ACME ADDS HOLIDAY COUPON BOOKLET

JOEL ELSON

MALVERN, Pa. -- Acme Markets has circulated a 48-page holiday coupon booklet featuring 30 discount coupons on nonfood products.

The booklet offers shoppers 100 different coupons worth $162.73 in nonfood as well as food savings. This is the first time in about eight years Acme has distributed a coupon booklet of this magnitude, according to a company spokesman. Acme circulated the booklet along with its regular weekly circular through marriage mail, targeting the holiday period, said the spokesman. "We wanted to give more value to our consumer, and every department of the store is pretty well represented through the coupons," he added. Acme is using the 5-inch by 8-inch coupon booklet chainwide to boost holiday store traffic from November through the beginning of December by highlighting commonly sought products at this time of year. The general merchandise and health and beauty care coupons offer savings ranging from 40 cents on General Electric 25-watt red or green party bulbs to $4 off a four-pack of L'Eggs Control Top, 12-pack Knee High or six-pack regular. The coupons are redeemable with a $5 minimum store purchase. HBC coupons run the gamut from shampoo and hair colorings to vitamins, toothpaste, antacids, body washes, stomach remedies and skin preparations. On the general merchandise side, coupon savings start at 50 cents for latex gloves and go as high as $2 off photo processing. Other savings within that mix are offered on hosiery, paperback books, greeting cards, kitchen gadgets and food storage containers, bakeware, photo processing, automotive, lightbulbs and private-label batteries.