Don't Mess With H-E-B: Hy-Vee Won't 'Poke The Bear' As It Expands South

Hy-Vee CEO Randy Edeker knows not to mess with Texas.

As the Des Moines-based grocery chain plans to expand into the southern United States, Edeker said it would avoid branching into Texas due to the dominance of H-E-B, according to KSAT.

In a company video sent to employees, Edeker said Hy-Vee wouldn't tread into Texas territory, according to the video obtained by the Des Moines Register. The video was posted to the company's internal communications platform on December 8 and detailed the company's expansion plans and goals.

"(H-E-B is) a phenomenal competitor. There are lots of weak competitors out there that we just don't need to go poke that bear, so we won't," Edeker said in the video.

KSAT reported Walmart is H-E-B's biggest competitor in Texas. Hy-Vee's expansion into the South will compete with powerhouses Kroger and Publix, based in Cincinnati, Ohio, and Lakeland, Florida, respectively.

San Antonio-based H-E-B, founded in 1905, remains Texas' premier grocery chain, with 340 stores across the state and northeast Mexico. Hy-Vee, founded in 1930, has over 280 locations in the Midwestern and Southern U.S. in Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wisconsin. It recently announced plans to expand into Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama.