H-E-B's domination of Texas scares off competing grocery chain

[TexasTowelie]

Iowa-based grocery chain Hy-Vee is currently charting an expansion into the Southern states, however, its CEO revealed the chain will be steering clear of Texas, according to the Des Moines Register.

In a statement to employees in a company video, executive Randy Edeker explained that while the company is expanding south for the first time since 2009, they'll be avoiding planting roots in the Lone Star State due to H-E-B's regional dominance.

"They’re [H-E-B] a phenomenal competitor," Edeker said. "There are lots of weak competitors out there that we just don’t need to go poke that bear, so we won’t."

The San Antonio-based grocery giant overwhelmingly holds Texans' loyalties, and boasts 340 locations across the state. Reasonably, the "phenomenal competitor" isn't the grocery chain Hy-Vee wants to go up against. Instead, the Des Moines company will vie for customers in Kroger-dominated states like Indiana, Tennessee, Alabama, and Kentucky.

Read more: https://www.mrt.com/news/houston-texas/article/Hy-Vee-expansion-texas-H-E-B-grocery-store-16736998.php
(Midland Reporter-Telegram)

[RandySF]

1. Here, it's Safeway.

[jimfields33]

6. Here it's publix

[Sherman A1]

2. Both are good operators from my knowledge

But Hyvee is probably wise to skip Texas for new stores. There are plenty of places available out there.

[Laurelin]

3. I love HEB

Also love the upscale version, Central Market. My daughter also left Texas and she keeps wishing for HEB care packages.

The owners were good democrats too, when I lived in Texas.

[madville]

4. Down here in FL it's Publix

They are the dominant grocery store chain these days. Never been in a HEB but I imagine it’s a similar model, nice stores, nice staff, clean, etc.

[mitch96]

12. "Down here in FL it's Publix".. The Pubix family is staunch repukes.. Donate lots of $$$...nt

[madville]

13. No kidding

That doesn’t change the fact it’s become the dominant higher end grocery store.

[LaMouffette]

5. Fun fact: H-E-B are the founder's initials. His name was Harold E. Butt.

The fourteen-year-old sense of humor in me wishes ardently that he had named his stores "Butt Groceries."

[Chainfire]

7. I wish one of them would come here.

There are two grocery stores within 30 miles, a Winn-Dixie and a Piggly Wiggly. They are both disgusting.

[madville]

14. I grew up in a town with just a Winn Dixie

And there was a smaller IGA. WD has definitely fallen off the last couple of decades. They were experimenting with a couple of “premium” stores around Jacksonville the last few years, trying to develop an answer to Publix I guess.

[LeftInTX]

16. I had no idea that there any Piggly Wigglys left

[texasfiddler]

8. H-E-B's response after hurricane Harvey was impressive.

The eye of the storm came over our house (I live 45 miles north of Rockport, Texas). Within 24 hours after the storm passed, they had the emergency response fleet down in our area. I remember the rolling caravan of HEB mobile disaster trailers, on-board kitchens, mobile pharmacies and stock trucks rolling down our rural farm to market road. They fed a lot of people and kept critical medicines flowing to the community. People don't forget that.

[FoxNewsSucks]

9. Politics aside,

Kroger is overpriced and has lousy customer service. HEB is the opposite, so that is a good busuness decision

[Jirel]

10. Not seeing much problem here.

Hey-Vee is nothing to brag about. If a store is going to go up against HEB, it should be able to say it’s equal or better in quality. It’s not like we have any lack of options here, in my part of TX. We have or have relatively recently had HEB/Central Market, Lowe’s (mostly in rural towns), Albertson’s (rural towns, bought out by HEB as essentially a mercy killing), Natural Grocers, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, and Sprout’s, plus the mega-chain grocery stores of Target and Walmart. The only niche left to argue about in this saturated grocery store range of options, are rural towns. HEB as a rule doesn’t open up in rural towns that aren’t county seats with a 20k+ population. So those much smaller towns usually get a Lowe’s or another small chain like Brookshire.

Lowe’s deserves to go under - like the ill-fated Albertsons, they’re generally pretty scummy with convenience-store high prices. Anyone for $10 questionable off-brand bacon? They exist to prey on rural residents without transportation or enough gas money to drive 20-30 miles to a larger town. At least they have improved in the last decade. When I got here, they were peddling freezer-burned brown, wrinkled, chicken for double the price of HEB and others. But even in small county seats and larger rural towns, Hy-Vee would be entering a market with 2-4 other grocery stores well established.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

11. I love the HEB near me

It has a great bakery and the fresh flour tortillas are wonderful

[Paladin]

15. I'm a third-generation HEB patron. They do a really nice job. (nt)