57% of haredim (ultra-orthodox) will return to Blue Square Israel Ltd. (NYSE: BSI; TASE: BSI) supermarket chain Shefa Shuk if the boycott against the company is lifted, according to a survey by Shiluv Market Research and Planning Ltd. commissioned by "Globes". Only 4% of respondents said that they would not return to the supermarket.
The haredi boycott of Shefa Shuk began in March 2008 when the Edah Haredit communal organization published posters and ads in the haredi press calling on the community not to do business with the supermarket because AM:PM, a different supermarket chain owned by its parent, Alon Israel Oil Company Ltd. was open on Saturdays.
Sales at Shefa Shuk supermarkets in haredi neighborhoods were halved when the boycott was announced, but have recovered somewhat and are now 30% below sales beforehand. Sales at the Shefa Shuk store in Bnei Brak fell to almost nothing, and Blue Square has decided to convert it to an Eden Teva Market store, the company's health food chain.
60% of the respondents in the Shiluv survey said that they stopped shopping at Shefa Shuk because of the boycott, and only 13% said that they were ignoring the boycott. 27% of respondents said that they did not shop at Shefa Shuk before the boycott.
The survey found the most popular supermarket in the haredi community is now Shufersal Ltd. (TASE:SAE;Pink Sheets:SSLTF) (formerly Super-Sol) subsidiary Aleph, now rebranded as Yesh. 16% of respondents said that they regularly shop at Aleph, and 15% said they regularly shop at grocery stores or independent small supermarkets.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on September 16, 2008
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2008