<p>Sprouts Farmers Market is known to be one of the <B>fastest growing retailers</b> in the United States and over the past couple of years hasn’t been shy to acquire other markets with similar product offerings – Henry’s Farmers Market and Sunflower Farmers Market, to name a few. Now, Sprouts is gearing up to expand into unexplored territory – the Southeast. There’s plenty of untapped potential in this region, namely for fresh produce, but what about competition in the area? Check out The Fresh Market, for example. More and more it’s starting to seem like Sprouts and The Fresh Market’s marketing areas are <B>starting to overlap</b>, so what does the future hold for these two retailers? <B>Consolidation or competition?</b></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href=" http://www.andnowuknow.com/buyside-news/sprouts-farmers-market-expand-metro-atlanta-and-las-vegas/11070/christofer-oberst" target="_new"> Sprouts’ Expansion into the Southeast </a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p><img src="https://cdn.andnowuknow.com/legacyWriterImages/sprouts.jpg" alt="St Paddy's Cropped Images" /></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>The Fresh Market operates in 27 states, and about a third of its stores are based in the Southeast. Sprouts, on the other hand, currently operates in nine states, five of which contain a few Fresh Market stores – namely in Arizona, California, Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas. If history repeats itself, <B>can we see a possible merger</b> between these two retailers? In an interview with The Motley Fool, Amin Maredia, CFO at Sprouts, suggested that part of the rationale behind the Henry’s and Sunflower acquisitions was based on “same footprint, similar go-to-market strategy, and similar products.” Both Sprouts and The Fresh Market strive on <B>delivering premium fresh produce</b> to consumers and may soon be establishing <B>a similar footprint</b>. We’re still far away from seeing either of these companies even consider a deal, but the potential is still there. Even if they don’t consider an acquisition, it’s certain that competition will be fierce in the Southeast, especially if Sprouts ventures into Florida where The Fresh Market holds about a fifth of its stores.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p><img src="https://cdn.andnowuknow.com/legacyWriterImages/thefreshmarket.jpg" alt="St Paddy's Cropped Images" /></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>Sprouts isn’t the only retailer considering expansion into the other’s “territory.” The Fresh Market is also continuing its push into California and Texas, possibly in areas where it’s already performing strongly like Palo Alto, Santa Barbara, and Houston.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href=" http://www.andnowuknow.com/buyside-news/fresh-market-continues-push-california-and-texas-markets-despite-store-closures/11044/christofer-oberst" target="_new"> The Fresh Market’s Expansion into California and Texas </a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>Further, what about Whole Foods? If Sprouts and The Fresh Market do consider a potential merger, it will be interesting to see how the combined company will hold up as a national competitor against a widely successful organic food giant.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p><img src="https://cdn.andnowuknow.com/legacyWriterImages/wholefoods.jpg" alt="St Paddy's Cropped Images" /></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>It seems that both Sprouts and The Fresh Market are confident in their future rate of growth, and both retailers seem well prepared to acquire more real estate. Regardless of what happens, it’s going to be race to see who can capture the most share of the market, especially for these two comparable retailers. </p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
