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New survey shows Food Lion dominates the Fredericksburg-area grocery market Date published: 6/17/2004 By CATHY JETT REDERICKSBURG-area shoppers spend more money on groceries at Food Lion than any other store. Food World magazine, an industry publication, recently released a 2004 market-share study that once again puts the Salisbury, N.C.-based chain ahead of Giant in sales here. Giant's dominance of the area market has been slipping since 2001, according to the trade publication. The latest issue of Food World also says a number of alternative grocery sources--such as discount and drugstore chains--are increasingly nipping at the two leaders' heels. Food Lion, which has 25 stores tucked into strip malls throughout the area, bagged $254.6 million of the nearly $847 million in grocery sales rung up here over a recent 12-month period, according to the Food World report. The calculations are based on population and weekly grocery expenditures by residents from April 1, 2003, to March 31, 2004. Food Lion is successful because it has more stores here, and most are in areas where there is little competition, said Terri Maloney, Food World's editor. Food Lion has 13 stores compared with Giant's four in Fredericksburg and the counties of Stafford and Spotsylvania. It also has a dozen more in Caroline, Culpeper, King George, Orange and Westmoreland--areas where the closest competition may be a CVS, Rite Aid or 7-Eleven. Giant, still the biggest player in the Washington-Baltimore market, took home $124.55 million from its four stores here. Food Lion, however, racked up $140.8 million in sales in head-to-head local competition with the Landover, Md.-based chain. One reason may be that Food Lion plays the convenience card, said spokesman Jeff Lowrance. "We like to have our stores densely spaced," he said. "You don't have to drive very far in Fredericksburg to find a Food Lion." The stores also are a smaller, more "shoppable" size than Giant's, according to Lowrance. A typical Food Lion has about 30,000 to 40,000 square feet, which is about half as big as the new Giant that will open off White Oak Road in Stafford later this year. "Someone can park close to the front door, get in easily and find what they want, then go on with the rest of their day," he said. Giant, meanwhile, is focusing on becoming a one-stop shopping destination, according to spokesman Jamie Miller.
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