RETAILERS: THANKSGIVING SALES WERE PILED HIGH

JENNIFER L. BALJKO

Supermarket retailers had something to be thankful for this Thanksgiving: better sales than last year.

Several chains told SN last week that the holiday gave them a hearty sales boost, which they expect to continue as Christmas approaches. A stronger focus on loyalty-card programs and prepared meals plus increased market stability and consumer spending confidence also helped drive holiday sales, industry analysts noted.

Grand Union Co., Wayne, N.J., saw across-the-board increases at its stores, said spokesman Don Vaillaincourt. "Holiday sales were extremely good. The sales trend tended to follow the traditional pattern. Traffic picked up in the latter part of the week before Thanksgiving, it accelerated during the weekend and it continued through Thanksgiving."

The traditional holiday fare -- turkeys, hams, stuffing and pies -- topped shoppers' Thanksgiving lists as they journeyed through the aisles, retailers said.

"All the traditional items did very well. We were really busy the week before Thanksgiving," said Bernie Rogan, spokesman for Shaw's Supermarkets, East Bridgewater, Mass. "The weekend before Thanksgiving is crunch time around here. The weekend is when everyone makes their big purchases. During the week, we see a lot of last-minute purchases."

The former Edwards stores that Shaw's recently acquired from Dutch-based Ahold also did better than expected, Rogan said, adding that even a converted unit in Southington, Conn., opened the weekend before Thanksgiving, had robust sales. Shaw's had planned to open that store sooner to give employees more time to prepare for the rush, but the conversion took longer than expected, he said.

Minyard Food Stores, Coppell, Texas, had double-digit sales gains over last year's holiday numbers, President J.L. Williams told SN.

"We were up about 11% in total sales when you compared this Thanksgiving and last Thanksgiving," he said. "People were still pretty basic with their food choices. They were buying the turkeys and the rolls and the stuffing. But one thing we are noticing more and more is that customers are buying prepared turkeys from our deli section. We sell a 12-pound turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce and a pie for less than $20."

Williams expects Minyard's prepared meal volume to rise again around Christmas because consumers won't have as much time to cook the traditional meal this year since there are fewer shopping days between Christmas and Thanksgiving.

At C&K Market, Brookings, Ore., same-store sales rose 23% over holiday results a year ago, said Raymond Nidiffer, president and chairman of the 35-store chain.

"Last year was a bummer for us because we got caught with the turkey price, and that hurt business," he said. "Last year, there was more competition on the turkey price and everyone came in lower than us."

To rebound from last year's disappointing results, C&K this year honed prices, offered customers a free turkey if they bought a ham and promoted a buy-one-get-one-free stance on some items, Nidiffer said. "We're happy with this year's sales. Last year, things were tougher. This year, the economy is better and it's showing."

In the Southeast, fresh and frozen turkeys were the top-selling item at Harris Teeter, Charlotte, N.C., said spokeswoman Ruth Kinzey.

"We are very pleased with our turkey sales. There was a significant increase for the freshly prepared and frozen turkeys," she said. "We are also pleased with the sales we have experienced in the prepared foods area. Those sales were also up dramatically. We do feel that this is a sign that there should be strong sales for Christmas."

Harris Teeter has been promoting prepared Thanksgiving dinners for several years, and each year sales in the category rise as consumers seek cooking shortcuts and quality meals, Kinzey said. The chain kept prices competitive, which paid off in sales gains, she added. "We offered some great prices and excellent value for those prices."

Turkey and traditional holiday food sales at Scolari's Food & Drug, Sparks, Nev., surpassed last year's figures, but recent store openings by rivals pruned sales a bit, said Jan Gilbert, vice president of buying and merchandising.

"We're not disappointed in our holiday sales considering the competitive market. This year, we had six or seven competitive openings," he said. "We did moderately better than last year."

Despite heightened competition, Scolari's is confident about closing the year on a positive note, Gilbert noted. "The traditional items like turkeys, hams and prime ribs should do well around Christmas. We also do a number of other things for Christmas, like run a gift guide tab featuring general merchandise items, appliances, cosmetics, cameras and tree ornaments."

While retailers usually do well during the Thanksgiving and Christmas season, other factors may have drummed up business, securities analysts told SN.

"What encourages me this year is that you have your major eating holidays in the fourth quarter, so sales are always higher. But they always do the turkey giveaways, so you wind up taking your pressure on margins," said Jonathan Ziegler, an analyst at the San Francisco office of Salomon Bros., New York.

"I think this year the industry is better positioned to do party trays and some home-meal replacement. I have a feeling the margin mix will be better this year."

Besides luring shoppers with fresh meals, operators are rewarding customers via loyalty programs instead of battling it out with competitors in circulars or advertisements, noted Ed Comeau, an analyst at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, New York. Now it seems like the promotional programs around Thanksgiving are more structured toward loyalty cards and loyalty programs, like if you spend $200 you get the free turkey -- rather than a 12-page ad where they offer a free turkey and cut prices on everything else."