Walmart wallops supermart by 33%

By CARL CAMPANILE and LEN MANIACE
Last Updated: 10:04 AM, February 1, 2011
Posted: 2:40 AM, February 1, 2011

City shoppers could slash their grocery bills by 33 percent if retail giant Walmart is permitted to open stores in the Big Apple, a Post analysis has found.

The Post compared prices at the Walmart in North Bergen, NJ, which has a full grocery department, with those at a Key Food supermarket in Forest Hills, Queens -- and it was no contest.

The same items -- dairy goods, coffee, soda, snacks, veggies and household cleaners -- were dramatically cheaper at Walmart.

The Key Food bill for 24 items came to $103.36. The Walmart bill for the same items was $69.43 -- a savings of $33.83.


Christopher Sadowski
Shoppers take advantage of lower grocery prices at Walmart in North Bergen, NJ, last week.

[+] Click to enlarge
The only item cheaper at Key Food was a gallon of whole milk, which cost $3.39, compared with $3.68 at Walmart. But a Walmart spokesman attributed the difference to the laws in both states. New Jersey prohibits steep discounts and New York has a price cap.

As the City Council is set to hold a hearing Thursday on Walmart's controversial proposed first megastore here, Big Apple shoppers said they would welcome the lower prices.

"Everybody deserves an opportunity to shop where they want to shop," said Belinda Allen, a 36-year-old mother of three from Jamaica, Queens, who called Key Food's prices "outrageous."

"Cheaper groceries are better for everybody," she said. "We have people who are unemployed. We have a lot of seniors who can't afford these prices."

Walmart, which operates a dozen stores in the New York suburbs, said the findings bolster its campaign to expand into the city. "We don't think New Yorkers should have to pay more just because they live in a big city," said Walmart spokesman Steve Restivo. "That's why a Walmart store in Manhattan, Kansas, would charge the same price for Cheerios or diapers as a Walmart store in Manhattan, New York.

"We're proud of our ability to help customers stretch their family dollar and meet a budget."

Key Food stores are independently owned franchises. The corporate office declined comment.

Representatives of unions and small businesses, which fear competition from the retailer, will testify at the council hearing against the proposed Walmart.

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