Retail battle royale set for Huntley
On April 23, 2009, Jewel-Osco announced it was cutting its prices on some items by as much as 20 percent.
That request (presumably) came from its shareholders.
Six days later, a new Walmart Supercenter opened in Huntley - less than a mile from the existing Jewel on Route 47.
Can two retailers live together without driving each other out of business?
That's the question I posed last week, when I wrote about Walmart opening in Huntley.
The answers I got from officialdom were mostly diplomatic.
"I encourage the competition. It's going to make this a better place," said Thomas Pearse, manager of the new Walmart. "I don't want to see anybody fail. Everybody offers a different niche. There's plenty to go around."
Lisa Armour, senior assistant to Huntley's village manager, also spoke of niches and coexistence.
"I think (Jewel tries) to market themselves as a different kind of retailer," Armour said. "We certainly want everyone to stay strong and viable. We would like to see that both do well and prosper."
Mayor Chuck Sass was more blunt: "I think it's probably going to hurt Jewel."
I did my own informal market survey when I spoke to shoppers at the new Walmart, many of them Sun City residents on fixed incomes.
Mary Gehrig and Fred Gehrig, her son, picked up a bag of Miracle Gro potting mix, a package of frozen chicken breast and Oreos. Before Walmart opened, the Gehrigs shopped at Jewel or drove to Randall Road.
"I think Jewel is way too expensive," Mary Gehrig opined. "We've been going to Jewel for too long."
Since he moved to Sun City five years ago, Bob Westrich has bought his groceries at Jewel and Randall Road. Now, he just has to cross Route 47 to get cheap produce, automotive supplies and the latest music - with clean, family-friendly lyrics.
"I'll shop here a lot. I had a list, and I've accumulated more than my list," Westrich said as he filled his cart with motor oil, garden supplies and potato chips. "It's a one-stop. That's why I like it."
What did the folks at Jewel have to say?
A guy from the Huntley store said, "We're not to respond to any of these" and directed me to a corporate spokeswoman.
"We don't comment on our competitors' activities or our internal analysis," spokeswoman Karen May said.
That sounds reasonable.
As I drove through Huntley late last week, I noticed the parking lots at both Walmart and Jewel were filled with cars, trucks and minivans.
Maybe that's a good sign for Jewel; probably it's too early to see if residents are changing their shopping habits.
Either way, guys with BlackBerrys and business degrees will be watching Huntley to see how shoppers respond to Jewel's price signal and Walmart's aggressive push into the suburban market.