RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- There's value, and then there's value.
if.-based Vons Cos.' "Vons Is Value" advertising campaign head-on in the Riverside-San Bernardino area of southern California with an ad that proclaimed, "Ralphs Means Value."
The Ralphs ad, which ran only once, followed a move by the chain to lower "thousands" of prices at its 27 Inland Empire area stores.
In the ad, Ralphs cited its own price surveys that showed it "really does have lower prices" than Vons.
Vons, now operating as a wholly owned subsidiary of Safeway, Pleasanton, Calif., did not respond to the ad.
Observers noted that pricing tends to be lower in the Inland Empire area because of the presence of Stater Bros. Markets, Colton, Calif., an aggressive everyday-low-price operator.
A Ralphs spokesman said the recent price reductions were limited to its stores in the Riverside-San Bernardino area and were "under study" by the chain to determine if they should be expanded to other areas of southern California.
