The chain has also gone to market more aggressively this year on “basic needs like butter, flour, sugar and chocolate chips because we see people doing more in-home baking,” he said.

C&K, most of whose stores operate under the Ray's Food Place banner, will feature those items in weekly fliers, to which it's added a gatefold featuring the holiday items and several coupons, he noted.

While the chain will feature hams and turkeys for the holidays, “we're going out there big and bold with roasts and seafood to go with the idea of more meals eaten at home,” Sandeno said, “and we're seeing good sell-through already on some of the ad items.”

Dan Cepeda, director of grocery, GM/HBC and specialty and natural foods, said the chain is leaving less to chance this year by stocking the stores with higher inventories on featured items.

The baking supplies will be available on large displays near the stores' entrances, along with mixing cups, pastry brushes, utensils and related items, he added.

Some Specialty Promotions

Dick King, senior vice president at Associated Food Stores, Salt Lake City, said the wholesaler's 56 corporate stores “will have a good holiday selling period that we think will be better than last year because people have gotten used to doing more eating and entertaining at home.”

With that in mind, he said Associated will be featuring some upscale specialty items as well as holiday basics, he said.

For example, in addition to the stores' basic assortment of fresh pies in the bakeries, Associated is adding several fancier varieties than it had last year, though priced similar to the basic offerings — apple-cranberry, eggnog cream and caramel-apple — “to give consumers something different for staying at home,” King explained.

In meat, the stores will again offer alternatives to turkey, including prime rib and leg of lamb, “but we're also going to have a better selection of chuck roasts and boneless chuck roasts for people who are looking for quality at a lower price,” he said.

The stores will also offer shrimp trays in three sizes — the 2-pounds-plus size they offered last year, plus 10-ounce and 26-ounce sizes, he noted.

Associated's corporate stores will also carry expanded items in the baking needs category, including specialty bread and cake mixes, and an upscale brand of olives, barbecue sauce and artisan breads, among other items, he said.

In nonfood, the stores will feature basic items like lights, wraps and tinsel but will reduce the number of home-decor holiday items, like figurines, that haven't sold as well as in prior years, King said.

There will also be increased varieties of candy and nuts, geared to home parties, he added.
Reporting by Elliot Zwiebach, Jon Springer and Mark Hamstra