GIANT EAGLE RINGS-IN OWN PHONE CARDS

JOEL ELSON

PITTSBURGH -- Giant Eagle here kicked off its store-brand version of a prepaid telephone card with a 20% introductory discount.

Launched in September, the Giant Eagle brand phone cards are merchandised at checkouts and courtesy booths. A 10-minute card is $10; a 30-minute card, $20, and a 110-minute card, $30. The $30 card has been the most popular, although sales of the new phone cards have been slow in some areas, according to store-level sources who asked to remain anonymous. "We've sold one or two cards a day, but we're supposed to be getting signage. When it goes up it'll let people know we have this merchandise," added one source. Company officials weren't available for comment when contacted by SN.

Giant Eagle previously carried Western Union prepaid phone cards. The chain gave prominent ad space to the new prepaid phone cards bearing its name, heralding what the chain termed: "calling made simple."