Midwest grocery chain cites H-E-B as reason to not expand to Texas
SAN ANTONIO (KTSA News) — A Midwest grocery chain discussing plans to expand south has no plans for Texas and the reason has to do with a San Antonio-based business: H-E-B.
The Des Moines Register reports that West Des Moines-based supermarket chain Hy-Vee discussed the Lone Star State and H-E-B specifically in an internally distributed video of Hy-Vee CEO Randy Edeker announcing expansion plans.
“[H-E-B is] a phenomenal competitor,” Edeker said in the video. “There are lots of weak competitors out there that we just don’t need to go poke that bear, so we won’t.”
The San Antonio-based chain dominates the Texas grocery scene with more than 340 locations statewide. The company announced plans to expand into North Texas with the first two stores in the Dallas-Forth Worth Area next year in a move to take an even greater share of the market.
Instead, Hy-Vee has plans to tackle competitors Ohio-based Kroger and Florida-based Publix as it expands into Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky and Indiana with more than 20 stores.
