NYC to open municipal grocery store in 2027

hnthrowaway0315

Not a new idea and the intention seems to be good. I wonder how will the implementation go. Where does the stores source merchandises? What is the volume of the five stores in total? How do they plan to offer a better price -- is it a percentage lower than some other stores, or something else? What if they have to run them with a loss? Such and such.

halflife

This sounds extremely non economically viable. The municipality which has monopoly on land taxes and costs will compete with stores that must pay taxes and rent? Won’t it just cause neighboring stores to close? Won’t a better option be subsidizing taxes for grocery stores, and let the discounts competitively pass unto the customers?

MisterTea

I wonder what the margin is on groceries and if the stores can sustain themselves by operating at cost. I also want to know how they plan to handle pricing during shortages, e.g. eggs.

flats

I was very skeptical of these plans at first—as a New Yorker, I don’t exactly have a lot of trust in our city’s government to run things well. But I’ve come around. Let’s try something new! Let’s show people that local governments in the United States really are capable of making a difference in their daily lives. If it fails, well, we tried & we’ll keep trying.

bparsons

The government already runs/oversees a variety of public grocery stores. Including: - Armed forces commissaries. The op ex is subsidized by the taxpayer, but the cost of goods reflects the market wholesale price, plus a 5% fee to pay for capital goods/facilities upkeep. - Grocery stores run by non-profits/charities. Eligible donations are a tax deduction, which represents a form of subsidy by the taxpayer. These stores are really popular in some places in the US. - Food banks. Operate on a mix of private donations and taxpayer grants/tax receipts to some donors. It all amounts to the same thing. The finance model is different in each case, but its all taxpayer supported no matter how you look at it.

bastawhiz

I'm not opposed to this, but I'd rather have seen incentives and subsidies for local co-ops to succeed in this space. That's probably harder than it sounds, though.

energy123

Dumb populist idea, grocery stores make 2% margins, best case scenario you're saving people 2%, realistic scenario you introduce operational inefficiencies that the chains already optimized out and waste taxpayer resources. If you don't like grocery stores gamifying or selling junk, regulate those aspects. Or put the taxpayer money towards something useful like building public housing.

thelastgallon

Don’t do these kinds of idiotic things. Do what Singapore does for housing.

oa335

This is Mamdani’s worst idea. Margins on most essential goods in grocery stores is incredibly low, sometimes it’s a loss leader. Does anyone know of any solid economic rationale for this move?

rdtsc

> “Some will insist that city-owned businesses do not work, that government cannot keep up with corporations. My answer to them is simple: I look forward to the competition. May the most affordable grocery store win,” Mamdani said. Well it's interesting enough to try. Are they going to keep the stores open at a loss, that's not really competing then, is it? If they sell things that are much cheaper, restaurants could start sourcing their food from there, too. Why get your chicken from some supplier if you can buy it from a cheaper government run store at much less. But then, if these stores are not run at a loss, it means somehow there is this large inefficiency that other stores haven't tapped into. And if I had to guess, grocery stores don't seem like a large margin business, but perhaps that's just my ignorance as it's not something I ever looked into in detail.

bherms

Many people losing their minds over stuff like this... I'm just glad some people are finally trying out new ideas, because the status quo is not working for a large portion of the American population. I just hope they properly track and monitor the outcomes and foster honest/open feedback. The gov't loves to throw money at problems, but never really does much to analyze, pivot, or admit when something doesn't work because that just gives the opposition ammo.

Molitor5901

If you're interested in grocery store economics, I strongly recommend: The Secret Life of Groceries: The Dark Miracle of the American Supermarket by Benjamin Lorr, and Grocery: The Buying and Selling of Food in America by Michael Ruhlman Extremely insightful about how much it cost to run a grocery store, where profits go, who the food suppliers really are, etc. Very eyeopening.

robotnikman

Are they looking to hire any software engineers right now?