Charlotte may be one of the most competitive grocery markets in the country. Within just a few miles of our HQ, we can shop at Harris Teeter, Publix, Aldi, Lidl, Walmart, BI-LO, The Fresh Market, Food Lion or Whole Foods. And in a month or so, Sprouts will open across from Publix. So in addition to supporting grocers with their retail marketing, we get to see a lot of grocery concepts – good and bad.
On a recent visit to Jacksonville, FL we paid our first visit to Lucky’s Market – one of the good ones. We love to walk into a grocery store and be excited to explore its offerings. We found Lucky’s Market to have great sight lines, a bright color scheme and an engaged and knowledgeable team of Associates.
The banner was founded in Colorado in 2003 by two chefs, Trish and Bo Sharon. They found themselves shopping multiple formats (health food, gourmet, farmer’s markets and conventional) to satisfy their family’s needs. So they opened Lucky’s Market to offer the best of these worlds under one roof.
From an in-house bacon smoking oven to a fresh juice bar, the store offers shoppers an experience that is devoid from most grocery stores. And the pricing was fair and reasonable too. We think this is a banner to watch. The company web site reports that in 2016 Kroger made a “meaningful investment” in the company to accelerate its growth. If you’re listening at corporate HQ, go ahead and add Charlotte to your expansion plans.
