To Murphy's Sunny Brae: Murphy's lack of competitively-priced organic food sends me biking to the Co-op | Feedback Loop

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Date:   17 December 2006

Subject:   Murphy's lack of competitively-priced organic food sends me biking to the Co-op

To:   Murphy's Sunny Brae

From:   Aaron Antrim

Murphy's Sunny Brae Manager,
I live just a few blocks from Murphy's Market in Sunny Brae, on Chester Avenue. It's a good thing to have a locally- (or regionally-)owned grocery store nearby. Still, I very rarely shop at your market, and I want to tell you why.
I spend about two-thousand dollars a year on food for myself at the Arcata Co-op. I spend about 5% of this amount annually at Murphy's Market. I shop at the Co-op because of the high-quality local organic produce and reasonably-priced organic packaged and dry goods. The Co-op sells many expensive luxury food items, yes, but they also stock healthy, organically-grown staple foods at affordable prices.
I've noticed that the prices of organic produce and packaged goods sold at Murphy's Market in Sunny Brae are consistently higher than the Co-op's prices. I have come to explain this pattern by a theory that Murphy's sees organic or other "sustainable" food products as expensive luxury items, an opportunity to scrape higher margins off sales to wealthier clientèle, à la the Whole Foods business model. Is my theory correct? Since I believe staple (not luxury or imported) organic products should and can be affordable for most or all customers, I am thoroughly turned-off by this approach to pricing.
Because I can't purchase high-quality sustainable food products at competitive prices from Murphy's in Sunny Brae, I end up not shopping at my nearest food store, which I would otherwise like to shop at. It's a shame that I miss the help of the terrific Murphy's staff, saying "hi" to my Sunny Brae neighbors, and that I must travel five times as far to shop at the Co-op. From noticing the shopping behavior of other neighbors, I'd also say that Murphy's is missing out on a serious market opportunity from their lack of competitively-priced organic products.
Sincerely, Aaron Antrim 1445 Chester Avenue Arcata, CA 95521-6823 Phone: 707.822.3184
P.S. How about moving the bike rack to a more convenient location nearer the entrance? Also, check out this discussion of bike racks from Green Wheels of HSU (http://docs.google.com/View?docid=dgm7wkrv_0hhszpf#Security). They describe some bike racks that might more efficiently use your curb space, and provide more convenient and secure bike parking facilities to your bicycling customers.

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Date:	17 December 2006
Subject:	Murphy's lack of competitively-priced organic food sends me biking to the Co-op
To:	Murphy's Sunny Brae
From:	Aaron Antrim
Murphy's Sunny Brae Manager, I live just a few blocks from Murphy's Market in Sunny Brae, on Chester Avenue. It's a good thing to have a locally- (or regionally-)owned grocery store nearby. Still, I very rarely shop at your market, and I want to tell you why. I spend about two-thousand dollars a year on food for myself at the Arcata Co-op. I spend about 5% of this amount annually at Murphy's Market. I shop at the Co-op because of the high-quality local organic produce and reasonably-priced organic packaged and dry goods. The Co-op sells many expensive luxury food items, yes, but they also stock healthy, organically-grown staple foods at affordable prices. I've noticed that the prices of organic produce and packaged goods sold at Murphy's Market in Sunny Brae are consistently higher than the Co-op's prices. I have come to explain this pattern by a theory that Murphy's sees organic or other "sustainable" food products as expensive luxury items, an opportunity to scrape higher margins off sales to wealthier clientèle, à la the Whole Foods business model. Is my theory correct? Since I believe staple (not luxury or imported) organic products should and can be affordable for most or all customers, I am thoroughly turned-off by this approach to pricing. Because I can't purchase high-quality sustainable food products at competitive prices from Murphy's in Sunny Brae, I end up not shopping at my nearest food store, which I would otherwise like to shop at. It's a shame that I miss the help of the terrific Murphy's staff, saying "hi" to my Sunny Brae neighbors, and that I must travel five times as far to shop at the Co-op. From noticing the shopping behavior of other neighbors, I'd also say that Murphy's is missing out on a serious market opportunity from their lack of competitively-priced organic products. Sincerely, Aaron Antrim 1445 Chester Avenue Arcata, CA 95521-6823 Phone: 707.822.3184 P.S. How about moving the bike rack to a more convenient location nearer the entrance? Also, check out this discussion of bike racks from Green Wheels of HSU (http://docs.google.com/View?docid=dgm7wkrv_0hhszpf#Security). They describe some bike racks that might more efficiently use your curb space, and provide more convenient and secure bike parking facilities to your bicycling customers.