'Hard discount' stores thrive; Aldi hosts job fair Thursday in Ocala
Published: Wednesday, August 8, 2012 at 6:09 p.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, August 8, 2012 at 6:09 p.m.
As some grocery store chains around the country and locally struggle with increased competition from big retailers, at least one chain in the area is looking for more workers.
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Meagan Tilghman, a cashier, works on stocking products at the Aldi Food Market on Easy Street in Ocala on Wednesday, August 8, 2012. Aldi Food Markets are becoming very popular and Aldi will be holding a hiring event at the Ocala Hilton on Thursday.
Bruce Ackerman/ Staff photographer
Aldi stores will hold dozens of hiring events across the state in coming weeks, with one event scheduled in Ocala today.
The privately owned, so-called "hard discount" supermarket chain will hold a job fair from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Hilton Ocala, 3600 SW 36th Ave. The company is seeking cashiers and shift managers for its locations in Ocala, Lady Lake and Leesburg.
"Hard discount" stores offer a no-frills shopping experience. The stores provide no free shopping bags and require a refundable quarter deposit to use shopping carts.
Much of the angst in the traditional supermarket sector comes from mega-retailers like Walmart and Target, which in recent years have introduced food into their stores. Paula Rosenblum, of RSR Research, told the Wall Street Journal recently that larger retailers are willing to deal with the lower margins for groceries as a way to increase traffic in their stores.
But the "hard discount" segment is also eroding the traditional supermarket base. They boast savings of up to 40 percent over traditional supermarkets.
Aldi's hiring push flies in the face of other supermarket chains that are fighting to keep their market share.
The Winn-Dixie chain has been hit hard in the last few years. With mounting losses and stores closing, the chain sold its remaining 483 stores in Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia and Mississippi to the privately-held BI-LO Holding. The deal closed in March.
Albertson's Supermarket closed its last store in Ocala in 2009. Its parent company, Supervalu, eventually closed all but four of the Albertson's in Florida.
Supervalu, which operates a number of discount grocery chains across the country, continues to struggle. The company's stock was hit hard recently after it announced it would stop paying quarterly dividends in a bid to save money.
One of Supervalu's bright spots, however, is Save-A-Lot, its own "hard discount" chain, which has five locations in Marion County, including three in Ocala, one in Belleview and another in Dunnellon.
Chains like Aldi and Save-A-Lot don't plan to stop expansion anytime soon.
Save-A-Lot announced in June it would open a 250,374-square-foot distribution center in Pompano Beach. The chain has more than 1,300 stores in 39 states.
In late July, Aldi announced plans to open an 821,000-square-foot distribution center and regional headquarters in Royal Palm Beach.
Aldi, which was founded in Germany, has more than 1,200 stores in 32 states and opens between 80 and 100 new stores across the country every year, according to company sources.
"I think we are getting a lot of new customers as they learn you can pay less for the same quality," said Bob Schmalz, a director of store operations for Aldi.
Schmalz said the company rigorously tests their private-label offerings to meet or exceed the quality of other brands.
"You don't have to pay extra for that label or brand," he said.
But one traditional supermarket chain that has continued to see growth is Publix. The Lakeland-based chain has maintained its customer base despite the flight to deep-discount stores.
One reason may be its perceived superior customer service. Since 1995, Publix has been tops in customer satisfaction, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index.
"We've been able to sustain and grow our customer base even in tough economic times by maintaining our service standards," Publix spokeswoman Maria Brous told the Lakeland Ledger after the chain took top honors in 2011.
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