Closing time - snapshots - Bell Health Foods specialty store closes - Brief Article

By the time you read this, Bell Health Foods will have closed its doors for good.

Located on the outskirts of Bismarck, North Dakota, the store is only a half-mile from the nearest Wal-Mart. "We can't compete," says store manager Belinda Neibel. "The major chains recognize the market for health food. Grocery stores now carry the same brands we have, and the new Target Super Centers have organic juice bars. We sell Kashi's GoLean at the suggested retail price. Wal-Mart has it at half-price. How can you compete with that?"

It's a problem facing many smaller health food stores. As natural living becomes more mainstream, larger chains are capturing more of the market. "I had some customers today who'd been to GNC and Wal-Mart, but they couldn't get any help," says Neibel. "They tried those stores first, however, because they knew about them. National advertising is fueling the trend. You turn on the TV now and there's all this stuff about health. It's everywhere."

Neibel says it's fantastic to see the growing popularity of natural products, but it's difficult for long-time health-food retailers. "We were the weird ones. We were considered odd for the longest time," she says. "We should be glad that more people are seeing the light. But those pioneers--the people who started the business when the going was really tough--it's hard for them to step aside."

Like many local health food stores, Bell is heavily involved in community service. Owned and operated by the Mental Health Association in North Dakota, Bell provides job training for people recovering from mental illness. In addition, says Neibel, "We recycle our cardboard, glass, aluminum and tin. We have recycling bins for our customers. There's a responsible attitude among people who care about what they put into their bodies. They also care about their community and environment."

That sense of caring, says Neibel, is what's missing from larger chains. "There's a young couple that shops with us. At 32, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor, so they decided to make a lifestyle change. They started shopping at a larger store, but switched to us because we explain things to them. All the other store cared about was `buy this, buy this, buy this.' That's what the consumer will miss when we close.

"I think people want to be informed. They don't want to go into Wal-Mart and guess what they're getting. I shop at little stores because I like to feel cared for. But it's getting harder. People care, but they get so busy that I can't blame them if they stop someplace and buy everything under one roof. This busyness of the world--it's too much for Mom & Pop stores like us."

When people make the switch to big stores, they need to understand what they're giving up, says Neibel. "Relationships--in business, with family, in your church or your community--are what life is all about. And we're losing those relationships when we lose these small stores. I don't know that it would happen, but if enough people were to wake up and say, `This is important to me,' the small stores could survive."

COPYRIGHT 2002 PRIMEDIA Intertec, a PRIMEDIA Company. All Rights Reserved.
COPYRIGHT 2002 Gale Group