Winners And Losers In The Supermarket Revolution (Essay Sample)

GAINERS AND LOSERS IN THE SUPERMARKET REVOLUTION
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Introduction
The supermarket revolution is widely felt within the developing countries, a move that started in the early 1990’s. Supermarkets in this regard refers to all the retail businesses ranging from chain stores to hypermarkets and convenience stores. With the rise of this new wave of retail stores, there are major gainers and losers in the marketing sector, with a clear indication that these new entrants have gone beyond the expected middle and upper-class clients. In the food sector for instance, this evolution has affected farmers, processors, retailers and wholesalers in multiple ways, a reason as to why this paper seeks to ascertain who has gained and who has lost as a result of this revolution and the reasons behind their gain or loss.
Consumers are the greatest gainers
With the advent of the supermarket revolution, consumers have been on the receiving end because they are constantly treated to lower prices and a variety of products to choose from. Compared to the traditional retailers that have dominated the market industry for years, supermarkets are keen with regard to the quality of goods that they present to the final consumer and this implies that consumers buy goods at a cheaper price without necessarily compromising quality and quantity (Reardon and Gulati). In most countries apart from India, statistics indicate that consumers are buying fresh fruits and vegetables at a price that is lower than what is offered in traditional retail stores and grocery shops. Vegetables are considered to be 15% cheaper in supermarkets compared to the traditional groceries because these new entrants have moved closer to the consumers and are buying fresh produce directly from the farmers, which comes at a better price and therefore enables them to sell the products at a lower price.
Traditional retailers are on a losing end
The rise and spread of supermarkets and convenience stores has been expedient and with this speed, the market share that traditional retailers enjoyed has been shrinking by the day. Depending on location and product category, it is only reasonable to mention that the market share enjoyed by traditional retail stores has declined at a varying rate (Reardon and Gulati). In large cities, the traditional retail shops that sell daily products and grocery products have seen a massive decline in their market base, with some opting out of business. Supermarkets are buying highly processed foods in bulk and in this regard, the traditional retailers are in no position to compete with these giants (Reardon and Gulati). In small urban centers, however, traditional retailers have employed the economies of scale, besides struggling to modernize their business and this has led to a rather gradual decline in their market base but compared to the period prior to 1990 when supermarkets had not taken root especially in the developing countries, it is obvious that they have lost a big share of their clientele.
Modern supermarkets have also beaten the tradition versions because they have the ability to create a large number of lucrative jobs for the local communities and are therefore at a good position to give back to the society (Reardon and Gulati). As a means of appreciating this, societies have endeavored to buy from large retail and chain stores at the expense of the traditional retail shops that have been around for a long time. There are countries such as Indian in which modern retailers employ a number of workers that is almost similar to that of traditional retail sectors but to gain some competitive advantage, the modern retailers offer better working conditions and higher salaries, a reason why have been favored despite the fact that traditional retailers are staging stiff competition as well.
Farmers and processors are big gainers
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