about perishables? Dairy products, produce, fresh and processed meats and especially seafood require swift sales. Each of these has a very short shelf life. I have often wondered what happens when no one has bought them and it’s time for them to move out of the display case.
The manager at my store told me they build in a shrinkage factor of 5%. The meats are re-frozen and placed in food banks. The true perishables, such as produce, are sent to a professional composting company where they will eventually be returned to growing more produce, I imagine. Very little of food not purchased is wasted and recycling is a major part of non-edibles that are removed from the shelves.
Years ago, a purchasing agent for a major food chain told me that mispricing an item by a single penny would have major consequences on the bottom line of that product. My current manager said that is still true, that a penny profit on a dollar purchase is the goal. The volume is what makes the profit and it puts the small retail grocer at a major disadvantage. There are niche markets where customers are willing to pay a higher price for a variety of reasons, such a convenience store, neighborhood grocers who are friends, or specialty shops.
Recently food retailers have gone into the gasoline business and tie the cost of fuel at the pump to how much shopping you have done at their store. This has become a loss leader, a marketing term for getting someone through the door where they will buy something else. One recently constructed fuel station is now selling more than 140,000 gallons of gas a week. He did not tell me what percentage that would be of the store’s weekly revenue, but it is a lot. This particular station pumps more gas than any outlet in his multistate territory.
So here’s the take home message: The next time you walk into your favorite supermarket imagine the whole place had nothing but empty shelves. What would we do? No easy answers there!
Since that isn’t likely to happen an alternative thought would be expressing gratitude for all who worked together to make that store possible and having the money to access it. Not many in the world are so lucky.
