H-E-B, which has a store in McKinney, has become the exclusive grocery and pharmacy partner of the Dallas Cowboys under a multi-year agreement that starts this season.
The deal is a sponsorship rather than anything that changes what happens in the aisles, but it says something about how far the San Antonio chain has come in a market it entered relatively recently.
The terms
The partnership includes ticket and merchandise giveaways, in-store and in-game promotions, tailgating and pop-up events, and community outreach. H-E-B will run commercials featuring Cowboys players including quarterback Dak Prescott and kicker Brandon Aubrey.
At Cowboys home games the chain becomes presenting sponsor of the H-E-B Family Tailgate outside AT&T Stadium, with product and food sample stations, face painting, airbrush tattoos and a lounge with a television, family games and a photo booth.
The grocery map around McKinney
The chain's North Texas stores now include McKinney, Plano, Allen, Melissa, Prosper, Mansfield, Rockwall, two in Frisco and one in the Alliance area of Fort Worth. Several of those are within a short drive of each other, which is how H-E-B has tended to expand, clustering stores rather than scattering them.
The city of Dallas has no traditional H-E-B yet. The company owns land at Hillcrest Road and LBJ Freeway and operates two Joe V's Smart Shop stores there.
H-E-B's growth has put real competitive pressure on Kroger, Tom Thumb and Walmart across Collin County, where several of those chains have long-established stores.
Sources
https://www.wfaa.com/article/money/business/h-e-b-lands-dallas-cowboys-partnership-as-grocer-expands-its-north-texas-footprint/287-8df6656d-b173-455b-9f67-3588e400b7e8
https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/h-e-b-now-official-011500706.html
