Target, Hannaford invest in grocery upgrades
Hannaford and Target are both investing in million-dollar renovations in their South Portland locations, with a similar aim to offer more groceries to customers.
Target filed a building permit with the city of South Portland this fall for $1 million in interior and exterior renovations at its 200 Running Hill Road location near the Maine Mall. A Target spokeswoman wouldn't confirm this, but wrote in an email, "We are planning to remodel select Target stores within the Portland area with our Expanded Fresh Food Layout in 2012." The South Portland store is the only Target in Cumberland County.
The Expanded Fresh Food Layout refers to Target's remodeling of its general merchandise stores to include more food aisles for produce, meat and packaged goods. The size of the South Portland store won't change; rather the interior space will be rearranged to make space for fresh food, according to spokeswoman Jamie Bastion.
Hannaford Bros. Co. will also renovate its store at 50 Cottage St. for $1.3 million, according to a permit filed with the city. Spokesman Eric Blom says Hannaford, which is based in Scarborough, regularly upgrades its stores to "meet the needs of customers."
"We're doing interior renovations that will help us increase the variety of produce, organic and natural items in the store. And customers will find the store easier to navigate because of layout changes," he says, adding that the grocery store will also invest in environmental improvements. The work will be complete by early summer.
Starting about three years ago, Target Corp., the second largest U.S. discount chain, has been adding groceries to its other offerings, which include clothes, electronics, kitchen supplies, health and beauty products, and furniture.
David Livingstone, a supermarket analyst with DJL Research in Wisconsin, says this strategy has increased Target's sales because people pick up items as they shop at the store. He also said the store's prices can be lower than Walmart's if shoppers have one of Target's discount cards.
But Target's grocery strategy will likely affect food sales at Hannaford and Walmart only minimally, Livingstone predicts. "Target is by no means competing on the same level with Hannaford," he says. "They're not up there on the size and scope with Hannaford, Shaw's and Walmart, but you can buy everything you really need at Target."
It does, however, take some time for people to get accustomed to the fact that Target even offers groceries, Livingstone said. "People aren't going to accept this overnight," he says. "It takes three or four years for people in any given market to realize that Target sells groceries."
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