The state of the industry. (The 2003 State of the Industry Almanac).

Grocery Headquarters, April, 2003

A beleaguered economy, mounting fears about war and general malaise on the part of the consumer all have played a role in causing sales to slow down at the grocery store. Still, say many industry observers, things could be a lot worse.

Perhaps a decade from now, the grocery industry--including retailers, distributors, wholesalers and suppliers--will be able to look back on the year 2002 with a sense of nostalgia. After all, they may say, it was one of the toughest years in the history of American retailing and most chains seemed to survive it fairly well.

Instead of remembering all the hardships of retailing during this ongoing and persistent recession, retail executives may remember that things were really not that bad for grocery retailers, particularly...