Super Saver Foods
Encyclopedia
Super Saver Foods is a United States price-impact
grocery franchise. It is currently owned by Albertsons LLC
. It is a no-frills grocery store
where the customers bag their own groceries at the checkout
. Super Saver stores are located in Utah
.
and Pathmark
(competitors which did not offer trading stamps
). The brand was retired in the 1980s.
, parent company of Acme and Lucky food stores
decided to start a discount format grocery store chain in California. They built new stores in Southern California (Indio, Oceanside, Anaheim, National City), and converted about 6 Lucky stores
, (3 in Sacramento, Pittsburg, Vacaville, and Woodland) to the format in Northern California. Initially, American Stores
named these stores Price Advantage, based on the Lucky Advantage prototype store in Escondido, California. Price Club
sued American Stores
over name infringement shortly before the grand openings. The stores were swiftly rebranded Food Advantage the night before Grand Openings, with the word "Price" marked out with a thick ink marker on every label, tag and sign in the store. A scaled down warehouse store, Food Advantage featured no bakery or deli, with its concept modeled in a similar fashion to Food 4 Less stores.
In the coming months, American Stores
would rebrand these stores as Food/Price Advantage. Finally, American Stores
decided to rebrand them as Super Saver, bringing back the familiar logo that had been used decades earlier in Philadelphia.
In 1999, Albertsons purchased American Stores
. A number of the Super Saver Stores were divested to satisfy anti-trust concerns, but a few remained. By 2003, the only remaining Super Saver Stores still operated by Albertsons were in Indio (closed in 2005), Woodland (closed in 2006) and Gonzales,LA (closed in 2006).
In 2004, Albertsons announced that they were creating a discount grocery store division that would operate initially in Texas, Louisiana, and Florida. This division would be an independent operating subsidiary of Albertsons known as EXTREME, Inc. These stores would be converted poorly performing former Albertsons stores and the name used on the store would be Super Saver. At this time, the Super Saver logo was redesigned. Albertsons also rebranded two former Food 4 Less stores in Utah to Super Saver at this time, but continued to use other names for discount format stores in Colorado, parts of California, and perhaps other places (Max Foods and Grocery Warehouse). The Super Saver stores offered Acme products for private label goods rather than the Albertsons brand, much as the original Acme Super Saver chain sold the company's Alpha Beta products instead of the Acme Ideal brand of the time.
In 2006, Albertsons was dissolved as a company. The EXTREME group was sold to Cerberus Capital Management
, also known as Albertsons LLC. That same year, Cerberus
has made a decision to close the entire Super Saver store chain on August 1, except for a couple of stores in Utah.
Warehouse store
A warehouse store, as opposed to a warehouse club, is a retail location with a limited variety of merchandise sold in bulk at a discount to customers...
grocery franchise. It is currently owned by Albertsons LLC
Albertsons LLC
Albertsons LLC is a North American grocery company based in Boise, Idaho, with over 240 supermarkets located in Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Florida under the Albertson's and Super Saver Foods banners...
. It is a no-frills grocery store
Grocery store
A grocery store is a store that retails food. A grocer, the owner of a grocery store, stocks different kinds of foods from assorted places and cultures, and sells these "groceries" to customers. Large grocery stores that stock products other than food, such as clothing or household items, are...
where the customers bag their own groceries at the checkout
Point of sale
Point of sale or checkout is the location where a transaction occurs...
. Super Saver stores are located in Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
.
Acme version
Super Saver was a brand launched by the Acme grocery chain in the late 1960s on the East Coast as discount format grocery stores. The format was established in order to compete with lower priced grocery retailers such as ShopRiteShopRite (United States)
ShopRite Supermarkets is a retailers' cooperative chain of supermarkets in the northeastern United States, with stores in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, and Pennsylvania...
and Pathmark
Pathmark
Pathmark is a supermarket chain headquartered in Montvale, New Jersey. It was founded in 1968 when its then parent, Supermarkets General Corporation, pulled out of the ShopRite retailers' cooperative...
(competitors which did not offer trading stamps
S&H Green Stamps
S&H Green Stamps were trading stamps popular in the United States from the 1930s until the late 1980s. They were distributed as part of a rewards program operated by the Sperry and Hutchinson company , founded in 1896 by Thomas Sperry and Shelly Hutchinson...
). The brand was retired in the 1980s.
American Stores version
In 1994, American Stores CompanyAmerican Stores
American Stores Company was an American public corporation and a holding company which ran chains of supermarkets and drugstores in the United States from 1917 through 1999...
, parent company of Acme and Lucky food stores
Lucky Stores
Lucky Stores is an American supermarket 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 and Nevada.In 1998, Lucky's parent company, American Stores, was taken over by Albertsons,...
decided to start a discount format grocery store chain in California. They built new stores in Southern California (Indio, Oceanside, Anaheim, National City), and converted about 6 Lucky stores
Lucky Stores
Lucky Stores is an American supermarket 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 and Nevada.In 1998, Lucky's parent company, American Stores, was taken over by Albertsons,...
, (3 in Sacramento, Pittsburg, Vacaville, and Woodland) to the format in Northern California. Initially, American Stores
American Stores
American Stores Company was an American public corporation and a holding company which ran chains of supermarkets and drugstores in the United States from 1917 through 1999...
named these stores Price Advantage, based on the Lucky Advantage prototype store in Escondido, California. Price Club
Costco
Costco Wholesale Corporation is the largest membership warehouse club chain in the United States. it is the third largest retailer in the United States, where it originated, and the ninth largest in the world...
sued American Stores
American Stores
American Stores Company was an American public corporation and a holding company which ran chains of supermarkets and drugstores in the United States from 1917 through 1999...
over name infringement shortly before the grand openings. The stores were swiftly rebranded Food Advantage the night before Grand Openings, with the word "Price" marked out with a thick ink marker on every label, tag and sign in the store. A scaled down warehouse store, Food Advantage featured no bakery or deli, with its concept modeled in a similar fashion to Food 4 Less stores.
In the coming months, American Stores
American Stores
American Stores Company was an American public corporation and a holding company which ran chains of supermarkets and drugstores in the United States from 1917 through 1999...
would rebrand these stores as Food/Price Advantage. Finally, American Stores
American Stores
American Stores Company was an American public corporation and a holding company which ran chains of supermarkets and drugstores in the United States from 1917 through 1999...
decided to rebrand them as Super Saver, bringing back the familiar logo that had been used decades earlier in Philadelphia.
In 1999, Albertsons purchased American Stores
American Stores
American Stores Company was an American public corporation and a holding company which ran chains of supermarkets and drugstores in the United States from 1917 through 1999...
. A number of the Super Saver Stores were divested to satisfy anti-trust concerns, but a few remained. By 2003, the only remaining Super Saver Stores still operated by Albertsons were in Indio (closed in 2005), Woodland (closed in 2006) and Gonzales,LA (closed in 2006).
Albertsons version
In 2003, Albertsons then announced that they would be developing a new Hispanic format in Southern California, and would be calling it Super Saver. A few Albertsons Stores converted to Super Saver, as well as a Max Foods location near the Mexico border in San Ysidro.In 2004, Albertsons announced that they were creating a discount grocery store division that would operate initially in Texas, Louisiana, and Florida. This division would be an independent operating subsidiary of Albertsons known as EXTREME, Inc. These stores would be converted poorly performing former Albertsons stores and the name used on the store would be Super Saver. At this time, the Super Saver logo was redesigned. Albertsons also rebranded two former Food 4 Less stores in Utah to Super Saver at this time, but continued to use other names for discount format stores in Colorado, parts of California, and perhaps other places (Max Foods and Grocery Warehouse). The Super Saver stores offered Acme products for private label goods rather than the Albertsons brand, much as the original Acme Super Saver chain sold the company's Alpha Beta products instead of the Acme Ideal brand of the time.
In 2006, Albertsons was dissolved as a company. The EXTREME group was sold to Cerberus Capital Management
Cerberus Capital Management
Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. is one of the largest private equity investment firms in the United States. The firm is based in New York City, and run by -year-old financier Steve Feinberg. Former U.S...
, also known as Albertsons LLC. That same year, Cerberus
Cerberus
Cerberus , or Kerberos, in Greek and Roman mythology, is a multi-headed hound which guards the gates of the Underworld, to prevent those who have crossed the river Styx from ever escaping...
has made a decision to close the entire Super Saver store chain on August 1, except for a couple of stores in Utah.