Similarly, services attract customers to the retailer, but they also are cos Supercenters and

warehouse clubs are particularly troublesome for supermar- kets because their superior
operating efficiencies enable them to have low costs and prices. tly.
To make a profit, retailers that offer broader variety, deeper assortments, and/or additional
services need to charge higher prices.
A conventional supermarket is a large, self-service retail food store offering gro- ceries, meat,
and produce, as well as some nonfood items, such as health and beauty aids and general
merchandise.
To compete successfully against intrusions by other food retailing formats, con- ventional
supermarkets are differentiating their offerings by (1) emphasizing fresh perishables, (2)
targeting health-conscious and ethnic consumers, (3) providing better value with private-label
merchandise, and (4) providing a better shopping experience.
Fair trade is the practice of purchasing from facto- ries that pay workers a living wage,
considerably more than the pre- vailing minimum wage, and offer other benefits such as onsite
medi- cal treatment.
The locavore movement focuses on reducing the carbon footprint caused by the
transportation of food throughout the world.
Supermarkets are increasingly incorporating food as theater concepts, such as open-air
market designs, cooking and nutrition classes, demonstrations, baby-sitting services, and food
tasting.
Supercenters are large stores (185,000 square feet) that combine a supermarket with a full-line
discount store.
Hypermarkets are also large (100,000 to 300,000 square feet), combination food (60 to 70
percent) and general merchandise (30 to 40 percent) stores. The worlds second-largest retailer,
Carrefour, operates hypermarkets.
Warehouse clubs are retailers that offer a limited and irregular assortment of food and general
merchandise with little service at low prices for ultimate consumers and small businesses.
Warehouse clubs can offer low prices because they use low-cost locations, have inexpensive
store de- signs, and offer little customer ser- vice; they further keep inventory holding costs low
by carrying a lim- ited assortment of fast-selling items.