HEB is switching to D-FW

This story is breaking and will be updated.

HEB is finally bringing its namesake supermarkets to Dallas-Fort Worth.

The San Antonio-based grocer, who has been buying land in North Texas for more than 20 years, always said it was a question of when, and if not, he would expand here.

HEB said it will open two stores this summer in Frisco and Plano. They will open in the fall of 2022.

“We are excited to say that the time has come to bring our HEB flag to Dallas-Fort Worth,” said Stephen Butt, president of the Dallas-based HE-B Central Market division.

• The Frisco HEB store will be built on the northeast corner of Legacy Drive and Main Street on land the company bought in 2016. The site is a mile east of a Kroger on Main.
• The Plano store will be on a lot that HEB has owned since 2012, on the southwest corner of Preston Road and Spring Creek Parkway. This location is about 5 miles from the company’s store at the Central Market in Plano.

The two stores will be approximately 14 km from each other, spanning the Dallas North Tollway and surrounded by rooftops in Collin County, one of the fastest growing areas in the country.

Butt did not say how many stores he plans to open here in addition to the first two.

The entry of HE-B will trigger a new level of competition in D-FW. The company has a high ranking both with customers and in the performance of the industry. Walmart has the largest market share here, and all major national supermarket chains have significant footprints in D-FW, from Kroger and Albertsons to Aldi, Trader Joe’s, Sprouts Farmers Market, Target, Sam’s Club, Costco, Amazon and Whole Foods Market.

Unlike its competitors, HEB is run by Texans for Texans and has gained loyalty over the years as an employer, corporate citizen and for the flavors it serves in prepared and frozen foods. It regularly adds new private label products, including varieties of sauces and queso. Their Texas-shaped tortillas are sent to Texans spread across the country.

In 2020, HEB overtook Trader Joe’s to become the largest grocery store owner in the U.S. on the annual Retail Preference Index of the data science company dunnhumby. It was the second position this year, when Amazon jumped to the top of the ranking during the pandemic.

Butt said that eventually all of the retailer’s flags will open stores in D-FW.

In addition to HEB and the Central Market, the company owns the Mi Tienda chain and Joe V’s Smart Store, a low-cost concept. Their Austin-based Favor delivery service also operates here.

“North Texas is a very important market for our future growth, for all HEBs,” said Butt. “Our plan is to grow here with our multiple formats.”

The company brought its Central Market stores here first.

Central Market, a Dallas-based division, opened its first local store in Fort Worth in 2001 and now has six locations, including stores in Dallas, Plano and Southlake. The other Texas markets with Central Market stores have only one or two of the luxury specialty chain.

Butt said that expanding the HEB brand here will not affect his plans for the Central Market. The company is reopening the tornado damaged Preston Hollow Central Market on June 30 and said its plans for stores in Uptown Dallas and Oak Cliff will continue to move forward.

“We learned over time that customers use both formats. They love the fullness of a trip to our HEB food / drug stores and stock up on special items at the Central Market, ”said Butt. “We found that customers use both.”

D-FW is the largest market in Texas that does not have HEB stores scattered throughout its neighborhoods.

The 116-year-old Texas grocery store opened stores south and west of Fort Worth in Burleson, Cleburne and Granbury. Its newest store in the area opened in 2019, west of Fort Worth, in Hudson Oaks.

A store in Waxahachie is 45 km south of downtown Dallas – close enough for some devoted shoppers to take the hike.

The retailer believes it can make inroads not only with people who already know HEB, but also with new transplants for Texas that gravitated to the suburbs.

“We hear people asking all the time when we are bringing HEB to the market. This recognition makes us proud, but there are many at D-FW who don’t know us, ”said Butt. “There are many new residents in Plano and Frisco. And we will work hard to earn your respect and your business. “

Although the brand is known in the supermarket sector as a major regional supermarket chain in Texas, it is not yet in all parts of the state. HEB, which operates 420 stores mainly in central, southern and western Texas and Mexico, does not operate in El Paso or Panhandle. D-FW holds the greatest market potential.

Its entry into the Houston market was brutal for the rest of the grocery store operators. HEB started opening stores in Houston in the early 2000s, and in 10 to 12 years, its market share was tied with Kroger and Walmart. In 2016, it reached both operators and has been number 1 in Houston since.

A broad announcement to HE-B employees will be made on Friday morning. “A strong team” was set up to work on the expansion, said Butt.

Twitter: @MariaHalkias

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