Industry+Analysis

no profile The United States grocery industry consists of approximately 65,000 supermarkets and other grocery stores with a combined annual revenue of $465 billion. Dominant companies within the industry include Kroger, Safeway, and SUPERVALU, as well as Ahold, the U.S. division of Netherlands-based Royal Ahold. The 50 largest companies generate about 70 percent of total revenue, whereas the convenience and discount stores, the warehouse clubs and superstores have their own separate industry profiles. The grocery store industry operates in a highly competitive external environment with low industry margins; the individual firms' profitability depends on high sales volumes and efficient operational strategies. The aspect that fosters and drives demand is population growth and consumer preferences. To achieve customer preferences, big companies within this industry that enjoy the economies of purchasing, distribution, marketing and finance are able to offer the convenience of a wide collection of quality products under one roof. The smaller companies on the other hand cater to the local market providing a combination of specialty products and supermmmior customer service. Wal-mart and Sams Club are examples of **discount stores** and warehouse clubs that have also aggressively pursued the retail grocery market, with Wal-Mart being the largest seller of groceries in the U.S. Other competition includes specialty food stores, convenience stores, drugstores and dollar stores.



Growing market share is an important part of Kroger’s long-term strategy. Market share, the most important part of their long-term strategy, allows them to leverage the fixed costs in their business over a wider revenue base; thus, their fundamental operating philosophy is to maintain and increase market share. According to Nielsen Homescan Data in 2009, Kroger’s overall market share increased approximately 60 basis points. During 2009, Kroger successfully attained identical sales, one of the key objectives of their strategic business model. Identical supermarket sales increased 2.1%, without fuel, compared to the prior year. The business continues to widen the gap between Kroger’s identical sales growth trends and those of most of their competitors. Even in the face of high unemployment, unprecedented deflation, and a weak U.S. economy, Kroger improved its operational performance and continued to focus on creating value for its shareholders (referenceforbusiness.com, 2010). ||
 * The two top companies making the most revenue, Kroger Company and Safeway Inc., will be analyzed in the comparative analysis. Kroger Company's primary sources of revenue are its food stores which account for approximately 95% of total company sales. The company owns 2,470 grocery retail stores in 31 states and operates 779 convenience stores in 18 states. It also has 375 fine jewelry stores under names like Fred Meyer Jewelers, Littman Jewelers, Barclay Jewelers, and Fox's Jewelers. These are high-margin businesses which generate a substantial cash flow. Kroger is the only major U.S. supermarket company operating 40 food processing and manufacturing facilities producing high quality private-label products that provide value for customers and enhanced margins for Kroger. Kroger operates 909 supermarket fuel centers, which are a natural addition to their one-stop-shopping strategy. The firm's 1,963 pharmacies, located within stores, provide high quality services at everyday low priceshttp (thekrogerco.com, 2010). 


 * Safeway Inc. on the other hand is one of the largest food and drug retailers in North America. As of March 28, 2010, the company operated 1,712 stores in the Western, Southwestern, Rocky Mountain, and Mid-Atlantic regions of the U.S. as well as in western Canada. In support of its stores, Safeway has an extensive network of distribution manufacturing and food processing facilities. With 8% of the market, Safeway is the second largest traditional supermarket operator in the United States. With its Blackhawk Network subsidiary, Safeway is also the largest distributor and seller of third party gift cards, offering brands such as Barnes & Noble, iTunes, and Home Depot. Safeway earned $40.8 billion in revenue in 2009, down from $44.1 billion in 2008. In 2009 Safeway reported a net loss of $1,097 million, as compared to net income of $965 million the previous year. Safeway suffered a non-cash goodwill impairment charge related to its reduced market capitalization and the recession; without the charge, Safeway would have posted net income of $720 million. Management blamed the decline in revenues on reduced consumer spending and an increase in bargain shopping, lower fuel prices, and “unprecedented levels” of price deflation for items such as dairy, meat, and produce (marketwatch.com, 2010).

Table 1 and 2 illustrates the Strategic Group Mapping within this industry. The Strategic Group Mapping may be explained through the Boston Consulting Group Matrix which divides the players in the market in terms of their market growth and market share. Stars have a high market share and high market growth, Companhia Brasileira de Distributors can be stated as the stars with a revenue of $25.5 B and a growth rate of 27.50%. Cash cows high market share and low growth, Kroger is the cash cow of this industry with a revenue of $78.7 B and growth of 9.65%. Dogs are the companies that have a low share of a low growth market: Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc. has a revenue of $7.2 B and a growth of 7.00%. Question marks have high market share but a low growth rate; SuperValu falls under this category with $39.4 B in revenues in 2009 but a 7.55% growth rate (Wikinvest, 2010).  Since the grocery store industry is so competitive with very low industry margins, the individual firms struggle to keep up their profitability. Each individual firm needs to consider Porter's Five Forces Model along with keeping in mind that their businesses run on customers that are powerful and have low switching costs when giants like Wal-Mart are in business. || Table 1: Table 2:
 * Leaders in Long-Term Growth Rate (5 yr) ||
 * [|Companhia Brasileira de Distrib] || 27.50% ||
 * [|Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co] || 20.00% ||
 * [|Whole Foods Market, Inc.] || 17.70% ||
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">[|The Pantry, Inc.] || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">15.00% ||
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">[|Susser Holdings Corporation] || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">15.00% ||
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">[|Ingles Markets, Incorporated] || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">13.30% ||
 * <span style="color: blue; display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Ruddick Corporation || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">12.00% ||
 * <span style="color: blue; display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Caseys General Stores, Inc || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">10.23% ||
 * <span style="color: blue; display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Kroger Company || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">9.65% ||
 * <span style="color: blue; display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Safeway Inc. || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">8.95% ||
 * = <span style="color: red; display: block; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 7.5pt;">Leaders in Total Revenue (ttm)

<span style="color: red; display: block; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 7.5pt;">2009 || <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 9pt;">Source: <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 9pt;">http://www.wikinvest.com/industry/Grocery_Stores
 * = <span style="color: red; display: block; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10pt;">[|Kroger Company (The) Common Sto]ck ||= <span style="color: red; display: block; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10pt;">$78.7 B ||
 * = <span style="color: red; display: block; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10pt;">[|Safeway Inc. Common Stock] ||= <span style="color: red; display: block; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10pt;">$41.0 B ||
 * = <span style="color: red; display: block; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10pt;">[|SuperValu Inc. Common Stock] ||= <span style="color: red; display: block; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10pt;">$39.4 B ||
 * = <span style="color: red; display: block; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10pt;">[|Etablissements Delhaize Freres] ||= <span style="color: red; display: block; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10pt;">$25.5 B ||
 * = <span style="color: red; display: block; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10pt;">[|Companhia Brasileira de Distrib]CBD ||= <span style="color: red; display: block; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10pt;">$16.0 B ||
 * = <span style="color: red; display: block; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10pt;">[|Whole Foods Market, Inc.] ||= <span style="color: red; display: block; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10pt;">$8.7 B ||
 * = <span style="color: red; display: block; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10pt;">[|Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co] ||= <span style="color: red; display: block; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10pt;">$8.6 B ||
 * = <span style="color: red; display: block; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10pt;">[|Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc.] ||= <span style="color: red; display: block; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10pt;">$7.2 B ||
 * = <span style="color: red; display: block; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10pt;">The Pantry, Inc. ||= <span style="color: red; display: block; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10pt;">$6.2 B ||
 * = <span style="color: red; display: block; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10pt;">[|Caseys General Stores, Inc.] ||= <span style="color: red; display: block; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10pt;">$4.4 B ||

WORKS CITED

Reference for business. (2010). //SIC 5411 Grocery Stores//. Retrieved September 24, 2010, from [] Wikinvest. (2010). //Grocery Stores//. Retrieved September 24, 2010, from Source: []

Einav, L., Leibtag, E., & Nevo, A. (n.d.). //On the Accuracy of Nielsen Homescan Data- The U.S. Department of Agriculture//. Retrieved September 24, 2010, from []. //Operations Overview//. (2010). Retrieved September 25, 2010, from [] //Safeway Inc- Company Description//. (2010). Retrieved September 24, 2010, from []

** Porter’s Five Forces **

// Threat of Entry //

** Economies of scale. ** The grocery industry possesses the qualities of economies of scale achieved through large volumes of production resulting in costs that are relatively low thus making it very difficult for competitors to enter the industry (Barney & Hesterly, 2010). However, Whole Foods Market gained entry into this mass market in 1980 by appealing to customers through organic foods, herbal remedies, and natural skin care products (Whole Foods Market, 2010).

** Product differentiation. ** From the lowest prices at stores like Wal-Mart, to the premium, hard-to-find (and low-cost) products found at Trader Joe’s or specialty items at Whole Foods, this industry makes it easy for new entrants to gain profits through product differentiation. Wal-Mart’s Supercenter, for example, caters to consumers by providing variety and convenience through “groceries and general merchandise under one roof” (Holz-Clause & Geisler, 2010).

** Cost advantages independent of scale. ** Since its establishment in 1936, Giant Food stores have acquired years of valuable information (Giant Foods, 2010). Managerial-know-how, a critical component of a business's day-to-day operations, aids Giant Foods when pursuing favorable access to raw materials (Barney & Hesterly, 2010). This managerial-know-how increases competition, thus increasing the barrier to entry (Barney & Hesterly, 2010).

** Government policy. ** The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDAs) regulations to post calories on menu and self-service items, such as made-to-order sandwiches and potato salads, are to be implemented in grocery stores across the nation by March 23, 2011 (Lord-Stewart, 2010). This new regulation, which applies to grocery/food stores containing 20 or more locations, increases the barrier to entry by increasing costs, such as the man-hours needed to calculate calories per serving (Thorn, 2010).

According to Porter, when the industry barriers are high, the threat of entry is low (Barney & Hesterly, 2010). As the threat of entry is low, this will positively impact a firm's attractiveness and profits (Barney & Hesterly, 2010).

// Threat of Rivalry //

** Large numbers of competitors. ** According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (2009), “in 2008, there were approximately 85,200 grocery stores, of which approximately 25,900 were convenience stores.” With thousands of corporations from which consumers can choose, such as Kroger or Harris Teeter, there is no shortage of competitors in this industry, which increases the threat of rivalry.

** Slow or declining growth. ** While grocery stores themselves might be experiencing slow or declining growth, “specialty food retailers such as Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods” are experiencing rapid growth as consumer preferences shift to natural, unprocessed foods (Tekin, 2010). This renewed customer interest in a healthy lifestyle increases the threat of rivalry between grocery stores as stores such as Safeway and Giant compete for a share of profits by offering organic fruits and vegetables, as well as meat and dairy products.

** High fixed costs and/or high storage costs. ** Fixed costs, such as land or zoning requirements, may be more costly depending on the location and size of the grocery store (United States Department of Agriculture, n.d.). In addition, this industry has extremely high storage costs, not only at retail locations, but also at distribution centers. According to Porter, the higher the costs, the less attractive an industry (Barney & Hesterly, 2010).

** Low product differentiation. ** With the various options available to consumers, such as organic grocery stores, farmer’s markets, or wholesale clubs, it a ppears that the grocery industry has high product differentiation, and is therefore (under this condition) not a facilitator of rivalry (Barney & Hesterly, 2010). After analyzing these four aspects, it can be said that the threat of rivalry is moderate (?) or moderately high (?). Moderate I think, because even though there is product differentiation these firms face a constant effort to develop and retain customer loyalty.

// Threat of Substitutes //

** Substitutes fill the same need but in a different way. ** Whole Foods Market and Safeway, for example, both fill consumers needs for the same product (i.e. tomato). The tomatoes at Whole Foods Market are grown organically, free of pesticides and pollutants (Whole Foods Market, 2010). Tomatoes found at Safeway, however, might be grown with the aid of pesticides and growth stimulants in soil (source). Both stores fill the consumers need for the tomato, but do so very differently.

** Substitutes will likely come from outside an industry. ** Peapod is a service that is growing more and more as consumers want convenience and resort to the Internet; it gives them the ability to shop online and have groceries delivered to the home while keeping potential customers out of stores. It is the “nation’s leading Internet grocer, serving over 280,000 customers in Chicago, New England, and the mid-Atlantic metropolitan regions” ("Peapod Delivers 'Express Line' Service", 2010). Also, according to the "Peapod Delivers 'Express Line' Service" article, “Peapod’s service has proved popular, growing at a rate of 25% in most areas” (2010). Another alternative to the traditional grocery store is Farmers markets: consumers can turn to these to find fresh produce, homemade and baked goods, and other assorted home-grown products. Although substitutes do exist for the grocery industry, there remain few alternatives, which leaves grocery stores as the dominant force and go-to industry for consumers. Therefore, the threat of substitutes is low. (?) Yes, seller has the power.

// Threat of Suppliers //

** Small number of firms in a supplier’s industry. ** Agriculture limits the locations or business from which to purchase their products. Furthermore, some foods are only available seasonally. They can, however, be obtained from other states, but this limits their selection from whom to purchase. This indicates high supplier power.

** Highly differentiated product. ** In the grocery industry, an example of a highly differentiated product that suppliers provide to buyers (grocery chains) is organic vs. non-organic fruits and vegetables. Both are essentially the same product but are highly differentiated in the eyes of consumers.

** Focal firm is an insignificant customer of supplier. ** According to this condition, the threat of suppliers is low. Grocery stores are large if not the only customer of certain suppliers (i.e. agriculture). So, threat of suppliers is low (?) wouldnt that be high, if we look from the firms prospective?!

Threat of Buyers

Buyers (or grocery stores) can vertically integrate backwards by manufacturing their own product (i.e. Safeway or Giant brand sweet corn) and introducing it into their market.

According to Porter (Barney & Hesterly, 2010), “many small buyers can be united around an issue to act as a block.” An excellent example is the one she provided in class – the canned tuna that received a huge uproar when consumers discovered they were including dolphin as well. This indicates that this industry is very consumer-sensitive, relying on feedback from its customers to decide whether or not to carry a product.

** Key Industry Trends **

// Technology //

The external environment is constantly undergoing technological changes. We are living in a digital age, where updates and modifications are constantly being made to the newest, fastest items. Increasing reliance on technology has led to effects on the labor market, because people are being replaced by machines. These changes can provide opportunities for the grocery store industry in a few ways. One of the first obvious opportunities is the ability to cut back on costs, by replacing physical labor with electronic checkout machines. Another opportunity, would be to use improved technology in the supply chain to expedite the process through the different channels. Storage procedures may for instance be made a lot more efficient, which would save on costs as well. Another opportunity, would be for those within the industry, to find their niche and something that can be improved upon with better technology, and be the firsts to employ it. For instance, what super market was the first to use self-checkout machines? Now, everyone is using it.

** Opportunities and Threats **

Within the grocery store industry, shops are trying their best to focus on the main catalyst of their business- their customers. In order for any grocery store to withstand the competition that they are pressured against they realized that meeting the needs of their customers are essential. Once any market is able to successfully pinpoint their target market they are able to have a competitive advantage over their competitors.

In addition, the buying patterns for this industry are becoming more diverse. When buying powers of consumers are becoming diverse, this allows grocery stores the opportunity expand their product selection. For example, within grocery stores, there are new aisles that are specifically catered to organic food, and even ethnic foods. Having these two additions to the product selection, allows more consumers to see the grocery store industry more attractive.

According to the article, //__Grocery Store Trends__//, “grocery stores are exploring new opportunities in urban markets, wooed by the … returning-to-the-city middle and high income singles, young professionals, and empty-nesters”. If grocery stores are able to successfully meet the needs of this new demographic there is a huge possibility for loyal customers. This new demographic can allow grocery stores to “remove less profitable paper good items such as diapers and instead stock the shelves with more high margin specialty items that cater to busy professionals”. This will separate grocery stores from their main competitors of supercenters because they are setting the tone of having high quality products at a reasonable price.

Grocery stores can have an opportunity to save on their spending power by utilizing locally grown produce instead of spending money through food retailers. A prime example of how this has been accomplished is the story of Wegmans. Not only does this partnership supports the local farmer, and community it helps to reduce the impact on the environment by shrinking the carbon footprint from the farm to the consumer” (Wegmans site) When customers hear the name Wegmans, they know they are receiving high quality products and services; which creates loyal customers.

The main threat that the grocery store industry is being hit with is being able to compete with retail stores that are incorporating grocery items to their inventory. Most of your mom and pop shops and grocery stores that are centrally located within our neighborhoods find it hard to compete with Wal-Mart supercenter stores. According to the article "Wal-Mart Supercenter vs. The Traditional Supermarket," “…25 out of 29 supermarket bankruptcies in the past decade had been caused by the arrival of a Wal-Mart” (year published). This amount of bankruptcies that supermarkets are being faced with proves the struggle they have in order to survive in their own market.

Not only does grocery stores have to endure the stiff competition against retail stores, but they have to try to overpower how the economy changes. During the last two years, the economy has turned for the worst, creating a “recession”. At this time, there has been a huge growth in the unemployment rate; forcing consumers to think economically with their spending habits. With that in mind, consumers are shopping where they can receive good quality products and/or services at low prices. According to Fox News “consumer’s acceptance of purchasing store brands are at an all time high” (year published). Consumers are now feeling that you can purchase generic brands at a low affordable price comparison to name brand products.

In order to become successful in the grocery store industry, research must be done that can exploit the threats and opportunities in their industry. Being able to distinguish the threats and opportunities will help stores align with their target markets. This will allow grocery stores to cater to the needs of their consumers and possibly have a greater outcome of customer loyalty and profitability.

External Analysis. 1. Technology The external environment is constantly undergoing technological changes. We are living in a digital age, where updates and modifications are constantly being made to the newest, fastest items. Increasing reliance on technology has led to effects on the labor market, because people are being replaced by machines. These changes can provide opportunities for the grocery store industry in a few ways. One opportunity is the ability to cut back on costs by replacing physical labor with electronic checkout machines. Another opportunity would be to use improved technology in the supply chain to expedite the process through the different channels. Storage procedures may for instance be made a lot more efficient, which would save on costs as well. Another opportunity would be For those within the industry that would employ the 'first mover advantage' may be able to find their niche and improve upon with better technology. and be the first to deploy it. For instance, which super market was the first to use self-checkout machines? Now, everyone is using it. One possible threats may be when targeting a "niche",would be that sometimes customers may not be very keen to adapt. For instance, customers may not be interested in using self-checkout machines or may prefer interacting with a person at the checkout aisle instead. Research would have needs to be conducted to measure the prospected revenue from this aspect. If the digital wave continues to penetrate the grocery store industry, then the option of "at-home" delivery may become more common and popular. This could be a threat for grocery stores that are not very efficient in adapting quick to include this as an offering, when others are taking the full advantage.

2. Demographics Understanding the demographic segment is a critical element to understanding the environment of the market being entered. Who has buying power? What changes in buying power and average household incomes are there? Baby boomers are heavily discussed when this topic comes up, because of their high disposable income. So what are they buying, and how are they buying it is the next question. Speculations have been made about the ever-growing Hispanic population and its effects on different markets. For instance, because this is a market that is very rich in culture, considerations would need to be made to meet needs that would arise from that. An example would be the rising purchases of ethnic foods and ingredients. The buying power of this segment is vastly growing and expanding. After doing research in this area, a firm would then find it advantageous to tap into these needs by increasing their presence and awareness in the Hispanic communities through Hispanic products, foods and advertisements. Training their employees on the culture and hiring Spanish-speaking personnel would also increase their competitive advantage.

3. Culture Understanding the culture of the segment is of very high value to a firm. The culture defines the consumers taste’s, what they are doing, what triggers them and motivates them all of which in turn will affect their purchasing habits. For instance, currently our society is obsessed with eating healthy, recycling, "Go Green", energy drinks, cereal diets, on the go breakfast products, and organic foods, to name a few. This information would be of a lot of value if understood and utilized correctly.

4. Economic Climate The economic climate and trends are critical elements to factor in when analyzing an industry's external environment. Whether the industry is operating within a recession or depression affects the pricing, buying patterns of consumers, reliance on commodity food items etc. Rising interest rates as a result of a a poor economic state are also elements that have long term effects so must be considered and thoroughly analyzed.

5. Government Regulation Government regulation exists in almost every industry that can be thought of. In the food industry, the government imposes production limits on all sorts of food and so extensive research would need to be done to know these limits and what licensing may be required to produce them. This would then affect the existing market there is available for consumers of these government regulated food products, thus further affecting the pricing of these items and the firms profit margins.

6. Special International Events Special international events or occurrences would effect the external environment in a variety of ways. The ways in which This would be dependant on whether these occurrences affect consumer or government spending habits on their types of and purchases depend on how loyal they are to those commodities. For instance, in a time of war, government spending may be increased in the areas of weapons and arms, and it may be cutting back of decreased in other areas.

Reference List SIDE NOTE: I know the Owl does not capitalize the italicized titles, but my SOM301 professor said they should be capitalized, so I fixed that! Don't need colon after 'Retrieved from' **Also, for my Peapod reference, there was no author - I looked up how to cite web reference with no author and you just start with title**

Whole Foods Market IP, L.P. (2010). //Customer History//. Retrieved from []

Cunningham, Lillian. (2007). //Wal-Mart Supercenter versus the Traditional Supermarket//. Retrieved from http://insight.kellogg.northwestern.edu/index.php/Kellogg/article/wal_mart_supercenter_versus_the_traditional_supermarket. Fusaro, D. (2007//Grocery Store Trends and Strategies for Arlington, Virginia// [PDF File]. Retrieved from [|http://www.arlingtonvirginiausa.com/docs/grocerytrends091707.pdf.]

Barney, J. B., & Hesterly, W. S. (2010). //Strategic Management and Competitive Advantage: Concepts.// Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Incorporated.

Holz-Clause, M., & Geisler, M. (2010). //Grocery Retailing Profile//. Retrieved from []grocery_industry.cfm

United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2009). //Grocery stores//. Retrieved from [|http://www.bls.gov/oco/cg/cgs024.htm#nature] //Peapod Delivers 'Express Line' Service Through Superior Routing//. (2010). Retrieved from http://www.upslogisticstech.com/pub/case-studies/Peapod- Delivers-Express-Line-Service-Through-Superior-Routing/ .

Tekin, J. (2010). //Traditional grocery stores losing market share to specialty retailers private label food and beverage market, report finds//. Retrieved from: []

United States Department of Agriculture. (n.d.). //The economics of supermarket and grocery store location//. Retrieved from []

Giant Foods, LLC. (2010). //About – giant.// Retrieved from http://www.giantfood.com/about_us/index.htm?linkid=F Buying Canned Foods