Farm Stores Grocery, Inc. recently announced the launch of an aggressive growth plan for its 45-year-old “Farm Stores Drive-Thru” brand. The plan calls for 100 new stores in South Florida within five years and conversion of its existing 103 drive-thru Farm Stores in Florida to Express Markets with more product selection, sizes and competitive supermarket prices.
More than 18 stores have already been converted to the new Express Market concept and the company’s patented pre-fabricated design enables it to literally “drop-in” new stores with a crane. These pre-fabricated stores are up and running within six weeks as opposed to the standard six months it takes other retailers.
“Many of our loyal customers are working moms who now want more product selection with the same fast drive-thru service we have always delivered,” said CEO Carlos Bared. “That’s why the new brand repositioning introduces the “Always fast, Always fresh(TM)” slogan to reinforce the Farm Stores brand equity of fast service and fresh, high quality products,” he said.
The company also announced its plan to enter the online grocery segment and according to COO Maurice Bared the Farm Stores online model is unique and presents a solution to the failed “home-delivery” model that has bankrupted online players like Webvan and others.
In the Farm Store online model, customers will order at farmstores.com from a full line of grocery items and then pick-up their pre-packaged orders at a drive-thru near their office or home without getting out of their cars. “Farm Stores will be eliminating the costly and inefficient home-delivery leg of the distribution system,” explained COO Bared.
Dr. Sanford Ziff, Founder of Sunglass Hut, Invests In Company
Along with the new stores and plans to go online, Farm Stores has attracted Dr. Sanford Ziff, founder of Sunglass Hut, as an investor and consultant. Dr. Ziff has been called the master of kiosk retailing, turning his first kiosk for sunglasses at Dadeland Mall into Sunglass Hut of America with 550 boutiques and kiosks in every state and Canada.
What attracted Dr. Ziff to Farm Stores is its core similarity to Sunglass Hut. “Farm Stores has repositioned itself as a time-saving and fresh alternative to supermarket shopping and in doing so will create a new way to shop for groceries. It can deliver on the promise through an efficient kiosk drive-thru model that maximizes sales per square foot,” he explained.
Farm Stores Grocery, Inc. is the largest drive-thru grocery in the country offering supermarket selection, sizes and pricing and making good on its promise of “Always fast, Always fresh(TM).”