plus maybe an old "Sears" mentality (sales all the time, the non-sale products don't move as much) versus a "Walmart" mentality (low prices all the time, keep the product moving) for the smaller grocery stores.

BTW, Walmart's food prices in general aren't that great. And I can get 12 liters (24x0.5) of Crystal Geyser locally bottled water for $4 or less, which is about $0.33/liter. Maybe carbonated water is more, but I don't buy it; Germans do seem to love it, based on my experience.

Around here, who has the lowest prices seems to depend on the item. For example, I find Asian markets best for seafood, Indian markets best for olive oil (cheaper than Costco), etc.

--Tony