Smith's returning to Southland supermart scene in new format.Smith's returning to Southland south·land or South·land n. A region in the south of a country or an area. south  land·er n.Noun 1. supermart scene in new format A supermarket chain with stores that dwarf those of other Southland chains and with such amenities as a frozen yogurt yogurt: see fermented milk. yogurt Semisolid, fermented, often flavoured milk food. Yogurt is known and consumed in almost all parts of the world. department and dry cleaners is coming to Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County this fall and will increase the competition in an already saturated grocery market, industry experts say. Salt Lake City-based Smith's Food & Drug Centers plans to open 12 stores in Los Angeles County and 25 in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, during the next 18 months, returning - albeit in a new format - to a region it quit seven years ago. The company's first Southern California store will open in Lancaster in October, and the first store in Los Angeles County will open in Covina in November. The Smith's presence will mean "more competition for an already very competitive marketplace," said Steven Koff, president of the Southern California Grocers Association. The chain has already leased four spaces on the outskirts of the county, in La Puente La Puente (lä pwĕn`tē), city (1990 pop. 36,955), Los Angeles co., S Calif., a suburb of Los Angeles; laid out 1841, inc. 1956. Primarily residential, the city manufactures hardware, electronics, and paper products. , Arleta, Torrance and Covina, said Ken White, vice president and regional manager for the Southern California region of Smith's. Each structure is between 75,000 and 80,000 square feet. In comparison, most supermarkets average 45,000 square feet, said Nick Castner, senior vice president and senior marketing director for retail properties at CB Commercial Real Estate Group's office in Anaheim. The already crowded Southland supermarket industry will become even more congested con·gest·ed adj. Affected with or characterized by congestion. congested ENT adjective Referring to a boggy blood-filled tissue. See Nasal congestion. , said Douglas Christopher, a securities analyst with Crowell Weedon & Co., a regional brokerage firm based in Los Angeles. Smith's markets offer quality and service that is comparable to Arcadia-based Vons Inc. or Compton-based Ralphs Grocery Co., rather than competing on price like Dublin, Calif.-based Lucky Stores Lucky Stores is an American grocery chain founded in Alameda County, California in 1935. Lucky is currently operated by Supervalu in Southern California and Nevada and by Save Mart in Northern California. Inc., Christopher said. Smith's has 95 stores in Arizona, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico New Mexico, state in the SW United States. At its northwestern corner are the so-called Four Corners, where Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah meet at right angles; New Mexico is also bordered by Oklahoma (NE), Texas (E, S), and Mexico (S). , Texas, Utah and Wyoming. It used to operate in Southern California under the name Smith's Food King, with stores averaging 30,000 square feet, White said. Smith's left the region in 1984 but is now returning with the larger stores. White said Smith's is breaking back into the Southland market because of the region's large population and potential sales volume. The company entered the Phoenix market in 1989. Smith's held 13 percent of the grocery business there during the first quarter of 1991, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. a survey conducted by the Arizona Republic and the Phoenix Gazette The Phoenix Gazette was a newspaper published in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. It was founded in 1881, and was known in its early years as the Phoenix Evening Gazette. It was purchased by the owners of its rival Arizona Republic around 1930. . Spokesmen for Ralphs, Vons and Highland Park-based Food4Less Supermarkets, parent of the newly acquired Alpha Beta
Alpha Beta was a chain of Californian supermarkets started by Albert and Hugh Gerrard. chain, all refused to comment on competition from other supermarket chains. Analysts noted, however, was that most of the 12 Smith's stores opening in Los Angeles County will be in the peripheral suburbs, away from the major metropolitan areas. Therefore, the countywide supermarket industry won't be affected as a whole, but selected rival stores will be hit, said Sheila O'Connell, an analyst with Chicago-based investment research firm Duff & Phelps Inc. There are no places for a supermarket chain to set up shop in the center of Los Angeles County, O'Connell added. Furthermore, the emergence of a new player should not set off widescale price battling in the Southland supermarket industry, she said. "I don't think they want to start a price war," Christopher added. Instead, competing supermarkets may "start a service campaign" and in the short term some markets may compete with promotions or giveaways, Christopher said. Smith's will have to adapt to new rules and unionize its California employees, he added. The company is accustomed to running non-unionized stores, Christopher said. Most recently, the chain announced June 21 it plans to make a public offering of more than 4 million common shares. The company intends to use part of the proceeds to finance its expansion. PHOTO : What's in store: One stop shopping |
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