Why Walmart Doesn't Carry Boar's Head Deli Products - Tasting Table

"If you're grocery shopping for deli meat at Walmart, you'll see many big-name brands like Sara Lee or Hillshire Farm, but you won't find the most famous name in the industry: Boar's Head. While it may not be available everywhere, Boar's Head has a reputation for quality that makes it known nationwide and in high demand. So, it is a bit strange that the country's largest grocery chain doesn't carry the brand other than a few condiments like Boar's Head mustard."

"Boar's Head is known as a premium brand, and it goes to great lengths to protect that reputation, massive listeria outbreaks notwithstanding. And Walmart, of course, bases everything around low prices and its reputation as a budget retailer. Some of Walmart's low prices come from the scale that it operates at, much like Costco and other big box retailers, but the company also throws its weight around to get what it wants."

"Because Walmart makes up such a huge percentage of the retail and grocery market, it has a high leverage over suppliers. It then uses that leverage to push them to lower prices so that they might live up to Walmart's specific standards. That may be fine for Coca-Cola or Frito Lay, but beyond cutting into profit margins, those low prices would also affect Boar's Head's image as a premium brand in the market, an image it fights hard to preserve."

Boar's Head is positioned as a premium deli-meat brand that actively protects its quality image, despite past massive listeria outbreaks. Walmart operates on a low-price, high-volume model and exerts considerable leverage over suppliers to meet strict pricing standards. Walmart's scale enables aggressive price demands that can erode suppliers' margins and conflict with premium positioning. Boar's Head resists placing products in environments where low prices or in-store competition could dilute its brand, sometimes requiring retailers to remove competing brands. Minimal Boar's Head presence at Walmart includes only a few condiments, such as Boar's Head mustard. Strategic and image conflicts explain limited partnership.

Read at Tasting Table