WinCo: "Walmart's worst nightmare"
Time profiles an Idaho-based grocery chain that outperforms Walmart in some key ways:
... Prices are kept low through a variety of strategies, the main one
being that it often cuts out distributors and other middle men and buys
many goods directly from farms and factories. WinCo also trims costs by
not accepting credit cards and by asking customers to bag their own
groceries. Similarly to warehouse membership stores like Sam’s Club and
Costco, and also to successful discount grocers with small stores like Trader Joe’s and Aldi,
WinCo stores are organized and minimalist, without many frills, and
without the tremendous variety of merchandise that’s become standard at
most supermarkets. ...
While all of these factors help WinCo compete with Walmart on price,
what really might scare the world’s largest retailer is how WinCo treats
its employees. In sharp contrast to Walmart, which regularly comes
under fire for practices like understaffing stores to keep costs down and hiring tons of temporary workers
as a means to avoid paying full-time worker benefits, WinCo has a
reputation for doing right by employees. It provides health benefits to
all staffers who work at least 24 hours per week. The company also has a
pension, with employees getting an amount equal to 20% of their annual
salary put in a plan that’s paid for by WinCo; a company spokesperson
told the Idaho Statesman that more than 400 nonexecutive
workers (cashiers, produce clerks, and such) currently have pensions
worth over $1 million apiece.
Generally speaking, shoppers tolerate Walmart’s empty shelves and subpar customer service
because the prices are so good. The fact that another retailer—even a
small regional one—is able to compete and sometimes beat Walmart on
prices, while also operating well-organized stores staffed by workers
who enjoy their jobs, like their employer, and genuinely want the
company to be successful? Well, that’s got to alarm the world’s biggest
retailer, if not keep executives up at night.
While WinCo does keep its business quiet, we do know one thing: The company is in the process of expanding to new states, with two locations opening in north Texas
next year, for example. [Supermarket analyst Burt] Flickinger anticipates rapid growth in the near
future, with WinCo doubling in size every five to seven years going
forward.
(h/t Kottke)
