Taking on new retail giants

Only the other day I noticed that a small card shop, a short walk from our office, had put a sign up in the window.

“I am so sorry that we are having to close down,” the note began. “You will be aware that retail businesses on the high street have been suffering for some time.”

It went on to say that, after 38 years of trading, the business was just not viable anymore, thanks to changing consumer habits.

In the US, this new retail reality is nowhere more apparent than in the grocery sector.

For decades, a hugely diverse range of fiercely independent regional supermarket groups thrived across America.

But many are now in severe distress as customers choose big box stores like Walmart or the Amazon-owned Whole Foods, or opt for new home delivery options like Blue Apron and Amazon Fresh.

No one would blame a fairly small Illinois-based supermarket chain like Niemann Foods for giving up.

Established in 1917, the company is run by the founder’s grandson, Rich Niemann Jr.

And Niemann decided he was not going to go down without a fight.

He contacted a design practice in Los Angeles called Shook Kelley and asked for help in reimagining what a supermarket could be.

If they could not compete with Walmart on price, and Amazon on home delivery, where could they compete? How could neighbourhood stores not only survive but thrive?

The result of their collaboration is a place called Harvest Market in Champaign, Illinois.

“Harvest Market is the anti-Amazon.

“It’s designed to excel at what e-commerce can’t do: convene people over the mouth-watering appeal of prize ingredients and freshly prepared food,” a recent article about the venture explained.

“Something magical happens when you engage customers this way.

“People move differently. “They browse differently.

“And they buy differently.”

By Guy Cookson, Partner at Hotfoot Design