Case Study

T&T Supermarket

When the first T&T Supermarket store opened in 1993, it was an ambitious effort to sell Asian groceries in a supermarket format. Traditional Canadian grocery stores sold a limited selection of Asian products, while Asian grocery stores did not typically offer the convenience and amenities of conventional mass-market retailers. T&T Supermarket quickly found its niche by offering a wide selection of high-quality products beautifully presented in a large, modern format.

T&T Supermarket initially targeted Asian Canadians, who had cooking styles and consumption tastes that were not well served by the average grocery store. However, the company soon realized that its stores appealed to other segments of the market as well. Not only were Canadians from a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds interested in Asian food, but the stores also offered a unique, even entertaining, shopping experience, from the broad range of seafood, including choosing from a number of different types of live fish right out of an in-store tank, to unique fresh produce and spices, which offered non-Asian consumers a sense of adventure and discovery.

T&T Supermarket found itself in an enviable positionit was serving the traditional needs of a rapidly growing Asian Canadian population and introducing consumers from different backgrounds to Asian food. As a result, the company grew rapidly to become Canadas largest ethnic grocery supermarket, with more than 20 stores in British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario.

In 2009, Loblaw Companies LimitedCanadas largest retailer, with more than $30 billion in annual salespurchased T&T Supermarket. Like many of the more conventional grocers in Canada, Loblaw recognized that the countrys population was continuing to evolve and becoming increasingly diverse. Loblaw wanted to learn from what T&T had accomplished, while T&T wanted the financial strength and support it needed to continue to grow its business. T&T Supermarkets CEO, Cindy Lee, believed the sale of her stores would allow the company to sell Asian food to even more Canadian families.

questions:

1. Which of the quartet of institutions influence consumers choice of grocery stores? What impact does the Canadian media have on consumers food preferences?