| Warehouse-sized stores such as Home Depot, Office Depot, Staples and Sports Connection are all the retail rage. They succeed because they provide service and value, and because they focus their efforts in one area. They are the experts. Will supermarkets follow their lead? Probably not. Supermarkets are already the experts in foodstuffs. Just because shoppers seem to have less time than ever, they don't necessarily want to buy everything under one roof. The History of Super Stores When I was a teenager in New Jersey some 30 years ago, I remember going with my parents to the Grand Way in Paramus. The store, based on France's hypermarché model, sprawled for 75,000 square feet and sold just about everything you could want: clothing, hardware, appliances and, yes, food. When the novelty of the store wore off, my parents stopped shopping there. "Too big and too many items," they complained. They didn't want everything under one roof. France's Carrefour came to Philadelphia and Texas in the early 1980s and built 200,000-square-foot mega-stores. Their customer service reps had to cruise the aisles on roller skates. They never reached their projected sales volume, and soon packed up and went home. Later, Kmart introduced the SuperK stores that contained 40,000-square-foot supermarkets inside. The Future of Grocery Stores Is this the wave of the future? Today's supermarket retailers seem to think that bigger is better. The average grocery store is 35,000 square feet and stocks 35,000 products. But retailers should keep an eye on smaller specialty stores that offer selection, expertise and good value. Look for stores like Pet Supply, Beverage Depot and Smokers' Paradise to be supermarkets' new competitors. These specialty stores often have a better understanding of consumer needs. At Pet Supply, for example, pets are welcome to shop with their owners and get free dog biscuits at the checkout. When to Shop Specialty Stores We interviewed some of the leading new "category-specific" retailers to provide comparative information. In most cases, these stores offered a wider selection and more highly trained sales staff. When it came to cost, though, average supermarket prices were often cheaper. The result? If you want a wide variety of, say, wine or pet food, shop at specialty stores. If you are looking for the best value -- a one-stop combination of quality, service and price -- your supermarket is still your best bet. | 
