Wal Mart Stores : Stores beef up selection to bring in dough Grocery chains try to stay ahead by adding trendy, premium options Three west Omaha Hy-Vees are remodeling their wine and spirits sections and floral departments, among other additions. A dry-aged choice ribeye s

05/06/2016 | 02:29pm EDT

With his shopping cart full of beer, meat and cheese, Frank Kilton ofOmaha was ready Thursday to host his evening poker party. And his poker
buddies were in for something special.
Kilton brought his own platter to Hy-Vee so the supermarket could make him a custom charcuterie plate, with sopressata salami, pepperoni and a cured pork loin sliced paper-thin, arranged with an assortment of cheeses.
"This is a step above," Kilton said. "Hands down, it is worth the money."
Customers like Kilton, a medical sales executive, are willing to spend more on something special, and grocery sellers in Omaha are remodeling and expanding to give it to them. A spate of millions of dollars of spring remodeling and building is bringing to town an expanded selection of meats and cheeses, organic produce, house-baked bread and other specialty foods.
The changes come as food sellers here and nationally
compete with restaurants and delivery services for customers who are short on time and looking for convenient, trendy and healthful choices.
Supermarkets also are looking to set themselves apart, in response to intense competition from club stores like Costco, which is building a second Omaha-area store, and discounters like Walmart, which has opened 10 stores in the Omaha area since 2013 and captures about a third of the metro area's grocery market share, according to a market-tracking report prepared for The World-Herald by Chain Store Guide.
At Hy-Vee, which is remodeling three west Omaha locations, the changes are coming on the perimeter of the store, the part of the supermarket where sales are growing fastest, store managers said. Changes include spruced-up floral departments, new charcuterie stations and artisan bakeries, and the addition of dry-aged beef. (Charcuterie is cooked or cured meat, like the prosciutto or salami that is served on a high-end meat and cheese plate.)
Shoppers still don't want to pay a lot for boxed and canned center-store staples, but with the economy strengthening, "people are spending more money on food, and they're trading up in the perishable departments," said Chuck Cerankosky, grocery industry equity analyst with Cleveland-based Northcoast Research.
It used to be that a supermarket like a Hy-Vee would remodel itself every 20 years, said Jim Ewoldt, store director at the Hy-Vee at 156th Streetand West Maple road. "Now it's 10 years," he said.
Even high-end Whole Foods is reinventing its business, now that its competitors offer a wider selection of the organic products it has been known for. The Austin, Texas, retailer on Wednesday reported declining same-store sales for the third consecutive quarter. This spring it is rolling out a new brand of stores, called 365, with a smaller format and a focus on lower-priced staples.
Customer demand is driving the changes, like the 20 additional linear feet of refrigerated space for craft beer at Ewoldt's Hy-Vee. It's the fastest-growing category in the wine and spirits room, manager Bill Bourne said.
"There is a ‘craft beer groupie,' " he said. "They know when stuff is coming out before we do."
In the floral section, manager Barb Coffin said a new private consultation room allows her to better serve brides and other party planners.
"I have had nine brides in here in one day," she said. "The brides love it - they feel special." She refers them to the cake and catering departments, driving even more business for the store.
Meat manager Charles Blobaum said, yes, his new dry-aged beef carries a price premium, but, no, shoppers don't mind.
Especially millennial shoppers, he said: "They want to go back to the way things were done in the old days, and they don't care about the price," he said.
The Linden Market Hy-Vee also recently opened a new charcuterie department and is building an artisan bread bakery. The store also will start offering classes in how to build a charcuterie and cheese board.
"The more variety we have in our stores, the more people we can appeal to," said Joel Allen, store director.
And the Hy-Vee at 180th and Q Streets, which already has an artisan bakery, is also in line for remodeling work, which will include new decor, new check-out lanes, and the charcuterie department, said Frank Woodward, Hy-Vee western district vice president.
"We're providing our customers a whole new shopping experience on another level," he said, noting, "Your competition is always trying to catch up with you."
Stores that don't reinvent themselves risk becoming irrelevant.
"The chains need to continually reinvest to meet shopper demand," saidBurt Flickinger, managing director of New York retail consulting firmStrategic Resource Group. "The ones that under-invest will be the laggards."