| DFW's got more competition than ever in the natural grocer market, with local expansions of stores like Sprouts and My Fit Foods, The Weitzman Group's retail division prez Brian Glaser tells us. Hmm, now we've got a craving for Central Market's olive bar. | |
| It's not just the natural grocers like Newflower, Sprouts and the venerable Whole Foods and Central Market, everybody's gone organic, from Kroger to Target and Walmart, he says. “You can find sections devoted to organics, but retailers like Sprouts and Newflower are fully 50% organic,” Brian says. From a landlord's perspective, natural grocers make ideal anchors or tenants because they drive heavy traffic. If a traditional grocer drives traffic two times a week, natural grocers push it to three times a week. | |
| The challenge for the natural grocer is to find the right real estate. Everyone is looking in the same markets for the same-sized spaces making it a challenge to grow, Brian says. Whole Foods and Central Market have been hits here by locating in upscale neighborhoods where they are a great fit, he tells us. Sprouts has 51 stores with nearly 20% of them in DFW; its 10th store opens in March in Fort Worth's Overton Park (rendering above). Its 11th store opens in spring at Hebron Parkway near Josey. | |
| With 17 locations in Texas (two in Dallas and more in the pipeline), The Retail Connection SVP Wyatt Russo tells us My Fit Foods, above, threw its hat in the organic food ring to complement organic grocers. Aside from LA, DFW has the most health clubs per capita in the US, so being physically active is clearly important to North Texans, Wyatt says. My Fit Foods offers food prepared daily at a central kitchen (which also serves as a retail store) and delivered daily to several retail satellite stores, Wyatt says. | |
| My Fit Foods' initial strategy is to open in areas that are well established, with high daytime traffic and residential populations, Wyatt says. The Preston Center west location at 6100 Luther is the flagship and outperforming expectations, he says. Competition in the organic market started locally in the '80s with Whole Foods, which now has seven stores. Central Market opened its first Fort Worth store in 2001, and has grown to four stores locally. Market Street (with six DFW locations) came in 2003, and Sprouts in 2005. |
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