STILLWATER - Cub Foods wants to win the grocery war.
And Thursday it unveiled what some call its latest weapon.
Chad Ferguson, the president of Cub Operations, says the new design at its Stillwater location represents the future of Cub. It features a burrito bar, a popcorn shop, a juicer and expanded fresh departments. Ferguson says some of the new features in the store help make life easier for time-crunched customers that may not be able to prepare a full dinner. The grand opening was Thursday.
“In the Twin Cities the food scene has really developed. There are lots of competitors out there in the market. A lot of great retailers and fantastic restaurants and we wanted to be able to offer customers on-the-go solutions like that,” he said.
But is this change really going to help Cub compete with stores like HyVee or online retailers like Amazon?
Geroge John, a marketing professor at the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management, says this move was necessary but may not move the needle.
”It will help in the sense that it is attractive but it is not going to solve the company's bigger problem. That is a bigger challenge and they have to get it all right and this is a piece of it,” John said. “When you walked into a Cub in the old days, you kind of knew you were coming into a discount store and you give up nice things to get low prices. Well, now you get the same low prices lots of different places."
Ferguson says he and his team will take their cue from customers.
“The customer is going to tell us what resonates best. We have done lots of research to understand where the customer says they want to see us grow,” he said.