Quality grocery stores in OKC

[bluedogok]

HEB stores vary a lot between the new ones and the old ones. The store that was closest to our house in Austin (1st & WM Cannon) was an old store that we rarely went to because it was cramped and they didn't carry some of the items that we would get at the Brodie & Cannon store that we shopped at most of the time.

[josh]

HEB seems really cool. I am not too familiar with them and they weren't very prominent in Dallas at all. I think they have one or two locations in the far south parts of the DFW metro.

I really wish they would come to OKC, but they have stated they have no plans to expand outside of Texas and Mexico.

H-E-B is very strategic and has no problem with remaining in the markets they're in long term.

I mean, they aren't in the Dallas or Fort Worth city areas, even though they own multiple parcels of land in both cities.

They have no stores in El Paso, even though El Paso's grocery situation is almost as bad if not worse than OKC and they'd easily go in and dominate.

They have no stores in the panhandle of Texas either.

[bchris02]

H-E-B is a great grocery store, one of the better mainstream ones I've been in. I also think they would have a decent shot in OKC if they would give this market a chance, but being that A) they don't have a significant DFW presence other than their upscale Central Market concept and B) they have stated clearly that they don't want to expand out of Texas or Mexico, it is extremely unlikely any H-E-B stores will be happening in OKC any time in the near future. 23.3% marketshare for Wal-Mart in San Antonio really isn't anything to complain about. I believe its over 65% in OKC, probably far and away the highest of all metro areas over 500,000 in population.

What's amazing is people have been complaining about grocery stores in OKC for many years now yet improvement has been extremely slow. Crest's Fresh Market concept is the kind of store people are wanting, but they have been very slow to expand. At least there are decent stores in the metro now, if only a few. Five years ago a Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market was as good as it could get in OKC.

[josh]

23.3 percent market share was in 2013. In 2014, that number dropped to 22.9 percent.

IMO, 1 percent is too much. lol

[bluedogok]

H-E-B is very strategic and has no problem with remaining in the markets they're in long term.

I mean, they aren't in the Dallas or Fort Worth city areas, even though they own multiple parcels of land in both cities.

They have no stores in El Paso, even though El Paso's grocery situation is almost as bad if not worse than OKC and they'd easily go in and dominate.

They have no stores in the panhandle of Texas either.

They have stores in Midland and Odessa which seems a bit of an outlier as I think they have limited distribution out there.

I know they are planning to enter DFW but they are very deliberate when expanding as you stated. When they do decide to enter that market it will be a bunch of stores at once. I think the Lake Charles experiment kind of sharpened their focus.

[josh]

They have stores in Midland and Odessa which seems a bit of an outlier as I think they have limited distribution out there.

I know they are planning to enter DFW but they are very deliberate when expanding as you stated. When they do decide to enter that market it will be a bunch of stores at once. I think the Lake Charles experiment kind of sharpened their focus.

Well, those two towns are in west Texas, not the panhandle. As I said, there are no H-E-B's in the panhandle.

Also, there are no firm plans or short term plans to enter the DFW market.

[ljbab728]

Kansas City is a metro area of 2.4 million people while OKC is a metro area of 1.3 million people.

There's a big difference between 42 Wal-Mart's for 2.4 million people and 41 Wal-Mart's for 1.3 million people.

Which, of course, is why I specifically said the comparison with Kansas City was different. Did you even read what I said.

[ljbab728]

"Oklahoma City - 41
Tulsa - 35
Kansas City - 42
Wichita - 25
Little Rock - 32"

Let's look at this crap further

Oklahoma City MSA: 1,322,429

Tulsa MSA: 961,561

Kansas City MSA: 2,393,623

Wichita MSA: 637,989

Little Rock MSA: 898,683

Now you can do your own math with those cities. That is a very stupid list of cities to compare OKC to with the exception of Tulsa. Kansas city is much larger than OKC and the other cities are much smaller.

Peer cities and their populations from lowest to highest:

New Orleans: 1,240,977

Richmond: 1,245,764

Louisville: 1,262,261

Oklahoma City: 1,319,677

Memphis: 1,341,746

Jacksonville: 1,394,624

Milwaukee: 1,569,659

Number of Walmart's in each MSA:

New Orleans:

Richmond:

Louisville:

Oklahoma City:

Memphis:

Jacksonville:

Milwaukee:



this post is not finished. I am going to finish this post when I get some time I've been slammed.

Plupan, other than KC the comparison with other cities in our area is very accurate when you compare population to number of Walmart stores in OKC. Any differences with OKC are insignificant.

[josh]

Which, of course, is why I specifically said the comparison with Kansas City was different. Did you even read what I said.

Than why not just compare OKC with other cities of similar size in the Midwest instead of small metro areas that are easily more dominated by Wal-Mart.

[ljbab728]

That not just compare OKC with other cities of similar size in the Midwest instead of small metro areas that are easier more dominated by Wal-Mart.

I compared OKC with metro areas in our area and was responding to a poster who basically said OKC had more domination by Walmart than any other city.

This is what I have said all along and have taken a lot of flack for it. While it's true that Wal-Mart is a dominating force everywhere, nowhere is it as dominant as it is in OKC outside of small town America. This is no accident; Wal-Mart specifically targeted OKC to test their market saturation strategy.

I stand by my post. The other cities I mentioned aren't small town America.

[zachj7]

I compared OKC with metro areas in our area and was responding to a poster who basically said OKC had more domination by Walmart than any other city.



I stand by my post. The other cities I mentioned aren't small town America.

But significantly smaller. Why must we think in these terms? Shouldn't we be striving to have a retail scene like KC? KC metro and OKC have a similar land area, yet a different retail scene and a totally different population number. OKC is dominated by Walmart. All one has to look at is the grocery share that Walmart dominates over.

[ljbab728]

But significantly smaller. Why must we think in these terms? Shouldn't we be striving to have a retail scene like KC? KC metro and OKC have a similar land area, yet a different retail scene and a totally different population number. OKC is dominated by Walmart. All one has to look at is the grocery share that Walmart dominates over.

I wasn't defending Walmart in the least and would welcome other options. As I said I was specifically responding to the post which said that said "no where is it (Walmart) as dominant as it is in OKC outside of small town America". That statement was incorrect.

Assuming that the population figures given by plupan are fairly accurate. This is the number of people in each metro area that are served by one Walmart store.

Oklahoma City - 32,000
Tulsa - 27,000
Little Rock - 28,000
Wichita - 25,000
Kansas City - 56,000

Of the original cities I listed, only Kansas City ranks better than OKC when figuring the dominance of Walmart stores in their metro areas.

Here is the same information for the other cities mentioned by plupan and it's not too surprising as you get further away from our area.

New Orleans - 38,000
Memphis - 57,000
Richmond - 68,000
Louisville - 45,000
Jacksonville - 54,000
Milwaukee - 39,000

A few others are

Omaha - 37,000
Denver - 51,800
Baton Rouge - 25,000
Albuquerque - 50,000

[bchris02]

I wasn't defending Walmart in the least and would welcome other options. As I said I was specifically responding to the post which said that said "no where is it (Walmart) as dominant as it is in OKC outside of small town America". That statement was incorrect.

Assuming that the population figures given by plupan are fairly accurate. This is the number of people in each metro area that are served by one Walmart store.

Oklahoma City - 32,000
Tulsa - 27,000
Little Rock - 28,000
Wichita - 25,000
Kansas City - 56,000

Of the original cities I listed, only Kansas City ranks better than OKC when figuring the dominance of Walmart stores in their metro areas.

I wonder what percentage of the marketshare Wal-Mart has in those cities. All of them except for OKC has a strong competitor that is holding its own against Wal-Mart. Little Rock has Kroger, Tulsa has Reasor's, and Wichita has Dillons. My guess would be that OKC's Wal-Mart marketshare is much higher since there isn't a strong competitor here.

[ljbab728]

I wonder what percentage of the marketshare Wal-Mart has in those cities. All of them except for OKC has a strong competitor that is holding its own against Wal-Mart. Little Rock has Kroger, Tulsa has Reasor's, and Wichita has Dillons. My guess would be that OKC's Wal-Mart marketshare is much higher since there isn't a strong competitor here.

That's possible, but based on the number of stores compared to the population, they aren't as dominant in OKC as they are in the other cities. As far as I'm concerned every store in OKC is a strong competitor to Walmart since I rarely go there for any groceries.

[Plutonic Panda]

Oklahoma is ranked second behind Arkansas with the highest number of Walmarts.

The Ten States Where Walmart Is Everywhere - 24/7 Wall St.


To put some things in perspective, California, a state that has almost 40 million people is served by 179 Walmart's. Oklahoma has 103 and only has a population of 4 million.

[Plutonic Panda]

The Five States Where Walmart Can’t Break Through

Read more: The Ten States Where Walmart Is Everywhere - 24/7 Wall St. The Ten States Where Walmart Is Everywhere - 24/7 Wall St.
Follow us: @247wallst on Twitter | 247wallst on Facebook

5. Vermont
> Stores Per 1 Million People: 6.39
> Total No. of Stores: 4
> Median Income: $51,618 (20th Highest)
> Pct. Living Below The Poverty Line: 11.4% (12th Lowest)

4. New Jersey
> Stores Per 1 Million People: 6.26
> Total No. of Stores: 55
> Median Income: $64,918 (3rd Highest)
> Pct. Living Below The Poverty Line: 9.4% (4th Lowest)

3. Hawaii
> Stores Per 1 Million People: 5.88
> Total No. of Stores: 8
> Median Income: $64,098 (5th Highest)
> Pct. Living Below The Poverty Line: 10.4% (8th Lowest)

2. New York
> Stores Per 1 Million People: 4.9
> Total No. of Stores: 95
> Median Income: $54,659 (15th Highest)
> Pct. Living Below The Poverty Line: 14.2% (Tied for 25th Highest)

1. California
> Stores Per 1 Million People: 4.8
> Total No. of Stores: 179
> Median Income: $58,931 (9th Highest)
> Pct. Living Below The Poverty Line: 14.2% (Tied for 25th Highest)

[Plutonic Panda]

Top five states where Walmart dominates

5. Alabama
> Stores Per 1 Million People: 21.13
> Total No. of Stores: 101
> Median Income: $40,489 (5th Lowest)
> Pct. Living Below The Poverty Line: 17.5% (6th Highest)

There are 101 Walmart stores in Alabama, 92 of which are Supercenters. Unlike similar states, growth in Alabama has continued at a strong pace. Since the first Alabama store opening in 1979, a new store has opened in the state almost every year. There are currently plans to open a new Supercenter in Huntstville this summer. As evidence of the company’s popularity, most of the Walmart stores in the state which were not originally Supercenters have been converted into Supercenters, the largest type of Walmart store.

4. Kansas
> Stores Per 1 Million People: 21.38
> Total No. of Stores: 61
> Median Income: $47,817 (23rd Lowest)
> Pct. Living Below The Poverty Line: 13.4% (25th Lowest)

Kansas presence on this list suggests that a state’s proximity to Arkansas may be more important to Walmart’s success than the number of low-income shoppers. While the average income of its residents is close to the national average, its proximity to Walmart’s central distribution network secures its place on this list. Access to the Arkansas hub makes it more efficient to open stores. Although growth slowed in the early 2000’s, Walmart is finding other ways to boost sales. According to the Wall Street Journal, Kansas stores which had stopped selling guns five years ago will start selling them again.

Also Read: Yum! Brands Rapid Growth Is Over
3. Mississippi
> Stores Per 1 Million People: 22.24
> Total No. of Stores: 66
> Median Income: $36,646 (Lowest)
> Pct. Living Below The Poverty Line: 21.9% (Highest)

Walmart has a huge presence in Mississippi. Mississippi is located along Arkansas’ eastern border. It is the poorest state in the nation. The company employs just under 2 percent of Mississippi’s total labor force. In the 2011 fiscal year, the company paid more than $39.7 million in state and local taxes. In April, Walmart donated a meager $1 million to support relief efforts for recent natural emergencies, including the storms, and subsequent flooding, which hit the state. A.J. Holloway, Mayor of Biloxi, told a local news station that he expected “some big things” following the opening of a Walmart Superstore in the city.

2. Oklahoma
> Stores Per 1 Million People: 27.46
> Total No. of Stores: 103
> Median Income: $41,664 (6th Lowest)
> Pct. Living Below The Poverty Line: 16.2% (15th Highest)

Oklahoma, which sits on Arkansas’ western border, is in a similar position to Mississippi. More than 32,000 residents of the state work at Walmart, just under 2 percent of the labor force. Oklahomans are also doing a large amount of shopping at the chain. Between July 2009 and March 2011, $506 million out of $1.2 billion in food stamps spent in the state were spent at Walmart, according to the AP. Unfortunately for residents of Oklahoma, they do not receive all of the same Walmart deals as the rest of the country. Due to a law in the state, which requires stores to sell items at at least 6 percent above cost, many deals offered by Walmarts across the country will not be found in Oklahoma as they would make products illegally inexpensive.

1. Arkansas
> Stores Per 1 Million People: 30.87
> Total No. of Stores: 90
> Median Income: $37,823 (3rd Lowest)
> Pct. Living Below The Poverty Line: 18.8% (2nd Highest)

Walmart has an extraordinary presence in its home state. There are over 30 Walmart stores for every million people in the state, by far the largest ratio in the country. There are more than 48,000 Walmart employees in the state, making up approximately 3.5% of Arkansas’ labor force. Walmart works hard to maintain a positive relationship with the state. According to the company, it donated almost 4,000 tons of food last year to Arkansas residents. The Walton Family Foundation, started by Walmart founders Sam and Helen Walton, recently announced it will be giving $800 million to the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Arkansas, which was founded by their daughter Alice. This February, after Walmart was given an award by the National Governors Association, Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe showed his appreciation for the company, saying “Walmart has demonstrated a commitment to philanthropic efforts across the nation, but its efforts here in Arkansas have been particularly generous and noteworthy.”


Read more: The Ten States Where Walmart Is Everywhere - 24/7 Wall St. The Ten States Where Walmart Is Everywhere - 24/7 Wall St.
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[Plutonic Panda]

Only one state beats Oklahoma on that list regarding the sheer number of Walmart stores. Missouri comes out to 119 Walmart stores.

9. Missouri
> Stores Per 1 Million People: 19.87
> Total No. of Stores: 119
> Median Income: $45,229 (16th Lowest)
> Pct. Living Below The Poverty Line: 14.6% (19th Highest)

Missouri is in much the same situation as Louisiana. Bordering Arkansas, the company’s home state, it makes sense that Walmart would establish a foothold in the state. There are currently 119 Walmart stores in Missouri, a huge number considering the state’s population. Like Louisiana, no stores have been opened in the last year. Regardless of its opportunities for growth, the company remains extremely active in the state. In 2010, Wal-Mart Stores (including Sam’s Club locations) donated more than $21.4 million to local organizations, according to the company.



Read more: The Ten States Where Walmart Is Everywhere - 24/7 Wall St. The Ten States Where Walmart Is Everywhere - 24/7 Wall St.
Follow us: @247wallst on Twitter | 247wallst on Facebook

[Plutonic Panda]

Here is another list that puts Oklahoma at number 5 in the number of supercenters (per capita) (most recent) by state


Rank States Amount
# 1 Arkansas: 22.309 per 1 million people
# 2 Mississippi: 18.486 per 1 million people
# 3 Alabama: 16.675 per 1 million people
# 4 Wyoming: 15.708 per 1 million people
# 5 Oklahoma: 15.22 per 1 million people
# 6 West Virginia: 14.861 per 1 million people
# 7 New Mexico: 14.52 per 1 million people
# 8 Tennessee: 14.422 per 1 million people
# 9 Kentucky: 14.377 per 1 million people
# 10 Kansas: 14.209 per 1 million people
# 11 Louisiana: 13.706 per 1 million people
# 12 Missouri: 13.62 per 1 million people
# 13 Iowa: 13.148 per 1 million people
# 14 Nebraska: 13.077 per 1 million people
# 15 South Dakota: 12.888 per 1 million people
# 16 South Carolina: 11.751 per 1 million people
# 17 Georgia: 11.463 per 1 million people
# 18 Texas: 11.33 per 1 million people
# 19 Utah: 10.528 per 1 million people
# 20 Indiana: 10.364 per 1 million people
# 21 Idaho: 9.796 per 1 million people
# 22 Colorado: 9.646 per 1 million people
# 23 North Carolina: 9.213 per 1 million people
# 24 Maine: 9.081 per 1 million people
# 25 Virginia: 8.193 per 1 million people
# 26 Wisconsin: 7.948 per 1 million people
# 27 Montana: 7.481 per 1 million people
# 28 Nevada: 7.454 per 1 million people
# 29 Florida: 7.42 per 1 million people
# 30 Arizona: 7.408 per 1 million people
# 31 Ohio: 7.066 per 1 million people
# 32 North Dakota: 6.283 per 1 million people
# 33 Pennsylvania: 5.712 per 1 million people
# 34 New Hampshire: 5.344 per 1 million people
# 35 Delaware: 4.742 per 1 million people
# 36 Minnesota: 4.676 per 1 million people
# 37 Illinois: 4.074 per 1 million people
# 38 Michigan: 4.051 per 1 million people
# 39 Oregon: 3.296 per 1 million people
# 40 Washington: 3.181 per 1 million people
# 41 New York: 1.922 per 1 million people
# 42 Maryland: 1.428 per 1 million people
# 43 Connecticut: 1.14 per 1 million people
# 44 Rhode Island: 0.929 per 1 million people
# 45 California: 0.47 per 1 million people
# 46 Massachusetts: 0.469 per 1 million people
# 47 New Jersey: 0.115 per 1 million people
= 48 Alaska: 0 per 1 million people
= 48 Hawaii: 0 per 1 million people
= 48 Vermont: 0 per 1 million people

Walmart Stores number of supercenters (per capita) statistics - States compared - StateMaster

[Plutonic Panda]

This is interesting

A novelty real estate blog post says the number of cowboy boot stores, country radio stations and Walmarts nearby helped them determine what they call the “10 Most Redneck Cities in America.”

with OKC coming in at number 3 and Tulsa 5

1. Atlanta, Georgia

2. Kansas City, Missouri

3. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

4. Nashville, Tennessee

5. Tulsa, Oklahoma

6. Fort Worth, Texas

7. Arlington, Texas

8. Sacramento, California

9. Cleveland, Ohio

10. Mesa, Arizona

- Blog ranks their ?10 most redneck cities in America? | WQAD.com

[Plutonic Panda]

This outdated list is very interesting as well. In 2007 Oklahoma had 84 Walmart's. As the recent data I posted, I will try and find more, we are(were) at 103. There are over 8 new ones that are either planned and very recently opened just in the OKC Metro.

Walmart Stores by State

[Plutonic Panda]

So going by Walmart's website, there are 122 stores in Oklahoma.

Number of stores per city:

OKC: 36 + ones that are planned.

Tulsa: 28

New Orleans: 22

Dallas/Fort Worth: 135

Louisville: 18

Nashville: 25

Charlotte: 48

Jacksonville: 22

Raleigh: 49

Los Angeles area: 81

San Fransisco: 33

Seattle: 30

Portland: 30

New York City: 48

[Plutonic Panda]

I used the Store Finder for that info. Store Finder - Walmart.com

Type in the city name and you can adjust criteria accordingly. In this case, I excluded a few Walmart's in certain cases for more compact cities and removed a few from the 50 mile search in Jacksonville. It is not fair to include cities that are more compact and don't sprawl out as much as others. I also reduced the search radius for a couple cities to 25 miles like New Orleans where it is more compact and doesn't sprawl out as much.

[bchris02]

Another thing to consider is that in many east coast cities the older style Wal-Mart stores that have a limited grocery selection still exist. They haven't all been upgraded to Supercenters like they have around here. Charlotte has quite a few that are like that.

[bluedogok]

Sam Walton was born in Kingfisher, grew up in Columbia, Missouri and bought his first store in Arkansas. It only makes sense that those three states that border each other are the core of Walmart, just like Minnesota is the core of Target and Best Buy.

Most states don't have the Neighborhood Market concept which skews the location numbers even more than those who just have the Supercenter or regular store concepts.