Kroger emailed me a graphic advertising that I could “save a bunch” on grapes with “their juiciest, in-season flavor we look forward to every year.”
There were two problems.
The Kroger on Schrock did not have any bagged green grapes on Saturday or Sunday when I visited. The Kroger on Maxtown had none on Saturday and three bags on Sunday afternoon.
The price was $2.79 a pound both days.
No grapes. No bargain.
Meijer, meanwhile, had green grapes for 50 cents a pound.
I made three trips over two days. The shelves were fully stocked. The grapes were cold.
And delicious. And juicy. And sweet. And plentiful.
Market District also had green grapes, but they cost even more than Kroger's.
So how did Meijer do it? I have a theory.
How is it that Kroger barely has bagged green grapes at $2.79 a pound, Market District has them at an even higher price, and Meijer has a seemingly endless supply at 50 cents a pound for two straight days?
I’m not a conspiracy nut, but I wonder if Meijer’s fruit buyers saw an opportunity and bought as many green grapes as they could for the Westerville market.
Maybe a grower or distributor had a lot of grapes that needed to move quickly. Maybe Meijer agreed to take a huge quantity in exchange for a very low price. Maybe the 50-cent grapes were simply a loss leader designed to get people through the doors.
Or maybe it was some combination of all three.
Whatever the explanation, Meijer did not treat this like one of those grocery specials where the advertised item disappears before most people ever get to the store.
They had grapes. Lots of grapes. Cheap grapes.
They devoted a surprising amount of refrigerated shelf space to them, and every time I went back, there were more.
That is the part that interests me. Selling grapes for 50 cents a pound is one thing. Having enough good, cold, fresh grapes to keep several displays full for an entire weekend is another.
There is, of course, another possibility.
Perhaps Meijer has been reading The Green Grape Report and decided it wanted a favorable review.
If so, 50-cent green grapes are an excellent way to get my attention.
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