Fast Company Article - Melinda Re "Super Market", Fast Company, April 1999, Daniela Stallinger, pg. 190.

Please Don't Super-Size My Super Market!

At first glance this looks like an innocuous, feel-goody article about a new kind of grocery store. But as I read through the article, I got madder and madder. And even though you probably don't want to know why, I'm going to tell you.

Central Market, the main "character" of the article, is a radically different grocery store that has become one of the most popular tourist attractions in Austin, Texas. This 63,000-square-foot monstrosity boasts that it's not just the size, but the "shopping experience" that sets this store apart from most markets. At Central Market, they making coming to the store an experience that's both educational and entertaining.

There are five elements that define what makes Central Market a store that will "make your spirit soar". The first is the FAMILY EXPERIENCE. Children are made a part of the supermarket experience. Each child receives a balloon. There is a children's fruit counter where 25 cents buys them any fruit they want. There are also birthday parties, pizza baking and vegetable printmaking.

The EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE is the second element. This store has a cooking class and for just $35, students in the class shop the store for ingredients and then take them upstairs to learn how to prepare an eight-course meal for 20.

The store focuses on creating experiences using "foodies" - employees that walk around the store all day talking with customers about their cooking and eating habits. They have carte blanche to rip open any package in the store at any time to give customers a taste. The FOODIE EXPERIENCE is the third element of fun and good will at Central Market.

The fourth element is the ORIENTEERING EXPERIENCE. Central Market has no aisles. Instead, merchandise runs along a path that meanders around the building. Shoppers have little choice but to walk past every section of the store. Keep in mind, this store stocks not only 200 varieties of olive oil, but also 500 kinds of cheese! That's a pretty long "meander" in my estimation.

The whole shopping experience at Central Market is part of the LABORATORY EXPERIENCE, the fifth element. The customer is one big laboratory rat. The owners of Central Market are conducting studies on the frontiers of retailing, and their shoppers are their subjects. Testing new food concepts is also done at Central Market. If a product does well there, it just might become a mainstream product throughout Texas.

Central Market is an investor's dream. Last year it began bringing in $1 million a week and is enjoying a healthy net income. It's doing so well that a new Central Market is opening just a few miles down the road.

So, what could I possibly find wrong with this store? I think it's disgusting! Has our society gotten to the point where we need stimulation (read "entertainment") just to make our daily lives bearable? I find the shear size abhorrent. This is another example of a "super-sized" America that is based on gluttony and excess. Why in the world would we need to choose from 200 olive oils? I sincerely hope that this blatant example of American insatiability does not become the norm.

I had three colleagues read this article on their own and get back to me with their thoughts, because I found I couldn't discuss it with anyone without revealing my feelings. Two wished they lived near the store and could take advantage of the perks. One said, "Do you know how many hours I have spent in a grocery store over the last 20 years? This would make shopping fun!" But a third just looked up sadly from the magazine and said, "We are so disgusting." Well said, my friend!

-- Anonymous, April 13, 1999

Answers

Nice job summarizing this article. Please remember to relate each article to your work with Extension.

While you may be disgusted with this type of marketing environment, please remember that people do not have to go there. They have other choices, and can avoid this by simply going to their local grocery store.

Why do you think that consumers would be attracted to this type of store? What does this say about marketing? Can you use any ideas from this article to look for new ways to market your services through Extension?

-- Anonymous, May 20, 1999