Grocery shake-up raises bagful of questions

Sacramento Bee ^ | 2/19/6 | Jon Ortiz

[SmithL]

Northern California's food fight is coming to a store near you.

It's already hit Mary Thomatos, a loyal Albertsons customer until the chain closed its J Street store near her east Sacramento home last summer.

Now the future of the other 25 Albertsons in the Sacramento region is in doubt after their parent company was sold last month. With Ralphs Supermarkets closing eight area stores soon, the grocery landscape is shifting so rapidly that by summer many consumers may no longer recognize their neighborhood store. Such change, those in the industry say, is something most of us should get used to.

Here's how the area's grocery chain scorecard looks as of now:

Ralphs: Gone as of early April.

Albertsons: In trouble. Changes, including store closures, are possible by summer as new owners take over.

Raley's, Nugget and Safeway: Surviving - but looking warily over their shoulders.

What does it mean for shoppers?

* Lower prices, as more of Wal-Mart's tires-to-toothpaste Supercenters open locally.

* Fewer traditional grocery stores, farther apart, with survivors retooling to compete.

* More niche stores with unique goods and atmosphere.

* Non-grocery businesses filling spaces vacated by departing food stores.

Thomatos said she's not a Wal-Mart fan and hopes the world's largest retailer doesn't exploit Albertsons' and Ralphs' woes to further elbow its way into the region.

"I hate to see Wal-Mart beat up on the little guy," she said.

But it's Wal-Mart Stores Inc., based in Bentonville, Ark., that is forcing most of the changes in the industry, locally and nationally. The company "always has its nose in the wind and smells opportunity when it's there," said Michael Banks, owner and partner of Las Vegas-based retail consultant Select Marketing LLC. "They're going to sense an opening and move in."

[steelwheels]

Huh? Wouldn't you think they'd be with the #4s?

LOL, I thought the same thing.

[nina0113]

Walmart keeps the #2 cone filters with the coffee pots over in Housewares, unlike every other size known to mankind, which are with the coffee as they should be.

[arizonarachel]

I went to Wally for groceries today. It didn't even have half of what I wanted.

I must agree..I tried shopping there for a few weeks for weekly groceries..but they never had what I needed. They had normal stuff...but not many speciality foods or things that I needed that I didnt think were very unusual. (Roasted Red Peppers in a jar come to mind, for one.) They have great prices, but it's not worth going shopping twice for things they don't have to save some $$.

[mewzilla]

And they'll also dump an item in a heartbeat. I'll find something for a while, and a few weeks later it'll be gone, the shelf space given to another brand and/or item. Nickel-and-diming suppliers is fine if price point is your only concern, but it's not mine when it comes to groceries. That's why I hope the other grocery stores can find ways to compete. There's a market there, I think, if they can cater to it.

[marajade]

If that was the case why wouldn't they keep the #4s near the coffee pots too? Why just the #2s?