Lucky stores to become Albertson's

Who owns what

A wave of mergers has left big Las Vegas supermarkets owned by the following four companies:

Owns Lucky grocery stores and Sav-On drugstores. It is converting the Lucky stores to its Albertson's brand.

Owns Smith's Food & Drug and Pricerite stores.

Owns Vons stores.

Owns Raley's stores in Las Vegas. These are former Albertson's stores. Albertson's was forced to sell them by federal antitrust regulators before it could get approval to buy the Lucky and Sav-On stores.

Las Vegas' 28 Lucky grocery stores will be renamed Albertson's, officials announced today.

Albertson's said it's bringing its brand name back to Las Vegas in a move that is likely to leave confused consumers even more befuddled.

It was just a few weeks ago that Albertson's removed its brand from the Las Vegas market by selling its 19 Las Vegas supermarkets to Raley's.

The 29 Sav-On stores owned by Albertson's in Las Vegas remain unaffected by today's announced name change.

Albertson's officials say the name change is in response to consumer demand for both familiarity and low prices without a discount card.

"We tested focus groups for the better part of last year," Roe Cefalo, president of Albertson's Southern Nevada operations, said. "What we heard from our customers was they liked our stores, and appreciated both Lucky's low prices and Albertson's quality service. This move allows us to offer them the best of both worlds."

As part of the move, Albertson's is eliminating the Lucky Rewards Card, used to provide customers with special discounts. Two of Albertson's competitors in the Las Vegas market -- Smith's Food & Drug Stores and Vons -- offer similar cards; Raley's does not.

In place of the Lucky card, Albertson's will switch to a "bonus buy program" offering all customers the same price discounts. Customers will be encouraged to turn in their Lucky cards in designated receptacles at all Albertson's locations. The company says it will make a donation to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation for each returned card.

Ironically, Cefalo said continuity is key to successfully re-establishing Albertson's presence in the Las Vegas market.

"For customers, the only change will be in the name of the stores," he said. "We are keeping all of the same personnel, as well as the current (in-store) banks and video (poker) machines. By eliminating the Lucky card, we can also provide all customers everyday low prices, something they've come to expect from Albertson's."

Cefalo said Albertson's also plans to expand both its physical and virtual presence in Las Vegas.

"We currently have 28 stores in Southern Nevada, and plan to grow that to about 40 within the next two years," he said. "We anticipate that growth will follow the population growth patterns in the city, both around the beltway and into the suburbs. We're also looking at expanding our Internet sales. We currently are test-marketing Internet grocery sales in Dallas, and I can see us expanding that to the Las Vegas market within about a year or so."

Today's move by Albertson's comes at a time when supermarket chains are struggling to re-establish their financial footing.

"The entire (supermarket) industry has been weak this year, and the larger chains have been beaten up pretty good," Robert Izmerlian, an industry analyst with Standard & Poor's, said. "A number of companies, including Albertson's, were involved in big mergers last year and their stock prices are feeling the negative effects this year. Albertson's stock has been hovering around the $35 mark."

Izmerlian said the decision to eliminate the Lucky Rewards Card can be viewed as both a plus and a minus.

"If Albertson's is positioning itself as a 'low price leader,' then the rewards card doesn't really make sense," he said. "Now, they lose their advantage to gain information about customers by doing away with the card. But quite frankly, I think these cards are a pain in the neck and believe that supermarkets are better off simply offering discount specials."

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