[RP TownTalk] Dumm's

[bruce.wernek at mindspring.com]

FYI

Dumm's tailors their business to their customers, sales volume, and profit margins.  All businesses must do this to stay in business.  The margins on produce are pretty low given the sales volume, the "throw away's" (spoiled produce), refrigeration costs, and overhead (daily culling of spoiled produce).  On the other hand, the margins on beer and wine are good since there's little maintainance other than refrigeration and filling the refrigerator.  If you were Pete, would you rather dedicate floor space to produce with low profit margins or beer and wine with high profit margins.  If you'll notice, most of the floor space (including refrigerators, not including the cash register area) in Dumm's is dedicated to beer and wine.  There's a reason for this.  This is where Pete's makes his money.  What do you expect him to do, replace a money making product with something that makes much less money so he can make some of you happy.  It's a no brainer.   

I'm sure most grocery stores would prefer to get rid of the produce section given the overhead.  If they had their way, there wouldn't be any produce in the grocery store, only packaged food.  The produce gets you in the store.  This is the reason it's right in front of the entrance in most grocery stores.  It has curb appeal and gives a great first impression (i.e. fresh food).  The main grocery chains devote a lot of time culling the produce and making everything look fresh.  It's all about marketing.

Think about these things before you start bad mouthing Dumm's.

Bruce