Retailers Adding Food, Otherwise Going On A Diet

U.S. stores have an identity crisis. The big ones want to be smaller, the small ones are getting bigger and all of them want to sell more food.

For years, U.S. retailers could simply build more stores, the larger the better, near new developments to spur sales growth. These days, as suburban communities have lost their luster and more people stay in or near cities, that formula needs a make-over.

"It was just all about new store expansion and I think we've come to a tipping point," said Steve Caine, a partner in Bain & Company's global retail practice.

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