Introduction to Retail Business
PIGGLY WIGGLY : A SUPERMARKET FRANCHISING GIANT
PIGGLY WIGGLY (WWW.PIGGLYWIGGLY.COM) is a franchisor with over 6000 supermarket units that span the southern states from Louisiana to north Carolina. In addition, Piggly Wiggly franchises about 20 stores in Wisconsin that are owned and operated by fresh brands (www.freshbrands.com) , a wholesalers that uses the fresh brands name. Any independent supermarket can become a Piggly Wiggly franchisee by signing a franchise agreement and paying a percentage as sales as a royalty. In 2002, progressive grocer honored Piggly Wiggly with an award of excellent, based on the firm’s successful marketing efforts for its franchisees. The company pays strict attention to such elements as developing specifications for store signs to assure a uniform image managing a private-label program, arranging for special purchases for its franchisees, planning special promotion, and so on. Piggly Wiggly provides extensive purchasing assistance for its franchises by arranging for both private-label and national-brand programs. Piggly Wiggly’s private-label program includes about 1000 products in more than 200 categories. The franchisor handles all of the management responsibilities for its private-label line, including setting product specifications, choosing suppliers, monitoring quality, and package design. Although
Piggly Wiggly is owned by Fleming companies (www.fleming.com) , a major grocery wholesaler, its franchised store do not have to purchase from Fleming. Some of the privatelabel products are bought from Fleming; others are acquired from various sources.
Through a centralized purchasing program for national brands, Piggly Wiggly franchisees have access to deals that would be otherwise unavailable to them. According to Piggly Wiggly’s president, “we do top-to-top meetings with manufacturers in which we present ourselves as a conventional chain. If you counted all our stores as a single chain, we’d be at $4 billion in sales.
PIGGLY WIGGLY (WWW.PIGGLYWIGGLY.COM) is a franchisor with over 6000 supermarket units that span the southern states from Louisiana to north Carolina. In addition, Piggly Wiggly franchises about 20 stores in Wisconsin that are owned and operated by fresh brands (www.freshbrands.com) , a wholesalers that uses the fresh brands name. Any independent supermarket can become a Piggly Wiggly franchisee by signing a franchise agreement and paying a percentage as sales as a royalty. In 2002, progressive grocer honored Piggly Wiggly with an award of excellent, based on the firm’s successful marketing efforts for its franchisees. The company pays strict attention to such elements as developing specifications for store signs to assure a uniform image managing a private-label program, arranging for special purchases for its franchisees, planning special promotion, and so on. Piggly Wiggly provides extensive purchasing assistance for its franchises by arranging for both private-label and national-brand programs. Piggly Wiggly’s private-label program includes about 1000 products in more than 200 categories. The franchisor handles all of the management responsibilities for its private-label line, including setting product specifications, choosing suppliers, monitoring quality, and package design. Although
Piggly Wiggly is owned by Fleming companies (www.fleming.com) , a major grocery wholesaler, its franchised store do not have to purchase from Fleming. Some of the privatelabel products are bought from Fleming; others are acquired from various sources.
Through a centralized purchasing program for national brands, Piggly Wiggly franchisees have access to deals that would be otherwise unavailable to them. According to Piggly Wiggly’s president, “we do top-to-top meetings with manufacturers in which we present ourselves as a conventional chain. If you counted all our stores as a single chain, we’d be at $4 billion in sales.