Wal-Mart Running Tom Thumb Out Of Town

In announcing last week that it was closing 26 stores in Texas, including 9 of its Tom Thumb stores in the metroplex, parent company Safeway tried to put the best possible spin on the situation. The Dallas Morning News says Safeway's top guy, Steve Burd, told analysts that, "pruning" the sagging stores will ultimately make Texas more competitive. "The Texas [market] is going to be much better and more focused by closing these 26 stores," the News quoted Mr. Burd as saying.

But a closer look at the facts suggest something more ominous. The simple fact is that Tom Thumb cannot compete with Wal-Mart. Below are the 9 stores in the DFW area that Safeway is closing, listed below is the location of the nearest Wal-Mart Supercenter and the distance between them.

Tom Thumb: 4123 Cedar Springs, Dallas
Wal-Mart: 1959 W Northwest Hwy., Dallas
Distance: 4.85 Miles

Tom Thumb: 3322 N. Buckner, Dallas
Wal-Mart: 7401 Samuell Blvd., Dallas
Distance: 1.15 Miles

Tom Thumb: 11255 Garland Road, Dallas
Wal-Mart: 3159 Garland Avenue, Dallas
Distance: 2.31 miles

7440 McCart Avenue, Fort Worth
7451 Mccart Avenue, Fort Worth
Distance: 0.28 Miles

4209 Basswood Blvd., Fort Worth
8520 North Beach Street, Fort Worth
Distance: 1.07 miles

2334 Buckingham Blvd., Garland
3159 Garland Avenue, Garland
Distance: 2.29 Miles

2810 E. Trinity Mills, Carrollton
1213 E. Trinity Mills, Carrollton
Distance: 3.59 Miles

2430 E. Pioneer Pkwy, Arlington
2225 W Interstate 20, Grand Prairie
Distance: 4.54 Miles

7120 Rufe Snow Drive, North Richland Hills
6401 Ne Loop 820, North Richland Hills
Distance: 2.96 Miles

Average Distance: 2.56 Miles

Each of the Tom Thumbs that are being closed are located very close to a Wal-Mart Supercenter. Grocery stores consider the area within 5 miles of a store to be their prime market area. So obviously, the Tom Thumbs being closed were in direct competition with a nearby Wal-Mart for customers. Just as obviously, Tom Thumb is conceding defeat, declaring Wal-Mart the winner. No amount of spin can change the geography. So what makes Safeway think the other Tom Thumbs will fare in better in competition with Wal-Mart?